... The empirical evidence is that for him and others it worked ...
Who chose which "others" to be mentioned? Do we have their rating records?
Success with rapid chess improvement chapter five page 89 -105 details the testimony of not a few players who have been helped, which of their testimony are you denying is true or accurate?
How did you get from 'experience with literature and chess coaches', to 'experience with specific positions', please tell me, I am intrigued.
Just to be clear, you have been attacking others for quoting other qualified reviewers and not providing their own opinion, and when someone provides their own opinion, you do not want that either? The biggest problem I have with de la Maza's book is that it could be reduced to about 5 pages. He spends dozens of pages sounding like a bad motivational speaker (e.g. "I did it so you can do it, too! Just follow the plan I am going to lay out and you will be a 2000-rated player in no time! You will just need these other resources, do a lot of tactics over and over, oh, and it helps if you are unemployed for 2 years and can spend 7 hours a day on chess!" - that cuts out about 5 chapters of his book). If you want a study guide for lower levels, The Soviet Chess Primer and Lasker's Manual of Chess are both much better, as they have actual content in them. But if you do not need a plan (as you already know that you need to work on tactics and endgames), there are other books (as already mentioned in previous posts) that are focused on content. de la Maza's book is full on promises, empty on content.
... So to put it in context, for an 1100 rated player who gets mauled tactically in the opening and middle game he should study the endgame, did you really say that, I mean really? ...
Did you see BobbyTalparov (or anyone) say to only study the endgame.
... This is your point that others areas of study should not be ignored? fine. ...
Who proclaimed this?
"He is an 1100 rated player and should be feeding himself on nothing but a diet of pure tactics,"
... This is your point that others areas of study should not be ignored? fine. ...
Who proclaimed this?
"He is an 1100 rated player and should be feeding himself on nothing but a diet of pure tactics,"
I don't agree but understand that others have different opinions. Why this should be problematic for you is difficult to say.
Especially the most basic endgames, like those in the first chapter or two of Silman's Complete Endgame Course. Or how to play openings using good general principles, as can be learned from Chernev's always highly recommended "Logical Chess: Move by Move".
... Laskers manual of chess, my gawd, did you really advocate that? ...
Are you perhaps thinking of the BobbyTalparov post (#53)?
Did you see BobbyTalparov (or anyone) say to only study the endgame.
strawman, no one is claiming that Booby said someone should study the endgame exclusively. You are falling into fiction again Spungey.
You were telling us Spongey how you get from 'experience with chess coaches' to 'experience with specific positions'. Should be interesting.
Are you perhaps thinking of the BobbyTalparov post (#53)?
who knows, I was just having some fun with our friends.
here are some of the grinders games. I post them not to discourage or embarrass him in any way but as an example of the kind of problems that 1100 rated players face.
By move 12 the grinder is down a piece for a pawn with no compensation where his opponent duly returns the favour two moves later .
... De La Mazas book ... relies solely on pure pattern recognition through repetition. ...
Care to say something about the number of de la Maza pages devoted to describing specific patterns for the reader?
You know, I feel sorry for the guy who started this thread. He came here looking for advice, and instead he got the pointless flame war of robbie_1969 vs the world.
My advice to the guy who started this thread (besides the books I recommended earlier): Ignore the posts by robbie_1969 and any that respond to him. That'll filter the thread down to 1/4 as many posts, and they'll all be people talking about the original topic.
... De La Mazas book ... relies solely on pure pattern recognition through repetition. ...
Care to say something about the number of de la Maza pages devoted to describing specific patterns for the reader?
describing specific patterns? Its not a tactics book, its a book on a method of study. Are you sure you glanced at it?
... The empirical evidence is that for him and others it worked ...
Who chose which "others" to be mentioned? Do we have their rating records?
Success with rapid chess improvement chapter five page 89 -105 details the testimony of not a few players who have been helped, which of their testimony are you denying is true or accurate?
To answer YOUR question, are we in a position to know without rating records? Now, again:
Who chose which "others" to be mentioned? Do we have their rating records?
And to robbie_1969: You need a hobby other than engaging in pointless flame wars on the internet. I recommend taking up chess.
You know, I feel sorry for the guy who started this thread. He came here looking for advice, and instead he got the pointless flame war of robbie_1969 vs the world.
My advice to the guy who started this thread (besides the books I recommended earlier): Ignore the posts by robbie_1969 and any that respond to him. That'll filter the thread down to 1/4 as many posts, and they'll all be people talking about the original topic.
No he got a plethora of absurd and quite ludicrous suggestions from the likes of you and other wired to the moon Silman shills. Silmans endgame course???? My gawd he is dropping pieces by move twelve!! how the heck is learning rook endings, opposition, triangulation, how to mate with a bishop and a knight, the Lucena position, the Philador, Queen v pawn on the seventh etc etc going to help him avoid that. I thought you were just trolling, honestly, at no point did I even think you were being serious and it turns out that you were? woa.
... From memory he simply gives his own experience with chess literature and coaches. ...
Experiences involving specific positions?
"How did you get from 'experience with literature and chess coaches', to 'experience with specific positions', please tell me, I am intrigued." - robbie_1969
Potential buyers might wonder about whether or not this experience stuff included specific positions.
... From memory he simply gives his own experience with chess literature and coaches. ...
Experiences involving specific positions?
"How did you get from 'experience with literature and chess coaches', to 'experience with specific positions', please tell me, I am intrigued." - robbie_1969
Potential buyers might wonder about whether or not this experience stuff included specific positions.
you want him to relate his experience with specific positions? like, 'I found this one hard', or 'I found this one easy?' wow, thanks for the laughs.
Some of the rec's here are too beginnerish for a 1100 player - I coached a lot of them on the high school team I ran.
BEFORE books, make sure you work hard to recognize tactics by name: that name provides a "hook" in your brain from which you can quickly retrieve the info. Do tactics problems here and at places like chesstempo.com, Be able to name and demonstrate the dozens of tactical motifs on these pages:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-tactics--definitions-and-examples
https://chesstempo.com/tactical-motifs.html
Knowing these Positional Motifs is also valuable:
https://chesstempo.com/positional-motifs.html
If you're only going to read a couple, two books listed by others are great for 1100 players:
1) Back to Basics: Tactics (ChessCafe Back to Basics Chess) by Dan Heisman
2) Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
When I was coaching that high school team in the '90's, I required 1100 and above players to read the 1st (then latest) edition of Jeremy Silman's How to Reassess Your Chess. The current 4th ed. is a 658 page monster - find the 1st ed. (probably cheap on Amazon, etc.) unless you want to spend the extra time.
I also provided my players with these two sections of other books:
Keres and Kotov, The Art of the Middlegame, Ch.2, “Strategy and Tactics of Attacks on the King” – perhaps the best 50 pages of chess instruction ever written.
Aaron Nimzowitsch, My System, Ch. 14, “Overprotection,” - the entire book is the Bible of modern chess.
If you have time to study endgame techniques, I recommend your getting one of these two books:
Jesus de la Villa, 100 Endgames You Must Know – stresses patterns rather than simple lists of moves.
Jeremy Silman, Silman’s Complete Endgame Course from Beginnner to Master – tells you what you need to know based on your rating.
... From memory he simply gives his own experience with chess literature and coaches. ...
Experiences involving specific positions?