Kotov Method for improvement - Chess Forums - Page 2

Martin_Stahl

Mar 1, 2016

0

#21

Wow, this discussion took a slight detour.

The OP was only asking about a particular exercise presented by Kotov. It is the same idea people refer to as a Stokyo exercise.

You don't need to be a master to benefit from such an exercise. The benefit is to practice calculations and positional evalution, then comparing what you got with what the master analysis came up with. It can show you places where you are weak and where you didn't see certain parts of a position.

You also don't necessarily need to study a position from a master game. All you really need is a well analyzed position so you can compare your thought process and evaluation with the analysis.

One could argue if the exercise is the best use of a player's time but there are benefits in it.

TheKnightOne

Mar 1, 2016

0

#22

Martin_Stahl wrote:

Wow, this discussion took a slight detour.

The OP was only asking about a particular exercise presented by Kotov. It is the same idea people refer to as a Stokyo exercise.

You don't need to be a master to benefit from such an exercise. The benefit is to practice calculations and positional evalution, then comparing what you got with what the master analysis came up with. It can show you places where you are weak and where you didn't see certain parts of a position.

You also don't necessarily need to study a position from a master game. All you really need is a well analyzed position so you can compare your thought process and evaluation with the analysis.

One could argue if the exercise is the best use of a player's time but there are benefits in it.

Thank you Martin Stahl for actually addressing the question at hand. All I'm wondering is where I can find good games that are solidly annotated ... that's it. Please, to future posters, if you know of well annotated games or good annotators of games, let me know where I might be able to find them. Posted links could help as well.

najdorf96

Mar 3, 2016

0

#23

Hey. I apologize for the back n forth between easy & I.

I just wanted to say that Tal's last work, Attack with Mikhail Tal, isn't a hard read. He annotated a lot of his own games, including the many variations in a very charming & simple way. Though you're looking for annotated games, I believe it's a great read.

mcmodern

Mar 3, 2016

0

#24

TheKnightOne wrote:

Hello, I am 1300+/- player looking to get better at chess. I have heard that the absolute best way to do this is to study master games. Kotov suggests picking a good annotated game collection and working through the moves in a game until the position becomes fairly complicated where you put the book away and think long and hard for 15-20 mins to analyse all the possible variations. Then you would compare them with those of the annotator. The problem is that good master games to use include good annotators that aren't heavy on strictly variations without words (e.g. ... 17. Nf5 e7 18. exf5...on and on....), which can be laborious, but rather annotations that DESCRIBE WHY a move is good or bad. My question is: What are some good games/game collections that are good for this or what are some good annotators that I might be able to look for? Any links posted might also help.

Regards,... TheKnightOne.

Just make sure you do not pick Korchnoi to study.

LorenzInvariance

Mar 3, 2016

0

#25

TheKnightOne wrote:

Thank you Martin Stahl for actually addressing the question at hand. All I'm wondering is where I can find good games that are solidly annotated ... that's it. Please, to future posters, if you know of well annotated games or good annotators of games, let me know where I might be able to find them. Posted links could help as well.

Rather than thinking in terms of which book, I like the question of which grandmasters to study. I would prefer the ones who are known to play wild and sharp games. 

In quiet positions, there are many possible candidate moves - no annotator will be able to cover each and every move.

I, therefore recommend, Mikhail Tal by Mikhail Tal to start with.

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Games-Mikhail-Tal/dp/1857442024

rothbard959

Mar 4, 2016

0

#26

Taking snapshots of each crital positions arose from GM games is the only way to make real progress. Storing this flashcards and revisit them regularly keep you updated and you'll become a master of certain positions. This is called old secret Soviet method! Good news, it still works brilliantly.

Amanda2018

Mar 4, 2016

0

#27

miriskra wrote:

Taking snapshots of each crital positions arose from GM games is the only way to make real progress. Storing this flashcards and revisit them regularly keep you updated and you'll become a master of certain positions. This is called old secret Soviet method! Good news, it still works brilliantly.

but . . . a GM will deviate from basic principles to such an extent that unless your already a somewhat accomplished player... or at least familiar wit what good chess is "suppose" to look like it's discombobulating to try and get in their head? thats the case for ME anywayz :)

wayne_thomas

Mar 4, 2016

0

#28

Books of annotated games (from easier to harder)

Irving Chernev - Logical Chess Move by Move

Irving Chernev - The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played

Neil McDonald - Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking

Neil McDonald - The Art of Planning in Chess Move by Move

Yasser Seirawan - Winning Chess Brilliancies

Max Euwe - Chess Master versus Chess Amateur

Max Euwe - The Road to Chess Mastery

Neil McDonald - Chess Secrets: The Giants of Strategy

John Nunn, John Emms and Graham Burgess - The Mammoth Book of Greatest Chess Games

John Nunn - Understanding Chess Move by Move

David Bronstein - Zurich 1953

In general, any games collection with the words "Move by Move" or "Instructive" in the title is going to have more explanation than variations.

cdowis75

Mar 11, 2016

0

#29

Here is my suggestion. Look at videos here at chess.com and ICC and find an annotator who "speaks" to you and take his game and go over it with his comments. ICC has a series call "Game of the Week", so you may find something useful there -- he is pretty good as a commentator.

fuzzbug

Mar 11, 2016

0

#30

There is this :

https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/how-to-perform-stoyko-exercises

As far as Youtube is concerned, I like to watch IM John Bartholomew, because he annotates "on the fly", while he is playing a live game. He gives variations, both for his moves and for the other color; sometimes he is surprised by his opponent's move, and re-analyzes. He makes it look easy, (like all accomplished players) and most importantly, possible to learn.

His chess fundamentals are instructive, and his tactics vids also, to get inside his mind and see how a higher-rated player thinks.

TheKnightOne

Apr 1, 2016

0

#31

Some good ideas here!! If anyone else has any other suggestions I'd love to have them :)

hhnngg1

Apr 1, 2016

0

#32

TheKnightOne wrote:

Some good ideas here!! If anyone else has any other suggestions I'd love to have them :)

I actually think this book is by far and away your best bet for annotated games.

http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Most-Instructive-Amateur-Game/dp/1936277433

I have it, have read it in detail, and it's probably perfect for taking you to the next level.

A lot of masters/IMs here will dump on Dan Heisman and his 'amateur' teaching methods, but honestly, the 'simple' concepts he presents in these games are critical, and if you don't learn them, you will never improve past a very low level no matter how many other concepts you study.

One of the most eye-opening things in this book for me were:

- How to properly develop pieces in the opening. At 1200-1400, you might THINK you're doing it right, but more often than not, you're making small but significant errors by moving a piece twice, attacking early, not developing your Q, etc.

- He spends a lot of time on time control for tournament games. Even though I don't play tournament games, the thinking about how to use time is unique and valuable.

- His annotations are generally simpler and more accessible than GM-level analysis or even IM level analysis, which can be over my head.

- He does unfortunately say 'the engine says this line is best..." which seems like a cop out but in his defense, a lot of GMs do the same when the engine line is markedly better than their idea.

A big problem with the (otherwise excellent) booklist above is that none of those books really address beginner-intermediate level play and thought errors. The simplest book in that list above is "Chess Brilliancies" by Seirawan, and having borrowed it from the library, it's again, not as important as getting the fundamental principles that Heisman shows in the amateur games.

I have a fair amount of issues with the Heisman game book, but all in all, I haven't found a better one I'd recommend myself for players <1400 blitz here. (<1600 standard)

TheKnightOne

Apr 2, 2016

0

#33

hhnngg1 wrote:

TheKnightOne wrote:

Some good ideas here!! If anyone else has any other suggestions I'd love to have them :)

I actually think this book is by far and away your best bet for annotated games.

http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Most-Instructive-Amateur-Game/dp/1936277433

I have it, have read it in detail, and .......

.......have a fair amount of issues with the Heisman game book, but all in all, I haven't found a better one I'd recommend myself for players <1400 blitz here. (<1600 standard)

Wow hhnngg1! I appreciate your complete thoughts on it! I'll be looking into it.

Anyone else, feel free to add to or introduce any other ideas !

TheKnightOne

Apr 2, 2016

0

#34

pfren wrote:

najdorf96 wrote:

Hey. I apologize for the back n forth between easy & I.

I just wanted to say that Tal's last work, Attack with Mikhail Tal, isn't a hard read. He annotated a lot of his own games, including the many variations in a very charming & simple way. Though you're looking for annotated games, I believe it's a great read.

Tal's books are great (the self-annotated ones), but Tal's games is really hard to understand, even for titled players (including myself). IMO one should start with something simpler, and get on Tal when he has developed some sort of "chess intuition".

Thoughts on what you might recommend pfren?

kindaspongey

Apr 2, 2016

0

#35

Possibly helpful:

Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf

Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf

The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/

The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book by Dan Heisman

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092834/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review872.pdf

TheKnightOne

Apr 2, 2016

0

#36

Morphysrevenges:

I'm assuming they did their own annotations?

Anyone?

kindaspongey

Apr 2, 2016

0

#37

Capablanca wrote books. Not Morphy.

wayne_thomas

Apr 3, 2016

0

#38

Capablanca's most popular book is Chess Fundamentals. GM Valeri Beim has a book called Paul Morphy: A Modern Perspective.

kindaspongey

Apr 3, 2016

0

#39

"In this column I want to give an overview of the sophisticated e+Chess app by e+Books ..., which can be used on both IPad, IPhone and touch IPod. ... The app itself is free from the Apple itunes store; ... You get a free sample book, Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals, ..." - IM John Watson (2013)

http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/john-watson-book-review-107-of-eplus-and-chess-praxis

For Morphy, one alternative is A First Book of Morphy.

https://www.chess.com/blog/Chessmo/review-a-first-book-of-morphy

TheKnightOne

Apr 5, 2016

0

#40

Sounds like a good idea...

Anyone else for recommendations for MASTER Games that have GOOD ANNOTATIONS that EXPLAIN what is going on in the game and does not just list endless variations that don't have explainations?