Nobody has yet become a Grandmaster by watching chess videos... True or False?

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gattaca
pfren wrote:

Chess videos are the worst learning medium by far- if not for any other reason, then for the simple one that they make the student confuse chess with TV.

Ouch! Now we'll wait for other IM and GM reactions. Smile

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ponz111

Becomming a grandmaster is just too difficult to rely on any one medium to learn.

Ruby-Fischer
netzach wrote:

Yes i can understand Michael-G's frustration at Scottrf's statements (youthful-arrogance perhaps but misguided). 

The assessment of a complex-chess position requires far more than simple learning-by-rote from books or videos (though these will do no harm)

Unlikely you will become GM this way as further & less easily-defined skills are required. Few people possess enough of these to make GM.

One video that '' may '' be worth watching again is this cameo-portrait of our current top-rated human-being in the World at chess :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc_v9mTfhC8

What struck me when watching that was his comment that he '' Just looks at the board & he knows what to move ''. This cannot be learned from a video or book.

Magnus is  pretty amazing. Saw him at the Chess Classic, he doesn't seem to sit at the board long, he wanders about the stage looking at the other boards, sits down, makes his move and off again...   

Ruby-Fischer

I watched a few video's but I think Im getting worse, not better. 

Peace_Mbele

True, practise makes perfect, and u just can't keep on watching videos and say okay,okay,okay until u'v also tried it out, but still false can be the right answer because u might gain a lot of stuff and predict their moves etc. And it will improve ur logic but trust me it might take years and years, I mean yeaaars for u to be a grandmaster(it can only happern if ur already a gifted chess player and ur an advanced or an intermediate and u watch about approximately upper than a million of chess videos which u'l be bored because ur not making that move and u'd eventually stop)

Peace_Mbele

True, practise makes perfect, and u just can't keep on watching videos and say okay,okay,okay until u'v also tried it out, but still false can be the right answer because u might gain a lot of stuff and predict their moves etc. And it will improve ur logic but trust me it might take years and years, I mean yeaaars for u to be a grandmaster(it can only happern if ur already a gifted chess player and ur an advanced or an intermediate and u watch about approximately upper than a million of chess videos which u'l be bored because ur not making that move and u'd eventually stop)

netzach
Ruby-Fischer wrote:

I watched a few video's but I think Im getting worse, not better. 

That's right & chess being so widely studied there is references available on stuff like pattern-recognition, sacrificial-analysis etc. Some people like Magnus have it almost as a gift, but anyone starting in chess from the ground-up is going to need to develop these qualities alongside regular-study if they seriously want to make it to GM. 

apawndown
Eopithecus wrote:

You want to play chess better. You have to do it by playing chess. It is you that has to think about what you are doing at the chessboard. Watching videos may help slightly at the beginning but you are going to have to play chess and analyze your own games preferably with a stronger human player. Each loss should be a mystery that has to be discovered and prevented from happening again and that will involve your own thinking. So keep a notebook and play a decently long game 30 minutes at least so you have time to actually think. Replay games and analysis from a favorite player come across an interesting position write it down. Try a variety of openings from wildy bizarre like g4 or b4 to Classics like the Ruy Lopez and the Sicilian. After you get experience pick what you think you do the worst and find out why. Attack your weaknesses. As a beginning player do nothing but tactics and I mean nothing else till you get to 1500 here. Without a strong foundation in tactics you just waste your time. Tactics will never go away they just get harder as you improve. Once you have the tactics basics down then openings and endgames mainly endgames. When you get to 1800 then do more on the openings but still never forget tactics and endings.at 2000 deepen your openings and still tactics and endgames. Here I will have to pass you off to someone better than me to give advice.

To start tactics Get two books 1001 Combinations and 1001 Checkmates spend no more than 5 to 10 minutes on a position remember the goal is learning not necessarily solving. Redo each book untill you score 90 percent without looking at the solution. Then you should have a solid foundation to build upon. Pay attention to the tactical patterns too.

As a former chess teacher/organizer in schools,  I think this advice hits the bullseye.  Tactics!  Tactics!  More tactics!  Endings! . . . well, you get the idea! Don't study openings all by themselves,  but always through playing over complete games.  (Computers make this so much easier.)   Most chess videos that I've seen don't seem to help much in these things,  but they have a place.

ponz111

Actually the whole question is kinda a poor question.

varunrambharose

IM pfren...u up for a match buddy.....show me you can beat me in a long match....im back to chess after 8 years.....lets see who the better man is..

varunrambharose

Enlighten me by showing ur skills that u have accumulated by studying the game,,,lets see what ur study has got...on the other hand, im back to chess just because of videos from gods like Gm dzindi, shanky,dan rensch,khachiyan etc, they have trigerred my love for the game once again....lets see what u have got pfren.....lets have a match, whenever ur free...u can also post the game after beating me if u can so that ur words make more sense to people......for the sake of love for the game,, pls lets play once....whenever u want day or night, but i would love to see ur concepts...

Books vs videos once and for all..lets play....

 

im just rated 1796(FIDE) and that too out of form so shud be a cake walk 4 ya...so lets see if u hav got it in u to smother a 1796....well do u accept my challenge mr.pfren

varunrambharose

i understand that a lot of minutes in the videos of dzin are non value adding from the point of view of the game...however look at his opening videos...i think he has done great justice as far as Nimzo Indian and Bogo indian series is concerned.....ofcourse he cant spoon feed me at this level,but watching the videos saves a lot of time for a person like me who would love to but cant devote full time to study chess....

also as far as chess base is concerned i felt videos from Dan King were amazing....the point i wanna make is short and simple...no doubts books are our best friend but not everyone who truly love chess has the bandwidth to study the magnificent game....videos could be of great use to them....

As a player (pfren) ur much better than im and there is no denying the fact..and may be thats precisely why u feel the videos are not helpful....

the videos gives me a base to restart my chess from where i can continue my research on the games and positions....once again i truly feel that for an average 1800 -2000 level player the videos could be of great help..

 

anyways im no one to decide whats good for whom....All the best to everyone...do what suits u the best but keep lovin chess...

George1st

I became a chess master by watching videos and they were just latest release movies, nothing to do with chess. 

I highly recommend..!

Bubatz

While I'll never become a master anyway, I have to say that I wish chess videos like those of IM Rensch would have been available in the 1970ies when I would have profited from them most.

Callous

Since this topic is about videos and all, could any of you recommend some good YouTube channels on chess?

Daeru

ChessNetwork

Tom500
Callous wrote:

Since this topic is about videos and all, could any of you recommend some good YouTube channels on chess?

Kingcrusher , Chessexplained

Mac42

So, you're saying Morphy, Steinitz, et al did not study chess videos? Unbelievable!

grandmasterxpchesser

I don't really look at chess.com videos but youtube videos, videos have helped me tremendously and how to open up but I really look at various games played by grandmasters. At my local chess club I beaten a guy that specializes in the french defense and because of videos in the french defense I was able to beat him.

Skand

Clearly false.

Just yesterday my niece's 5 year old daughter was crying, so we put a chess video in front of her and left the room.

After some time when we went into the room again, we found her to be a full fledged grandmaster. She had started beating Anand - I mean, really thrashing.

PS:

My niece was quick to admonish her daughter, "you naughty girl, stop hitting your 2 year old kid brother".