Pros and Cons of reading chess books

1300s--you can beat the brains out of your neighbor, but you will have a hard time breaking even in an open, adult tourney of some reasonable size.

I don't include scholastics. Sometimes four digit ratings are scarce there.

When I first started with the USCF there was a 1300 guy who seemed pretty big to me too, but he was actually sub-standard. Average adult was 1600-1700s then, and rarely did ratings get as low as the 1100s.

Give it time. You could well be 1600 strength before summer is over, even, with work and practice.

I have no idea why I clicked here, just in the Most Recent Post sections.
You truly are a wafflemaster. Whats your home page design thingy called? I want it, it feels nice that black and yellow :O.

I am around, and I can certainly say you cannot improve over 500 points online, maybe 200-300 after lots of practice.

reading books and stuff? (I havn't read OP/Firstpost yet, but oh well) I dont fancy it as I take chess as a habit, but playing in tournaments and stuff will help a lot, ESPECIALLY OTB as that "forces" you to go through a whole game in one go. A lot of thinking is required and that will train you =)

Online chess for me has made me a "specialist" in bullet/fast chess. Sadly, I now feel im lacking in long play and, aka, therefore, real accurate chess :( However, im sure my OTB will have improved very slightly, and shouldnt take this as a negative view :D

I just read in the post above this you don't have a USCF rating, but you already know the 1300s have no decent level of understanding?

One thing I like about OTB tourney is that they're so long that your mistakes are burned deeply into your memory.  I may study something in a book and honestly I'll forget it a few weeks later unless I make a special note or use it in a game or something.

But when I take 20 minutes trying to decide if I should do this or that, and spend the next 3 hours playing out the reslut of my decision, and even further, after looking at it in analysis it turns out I made the wrong decision... you can bet I'm going to remember that one for years

nobody (other than a natural) can get through professionial chess without a decent chess book.

Agreed. i know someone who knows someone who knows someone who went insane with a chess library

Yes, but I tried to say that you've never played them "under circumstances that allow the games to be rated by USCF". Then they may turn out to be a lot tougher than one would have expected

Sure.  Studying a book over and over trying to get all it's info into your head is great.  And if I set aside a weekend and read a few chapters very intensely I'm sure I'd remember them for a long long time.  But I don't really have the self-motivation for that kinda thing.  Tournaments are fun, and engrave lessons.  Iike my post started out "One thing I like about..."   I'm sure others have their own favorite things.

Children, children, please remember chess is just a game

I would like the capablanca's legend were true (Im cuban, he is my fellow country man) but it's not. He had to study sometimes to keep up with the theory,  his games show that.

Also, the Nakamura's statement is just a subproduct of his superinflated ego. Nothing against superegos, I dont care, but is misleading for developing players, like the first one, who thinks that he does not need a book because he can beat somebody who reads. Really? Tell me what kind of activity involving pure thinking does not need a book, or a lot. (I can say as well I have known a lot of good players -Gms, IMs- who used to say that they dont study nor read books; the reasoning is this: I dont study, anyways Im a master, hence Im a genius; is just ego trash talking) No gm got there without books, and currently, with databases and such.

@rudy-clark: there are four stages of competence (click to read), you, unfortunately, are in the first one. Again, unfortunately for you, many chessplayers, even if they are beginners, are in the second stage; is just common sense. Im not trying to offend you, just to make you think. Pros?: To get better, you need books. Cons?:If you want to dedicate your life to another thing, remember that anyways you will need to learn from others. Books, people's knowledge are there for a reason.

To add something: the greatests, Bobby, Kasparov, Botvinnik, Alekhine (not making a list here, there is more), used to read and study a lot. Why don't we?

Stages of competence, interesting.

I'm sure different chess players would have different ideas about stages 3 and 4.  You'd likely have to break chess itself into a set a subskills i.e. not even top GMs will say they've mastered openings or endgames.  More likely they'd say they're the best KID or grunfeld player.

As for a guy like me, I'm at stage 4 concerning how the pieces move and noticing one move threats :D

You've got to go with your instincts. If your gut to tells you it's not time for books, but it's time to work on some other part of your game, then great! Go with that. If the student is dilligent enough, important leaps in chess can be made without books.

Some people learn better by watching chess videos or just lots of tournament play. Find out which method is best for you. However, there are no cons to reading chess books. That idea is preposterous.

rudy-clark

i would love to play you, i'm interested in seeing how good a natural is.

keep up the good work.

Take Bobby for instance---the guy was a bookaholic. He had books all over his apt.

Bobby once said he read a 1,000 chess books and digested the core from every one. However, if he was starting out today he would be on the computer all day long. He would still be a bookaholic but he would be reading them on the computer, and studying, and playing, and discussing chess---on the computer just like Nakamura and his contemporaries.

Hey, the times they are a changing

Well, if Bobby was starting out today he would be utilizing 90% of his time on computers. In fact during his last years he was into computer chess a lot. You got to go with the flo---Spaghettio! Computer chess is where its at---shake the cobwebs out of your head my friend and get with it!!! A computer today can store 1000 books, a thousand videos, millions of chess games, billions of variations and would allow you to explore these variations without having to set up the board or lose your place. Thats why players are stronger today Spaghett---COMPUTERS!

I like to read all sorts of books with the exception of non chess books!