Inspired by a legend --

Hello chess.com community,

Today I received my copy of "The Soviet Chess Primer", I heard it is a great book in which you can learn a great deal. And, despite the name, it gets rather advanced fairly quickly. I thought I would give it a go. 

So I read the introduction and the "For Beginners" pages just now and wanted to share a few things that really inspired me.

The introduction was written by Emanuel Lasker in 1936, and in the introduction he says:

"... be aware of mechanically following the advice of others. He [the chess player] should not play by rote. Studying material from books or from the words of a teacher is not enough - the student most form his own judgements and stand by them persistently. Otherwise he will be playing chess in the same way that a parrot pronounces words - without understanding their sense."

This reminded me of how so many of us learn openings, just blind recital of lines of theory. And how we robotically follow the "rules of chess" without ever questioning them.

He later says.
" A defeat would distress me; it would always make me try to identify my mistake and work out some better continuation. In this way, in the course of time, I acquired a keen awareness of what is good and what is bad, what is generally strong and what amounts to a mere delusive mirage."

I do not believe I have ever heard a more eloquent plea for chess players every where to analysis their games.

And yet he continues,

"The perfecting of technique alone is a thankless task. What it perfects is a dead capability, suited to winning games against ignorant opponents and nothing else - whereas the faculty of thinking and conceiving plans remains constantly alive and can bring benefit in the most unexpected manner, not only in chess but in life itself."

I couldn't help but to think about "400 points in 400 Days" when I read this. Many times we look for the snake oil for instant success, just do a 1000 tactics in the circle of seven and you to can become an expert. 

And keeping with the philosophy that there are no short cuts, Mr. Lasker makes this promise,
" .. and after serving his term of chess apprenticeship he may become a fully - fledged artist of the game."

The introduction is full of inspiring words from a world champion. Mr. Lasker's passion for the game is evident in the introduction of "The Soviet Chess Premier" as well as his desire for every player to enjoy and master the game as much as their time and circumstances allow.

If the education parts of the book are any where near as good as the introduction to the book, this may have been one of the best purchases I have made in a long time.

Allow me to end with one last quote of instruction - 

"Your chief goal should be to learn how to interpret the positions in a game, how to evaluate them and analyse the various possibilities. The path to better understanding of chess, the path to mastery, is one all players tread gradually."

May you all enjoy the journey where ever it takes you!

Ken_Ken010