when i was young my cousin beat me all the time, which i didnt like.
so i went on yahoo chess played people 100-200 points higher than me when i got to thier level i went to play more people 100-200 higher. so i started from 1100 went to 1700.
now he can't even see me in chess anymore.
learn from people who are better than you.
animalsafariranger> Yup, I went there but I couldn't find the part about the De La Maza method. Anyone tried the method?
All of the Knights Errant follow the De La Maza circle method. Regarding effectiveness, the average reported increase is ~200 ELO. De La Maza himself reported an increase of ~600 ELO, but remember that he was working on them full-time, while most of us have constraints such as work or school. These details and more are outlined in the FAQ.
animalsafariranger> Does the short 400questions seven circles work as well?
An ideal problem set will take more than 1 week (Mueller) but no more than 2 months (De La Maza, misc. knights) to finish the first circle. You want at least a vague recall of the problems when you encounter them the second time. You are following a proven, scientific learning technique called spaced repetition.
Can you complete your 400-problem set in two months? Wherever you get to after 2 months... say problem 198... stop there and begin a second circle. If you don't have the discipline to do that, then choose a smaller problem set. If you don't re-circle after 2 months you will essentially be following a non-circular approach and you won't see nearly as much progress. Many new knights make this mistake!
And remember to have fun with it. If you dread your daily tactical puzzles, you won't complete them. Joining the knights gives you access to support and info from others--some whom have been doing this for years, others whom are just starting out.
DeepGreene> If you go to this page and do a Find on "400" you'll find the two articles
Yup! And it's worth pointing out the visualization micro-drills.
DeepGreene> I've integrated some of these ideas into my own training, but going whole hog with the "Circles" would require me to quit my job, renounce my family, and cut off all ties to the outside world. (Ok, maybe it's not quite that bad, but it is the triathlon training approach to chess improvement.)
lol. That's more or less what De La Maza did!
But many have completed the circles (spaced repetition) in 30-60 minutes/day, and it certainly doesn't preclude studying other important areas at the same time.
DeepGreene> If you go to this page and do a Find on "400" you'll find the two articles
Yup! And it's worth pointing out the visualization micro-drills.
DeepGreene> I've integrated some of these ideas into my own training, but going whole hog with the "Circles" would require me to quit my job, renounce my family, and cut off all ties to the outside world. (Ok, maybe it's not quite that bad, but it is the triathlon training approach to chess improvement.)
lol. That's more or less what De La Maza did!
But many have completed the circles (spaced repetition) in 30-60 minutes/day, and it certainly doesn't preclude studying other important areas at the same time.
Agreed about the micro-drills. I'm using Chessimo (formerly Personal Chess Trainer) to integrate the theory of spaced repetition into my regimen; I'm pretty happy with it.
Reb> Is he even still playing?
Nope, he stopped at a high point and cashed in by writing a book.
Reb> If this de la maza fella's method is so good why isnt he a GM.
Of course he can't whoop Kasparov or yourself, but that misses the point. He put into practice a spaced repetition learning technique--which PhDs have endorsed for years--and gained 700 rating points fairly quickly. That's unusual for adults. Strong players such as Polgar & Mueller and trainers such as Heisman endorse it.
DeepGreene> I'm using Chessimo (formerly Personal Chess Trainer) to integrate the theory of spaced repetition into my regimen; I'm pretty happy with it.
I agree, that's a great tool and totally automates the techniques.
His whole focus is on securing speedy & significant improvements for an adult club-level player.
Can you complete your 400-problem set in two months? Wherever you get to after 2 months... say problem 198... stop there and begin a second circle. If you don't have the discipline to do that, then choose a smaller problem set. If you don't re-circle after 2 months you will essentially be following a non-circular approach and you won't see nearly as much progress. Many new knights make this mistake!
I'm confused about what you mean...isn't it you plan how many puzzles to do per day, map out for the number of circles(must it be seven? if you do a smaller set you can do 8-4-2-1)? Then you stick to that number...oh, are you saying if you plan to do 100 puzzles today, but you only managed 80, then tomorrow do you add 20+whatever you have for that day?
Sorry about the confusion. I'm taking a major exam this year and probably can't follow the program until Dec. But it's interesting(:
Gonnosuke: does it mean that even youngsters can't follow it? Shouldn't it be for everyone, but targetted GENERALLY at adults?
Well, I learnt loads from you guys...noting that this forum topic has become a "let's assess de la maza's method!" topic. cool. and I've learnt a lot thanks.
sigh. I have to admit I chukled but that's getting very old you know!
What!!! I didn't know about that. Lol. Oh well. Haha:D Well that's how you progress, isn't it?
animalsafariranger> isn't it you plan how many puzzles to do per day
Schedules are there to motivate you, not discourage you! Plan for taking a couple days off each week, the problems in your set getting harder (taking longer to solve so you solve fewer per day), etc. Some eschew schedules altogether.
animalsafariranger> map out for the number of circles(must it be seven?
Well, the end goal is to be able to quickly see the tactical ideas in all the positions. If you accomplish than in six circles, wonderful! It takes most people seven.
Is seven circles really the end? Of course not, if chess is going to be a lifelong hobby for you. You'll probably want to maintain your vision (with infrequent extra circles) or begin the process anew with harder problems.
animalsafariranger> are you saying if you plan to do 100 puzzles today, but you only managed 80, then tomorrow do you add 20+whatever you have for that day?
An ideal problem set will take between 7 days and 64 days to complete (at whatever pace you choose... 30min/day, 60min/day, etc). At the end of 64 days, even if you have not finished your problem set, you should start again at the beginning (your next circle). From experience, it's much better to miss a few problems than to delay starting the second circle.
animalsafariranger> I'm taking a major exam this year and probably can't follow the program until Dec. But it's interesting(:
You can't find 30 min / day for tactics? Oh well, gotta keep priorities.
You improve A LOT from playing people way way better than you, but only if you don't get discouraged. My parents got me a chess board computer when I was young, and played it constantly for like three years. I kept thinking I almost had it, that I was just a move away from winning. As I progressed I realized that my earlier attempts were not even close, but much of the time I was sure I could beat it. Eventaully, I thought I wasn't getting any better. I had never beat it.
Then I started playing in high school. I not only beat but demolished everyone. I kept improving until I finally played the guy that everyone at school that played chess considered to be all but unstoppable. It wasn't even close. Of course, I had little positional understanding, but my tactics carried me through. I think other training is very helpful, and has helped my chess...but playing chess with people better than you is invaluable.
A former California state high school champion told me when I was learning that if a skilled player plays a less skilled player constantly, the skilled player will get worse, and the worse player will get better. If you want to get better, play people better than you. The better they are, the better, so long as you don't get discouraged.
You improve A LOT from playing people way way better than you, but only if you don't get discouraged. My parents got me a chess board computer when I was young, and played it constantly for like three years. I kept thinking I almost had it, that I was just a move away from winning. As I progressed I realized that my earlier attempts were not even close, but much of the time I was sure I could beat it. Eventaully, I thought I wasn't getting any better. I had never beat it.
Then I started playing in high school. I not only beat but demolished everyone. I kept improving until I finally played the guy that everyone at school that played chess considered to be all but unstoppable. It wasn't even close. Of course, I had little positional understanding, but my tactics carried me through. I think other training is very helpful, and has helped my chess...but playing chess with people better than you is invaluable.
A former California state high school champion told me when I was learning that if a skilled player plays a less skilled player constantly, the skilled player will get worse, and the worse player will get better. If you want to get better, play people better than you. The better they are, the better, so long as you don't get discouraged.
you make a lot of sense(: That's what I strive for, playing better players but not experts. I'm the best in my school (but there's one player who can beat me if I wasn't in the mood and doing blunders), and yet, in the real chess world, I'm not even near the top.
At home, I learnt to love the game from my father, who was a great player in his prime (so he refuses to tell me his rating, but from his games on yahoo! chess EVERY DAY, I would say he was around 1600-1700). Won huge trophies too. My two little brothers played too, though Gabriel, the older one of the two, went to chess club earlier than I did as my primary school did not have one in my year.
I started playing and learning and joining tournies in secondary school, ironically Gabriel dropped chess when he went to secondary school. He used to be my match and a good opponent for me to pit my skills against and improve, but nowadays without practise he is dwindling. My other brother just knows the basics. AND, my father absolutely refuses to play with me, complaining that I was lousy and it wasted his time (Huh!), although I've improved a little since.
So it's kind of sad to say that hey, I've no good players to train with OTB. That's why I love tournaments so much and why I play on chess.com and sometimes yahoo!.
Schedules are there to motivate you, not discourage you! Plan for taking a couple days off each week, the problems in your set getting harder (taking longer to solve so you solve fewer per day), etc. Some eschew schedules altogether.
Well, the end goal is to be able to quickly see the tactical ideas in all the positions. If you accomplish than in six circles, wonderful! It takes most people seven.
Is seven circles really the end? Of course not, if chess is going to be a lifelong hobby for you. You'll probably want to maintain your vision (with infrequent extra circles) or begin the process anew with harder problems.
An ideal problem set will take between 7 days and 64 days to complete (at whatever pace you choose... 30min/day, 60min/day, etc). At the end of 64 days, even if you have not finished your problem set, you should start again at the beginning (your next circle). From experience, it's much better to miss a few problems than to delay starting the second circle.
You can't find 30 min / day for tactics? Oh well, gotta keep priorities.
so if you can't complete the puzzles and go onto the next circle, like stop at 80 instead of 100, then the 2nd circle do you shift your schedule to do 80 and not 100?
YEAH! I love chess a lot and hope that I won't be too busy in college so I can continue pursuing chess (planning to join the outdoor club too so that's why I need to be not-busy).
well, I'll try 30min/day if I can then! Any good books you recommend for tactics training (I can't download chess programs on my computer cos it's shared and my dad won't let anyway), ranked in order of difficulty?
Thanks!
Yup, I went there but I couldn't find the part about the De La Maza method. Anyone tried the method? Does the short 400questions seven circles work as well?
If you go to this page and do a Find on "400" you'll find the two articles pretty quickly (they summarize what's in the book mentioned above), and the articles (two PDFs) are called "400 Points in 400 Days." I've integrated some of these ideas into my own training, but going whole hog with the "Circles" would require me to quit my job, renounce my family, and cut off all ties to the outside world. (Ok, maybe it's not quite that bad, but it is the triathlon training approach to chess improvement.)
One thing about the Circles method is that it leaves stuff like openings and strategy totally out in the cold, which has garnered some negative reviews by folks like Jeremy Silman. However, there's no doubt it would improve one's eye for tactics.