ask a professional chess player anything - Chess Forums - Page 3

GM hansen

Apr 30, 2015

0

#41

1NaturalDisaster wrote:

What do you think is the best opening?

Plenty of good openings out there. I enjoy open positions so for me the sicilian and grunfeld defences are among my favorites.

GM hansen

Apr 30, 2015

0

#42

JoeyKTrombone wrote:

@GM erichansen: As they're have been some slight disagreements among a few players, all of which were masters, and one, a Senior Master. My question is how much theory do you need to become a really strong chess player? I know some of the basics, which is what GM Kasporov emphasizes, but even then, I have a hard time with all of them. And, it's just the basics. So, how advanced does one need to go?

You'll get different answers from different people and there's no real right answer. If you have the extra time to get good at theory then I'd go for it. I didn't study openings until I was master level.

GM hansen

Apr 30, 2015

0

#43

bb_gum234 wrote:

erichansen wrote:

honestly I didn't read any books until I was a GM so I can't give you great recommendations. to work on general strategy and middlegames I like to study games deeply.

What kinds of books to GMs read? Most books are written for players under 2000 so I'm curious.

Just some high level opening books I decided to look at. Also the series " My Great Predecessors" by Kasparov

GM hansen

Apr 30, 2015

0

#44

Jion_Wansu wrote:

What do you think of the following:

baccarat

Magic The Gathering

no limit hold 'em poker

I haven't played baccarat or MTG although I'm quite aware of them. I'm a fan of poker but admittedly am not very good.

GM hansen

Apr 30, 2015

0

#45

FrancisCruz1 wrote:

What is your opinion of the new chess circuit (St. Louis, Norway and London)? What do you usually do to prepare for a tournament other than study games?

Doesn't seem like any news to me. They didn't make any new tournaments just they are calling it a Grand Prix now. Time will tell....

I work on openings and study games mainly. Also like to do at least 2 hours of sports a day.

GM hansen

Apr 30, 2015

0

#46

ChessMN16 wrote:

Do you see any value in studying TCEC games?

I would have to look at them to give you a better opinion but my usual stance is that I don't watch computers play eachother. They play differently than humans. I do sometimes look at correspondence games,though. That is a bit of a hybrid

GM hansen

Apr 30, 2015

0

#47

I will answer more questions later! Keep em' coming.

And for those interested in following my chess career:

https://www.facebook.com/hansenchess

HilarioFJunior

Apr 30, 2015

0

#48

Thanks for the initiative!

My question is: Do you have a well structured thinking process or the positions just "flow" in you mind? I'm not able to think objectively (checking everything like a list, calculating variations...) in my games and I don't know if I should work on that.

odisea777

Apr 30, 2015

0

#49

There seems to be some disagreement about studying tactics vs studying opening lines. I think for players at my level tactics are most important. I learn opening principles and a few moves of some lines but I don't spend much time memorizing anything. I think tactics are most important for lower level players trying to get better. What do you think?

Thanks for you willingness to help us all out and good luck in your career. (wish I could be a pro chess player :)

sirtom

Apr 30, 2015

0

#50

Are the Grunfeld and catalan/english good openning choices for a tactical 1700 (uscf) player to learn? I currently play 1. e4 and the queen's gambit declined and want to learn new alternatives, but am unsure of what. My coach is an FM that likes the English, so I that is what I was thinking of... I am interested in the Grunfeld because it is a fighting opening with more winning chances than the slav and QGD. Your advice is appreciated!

kevinsong2003

Apr 30, 2015

0

#51

Do tactics actually help you a lot? I have been doing a lot of them and they don't seem to help me improve.

csalami

Apr 30, 2015

0

#52

erichansen írta:

honestly I didn't read any books until I was a GM so I can't give you great recommendations. to work on general strategy and middlegames I like to study games deeply.

How did you become a GM if you didn't read any books? Just by analyzing the games of strong grandmasters? Or you learned from video lessons instead of books? Just curious, GM level seems impossible to me without books, maybe 2100 is possible, but not GM level.

Jion_Wansu

Apr 30, 2015

0

#53

No...you learn from experience and patterns and such

....

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csalami wrote:

erichansen írta:

honestly I didn't read any books until I was a GM so I can't give you great recommendations. to work on general strategy and middlegames I like to study games deeply.

How did you become a GM if you didn't read any books? Just by analyzing the games of strong grandmasters? Or you learned from video lessons instead of books? Just curious, GM level seems impossible to me without books, maybe 2100 is possible, but not GM level.

MrKornKid

Apr 30, 2015

0

#54

Two part question.

1.- (unrelated) What happened to MrBil, he was a strong Canadian player on many Canadian groups/teams and now has account closed.

2.- If Carlsen gave you a knight advantage do you think you could convert it?

Thanks in advance.

ForsakeMe2

Apr 30, 2015

0

#55

Hello, mister! Thanks for your topic, i'd like to seize this opportuinty, and aks you several question. What is your schedule for a day? I mean the training, what do you normally do? How many tactics, game analzying, or whatever u do per day? And how long did it take for you(to get 2000k raiting, from the begining?) Is that possible within a half year? Having raitin only around 1300 by now. ?

thegreat_patzer

Apr 30, 2015

0

#56

One thing I've NOT figured out, is where people get all the money they would need to travel through the world playing chess tournaments. I mean you do get prizes when your win.... but the math doesn't seem like it adds up.... (that is until you get a very high elo- but I mean when your serious but not neccesarily famous)...

are there scholarships? are you getting a lot of help from your family? do you do a lot of coaching? even experienced coaches have got to very expensive...

Synaphai

Apr 30, 2015

0

#57

Why is the Winawer rarely played nowadays by elite (2650+) players?

vkappag

Apr 30, 2015

0

#58

How do you sustain a reasonable lifestyle as a professional chess player who isnt among the worlds elite?

Im assuming you coach? Are you writing books as well?

Jion_Wansu

Apr 30, 2015

0

#59

Here's one. Why do chess engines let you win?

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=1138121430

SaintMark

May 1, 2015

0

#60

What do you think of Mark's Opening?

(There's an entry in Chessopedia on it, in case you're not familiar with it.)