For some reason DVDs put me to sleep. I only have a few and occasiionally pull them out but i can't get caught up on what they are saying. I find books are much better because you are actually doing something even if you are just reading and if you are playing through a game on a board and guessing the next move or going through some variations that helps to keep your mind moving. I guess chess is such an abstract subject it's hard to make a video, it's like making a video about calculus or Leibnitz's philosophy. That being said, i don't think the people who put out the videos take much trouble to liven things up. A chessboard and a goofy looking guy moving the pieces or else a screen that looks like a bad copy of Fritz. No effort to get into the personalities of the players if it's a match or the drama of the moment. Even a picture of Capablanca or Fischer or Tal would help. I bought one of roman's, on the Scotch I think, a vcr tape. There he was hunched over the board, speaking in that strange accent, really confident that everything he said was the last word on the opening. I also have on of Kasparov on DVD and it's like your college professor who is so far ahead of his students he is intimidating. The best i have is of Andrew Martin, who seems down to earth,full of good humor, and most of all enthusiastic about his subject. He doesn't drown you in variations, but he gives you the gist of the position. But in all in all i would tell someone learning to stick to the books and for videos go to youtube where there's a lot of amateurs like yourself who love the game and ITS FREE.
DVDs (Fritztrainer, Polgar, Roman)
Appreciate the advice. I've got so many books, and I plan to read them, but it is much harder to do that on an elliptical where my sweat will destroy the pages.
As far as free videos on youtube, I am sure there are tons. The problem for someone at my level is that there is no structure, organization, or coherence to the myriads of subjects presented for someone as chessically ignorant as me. And because there are so many, there is no sense of how many I need to see before I can move to a different subject...it feels like hit-and-miss watching.
With a DVD series (like Danny King's Power Play or Polgar's or the Fritz ABCs), I feel like even if the material is boring of too difficult, if I can just get through it once I'll have exposed myself to a number of ideas and themes through the eyes of an experienced GM in some sort of logical order. Of course, I'll study books, tactics, endgames, and play when I am not watching these DVD's on the elliptical and hopefully it'll add up over the course of a few years.
I think you might be expecting a bit much from videos. Most of them are sort of disorganized as if the GM is just talking off the top of his head without having planned it out at all. When writers make a book though, they can go back, and edit, and impose some kind of order on the chapters. There are also editors who go over it, and give them feedback. Most videos I've seen are filled with odds and ends that don't really make up any kind of coherent whole.
This bites...is there a good way to learn chess while on an elliptical? I just don't have that much consistent free time and to use it for exercise makes life no fun, yet I am slowly killing myself with trans fats and by avoiding exercise, so I feel I gotta do something, but I don't want to break my addiction to chess just yet.
You can try watching videos, but I do think that the ones on youtube are probably a pretty good representation of the kind of quality you are going to find.
I don't know if this will help your chess, but there are some interesting movies with a chess theme: Searching for Bobby Fischer, Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine, Kasparov's My Story, Bobby Fischer Anything to Win, the BBC's Clash of the Titans. Those might be a bit more engaging than your average instructional video.
I may just have to test drive a DVD and see what it's like, whether it is worthwhile or if I should just watch cartoons instead while on the elliptical, cutting my workout time in half so as not to cut into chess time...gotta break out of my slump, but gotta lose some weight too...not enough hours in the day. Thanks for your suggestions.
If you are going to buy a DVD I recommend Roman all the way to the top of Mount Everest. I have literally sampled almost every chess DVD on the market and nothing beats good old Roman Dzidichashvili when it comes to sub-Expert instruction.
Thanks algernonn for the link, that's some good stuff...some of those positions and endgames have very long solutions! Your idea is probably best if I can figure out a way to not sweat all over the pages and have to squint my eyes at the pages while moving and trying to solve (visualization practice, I guess).
zxb995511, you are the first in this thread to give Roman the thumbs up...at first I thought you were joking with the phrases "Mount Everest" followed by "sub-Expert", but now I can see you are probably serious. I notice Roman seems to have many DVDs out there, including his 28 DVDs followed by several additional ones including Roman and Rybka. Why do you like Roman's DVDs and why do others hate his work so much? Thanks!
Thanks algernonn for the link, that's some good stuff...some of those positions and endgames have very long solutions! Your idea is probably best if I can figure out a way to not sweat all over the pages and have to squint my eyes at the pages while moving and trying to solve (visualization practice, I guess).
zxb995511, you are the first in this thread to give Roman the thumbs up...at first I thought you were joking with the phrases "Mount Everest" followed by "sub-Expert", but now I can see you are probably serious. I notice Roman seems to have many DVDs out there, including his 28 DVDs followed by several additional ones including Roman and Rybka. Why do you like Roman's DVDs and why do others hate his work so much? Thanks!
Most people (me included) have a problem with Roman's BOOKS. Which as far as chess instruction goes, are average or even below average. I would highly recommend NOT buying Roman's books- they are filled with a chicken scratch of a notation that will bore you half to sleep after a few pages...In contrast his DVD's are a work of genius. If you can tolerate his accent you can learn alot more from his DVD's than many others. I read a comment in this thread that said that "Roman leaves stuff out" and the truth is that he does. But this is the escence of his DVDs- he only shows you what is relevant. He dosen't bore you with a million variations about some useless sideline no one plays. He gives you "popular variations" "main lines" and EXPLAINS to you why anything else is simply bad. In his in depth DVDs he does go the whole 9 yards but his way of teaching chess is entertaining either way because he is always humorous and explains things to satisfaction. The only short-coming of his DVDs is that they aren't meant for anyone above 2200 (MASTER) level at which time you would want to knit-pick and find something that talks more about variations than ideas, principles, stategy and planning.
Another note I would like to make is that if you are short on cash, therefore cannot afford Roman's whole series and have a rating lower than 2000 FIDE I woulde HIGHLY recommend buying a copy of CHESSMATER 9000 (or X or Grandmaster edition) and taking all of Josh Waitzkin's courses they will solidify your chess skills quick, but have a lesser learning value the higher your rating gets. You can pick up a copy of CM 9000 or X for 5-7 dollars on amazon.com.
I own chessmaster XI, and since I am well below 2200 I will consider Roman's stuff as well...I kind of like his openings books with Alburt, so maybe the DVDs will blow me away. Thanks zxb995511. I've got a good mix of suggestions with pros and cons. Thanks everyone.
If you want to watch a video while doing an elliptical or bike or whatever i would think actual games like historic battles between Kaparov and Karpov or Morphy against Andersson. Maybe i'm wrong but learning videos are a form of mental torture and physical exercise is a form of torture so combining them wouldn't be wise. You'd get to hate both. You need something to take your mind off the physical side of it, so maybe (if you want chess) do the entertainment side of it and hope the ideas rub off. Or just watch porno and be done with it. Why everybody wants to do twelve things at once is beyond me. There's a certain pleasure in exercise, release of morphines or something that can't be shared. Is life too short we want to do as much as possible before turning out the lights? Of course, all this is just me--you don't have to pay the slightest bit of attention.
the first six daniel king dvds are basic and very good i own ten they do get harder
If you want to watch a video while doing an elliptical or bike or whatever i would think actual games like historic battles between Kaparov and Karpov or Morphy against Andersson. Maybe i'm wrong but learning videos are a form of mental torture and physical exercise is a form of torture so combining them wouldn't be wise. You'd get to hate both. You need something to take your mind off the physical side of it, so maybe (if you want chess) do the entertainment side of it and hope the ideas rub off. Or just watch porno and be done with it. Why everybody wants to do twelve things at once is beyond me. There's a certain pleasure in exercise, release of morphines or something that can't be shared. Is life too short we want to do as much as possible before turning out the lights? Of course, all this is just me--you don't have to pay the slightest bit of attention.
It is an attempt to be practical more than overextending myself. Chess is essentially my only hobby at the moment. There simply are not enough hours in the day to exercise and have a strong hobby and work 50-70 hours a week job and sleep adequately and keep up with developments in one's career, let alone have time for relationships/family/friends, etc.
I was hoping that chess DVDs would save me time in that I'd be learning some chess while exercising (something I need to do to kill myself less faster), but it seems everyone, even people who have good things to say about some DVDs, essentially feel that DVD-learning is rather ineffective.
Your advice may be sound, I may look into some "entertainment" DVDs if I decide to go this route, but I may also try just reading the books that I wanted to read anyway and see if I can stomach simultaneous exercise with squinting at pages, trying to solve chess problems, and drenching those pages with my filth and sweat...that way I would not have to deviate from my master study plan. If this becomes an abyssmal failure, I guess I'll reconsider and give the DVDs a try and compare "learning" DVDs with "entertainment"...much to consider, maybe I should just work part time...nope, credit card and student loan debts...crap.
But I do appreciate the advice and perspective, thanks.
I don't want to piss off the true GM of this site nor trouble myself with getting internet set up at home (then I'd be very unproductive), I'll probably still look into buying some DVD's anyway, especially Danny King who seems well appreciated and has a nice coherent series.
Thanks for the suggestions.