Yusupov's book

I have boost your chess vol 1 as well as build up your chess vol 2 and chess evolution mastery vol 3.

But I find most of the chapters either easy or too difficult.

Can someone recommend me how to stay motivated?

Personally, I stay motivated a couple of ways:

1) I have a post about my Yusupov progress that I update every time I finish another chapter. Feel free to post your progress in my post, or create your own. I also keep a blog and update my progress there.

2) I don't just play a ton of blitz and bullet here on the site. I spend the majority of my time playing longer games against my computer and at club. Seeing progress in how I am doing at that keeps me motivated to keep doing Yusupov. If I depended on progress at blitz I would have quit. My blitz is horrible and has stayed horrible. I'm much stronger at longer time limits.

3) I try to actively incorporate some of his ideas into my game. For example, I have switched to using his way of counting material. That makes me much more likely to sac the exchange if I can get a pawn too since 4.5 does not compare all that badly to 3+1. Likewise his ideas on centralization are something that can be incorporated into games very frequently.

4) I try to maintain a pretty regular pace, with a chapter every week (most often) or occasionally two. I don't try to do more than that as the time commitment to do this right is large. And I have other chess related study I want to do as well (like tactics every day).

I do absolutely recommend approaching the book the way he says to do it. I have a database, and I actually do enter the positions into my database for easy review. But I find the material much more instructive and beneficial actually setting the positions up on a board, writing my lines out in a notebook, etc.

How easy or hard the material is, will vary. First because some of the material is harder than others. But also because of how much we already know. For example, I have been doing lots of tactics puzzles, so I tend to find the chapters dealing with tactics easier than the chapters dealing with positional ideas. When you find a tactic, it either works or doesn't (of course you might overlook key lines). But with positional ideas, it can be more subtle and more difficult to know if you have found the right line.

I have to come to the place where I'm OK knowing I'm not going to Ace every chapter. That is all right.

@madratter,

Thanks for your reply. Indeed it would be helpful to post every time I finish a chapter.

Another approach I have acquired lately after the last visit to my coach is to analyze GM games. He has asked me to make a repertoire which I am doing. Perhaps I'll borrow your idea of creating a post or a blog post every time I analyze a new game, that seems like an interesting idea.

Yes, the positional chapters are the worst, ffs. How am I supposed to know the answer to those.

I'll keep you updated about my chess progress.

stay motivated by posting some exercises here and discuss them in the forum

Typical DeirdreSkye post

hes wearing his work hard t-shirt right now!

that's an excellent idea.

i thought DeirdreSkye was a girl/woman. Are you disputing that?

there are no girls on a chess site only dudes with woman avatars

lol maybe not true. reminds me of the time when A_L_I_V_E was here and everybody was like she is not a girl

It sounds from your original post like you have only 3 of the 9 Yusupov books, and they are not in the correct series order. The first book is Build Up Your Chess 1, followed by Boost Your Chess 1 and then Chess Evolution 1. The next three volumes have the same titles with "2" instead of "1", and the last three have the same titles with a "3". You should complete all the level 1 books before going on the level 2, and so on.

Yes, the books are difficult. You have to work to get through them, but you will certainly learn (even from the chapters that come easily to you) if you put in the effort. 

Are u a girl?

The big difference is he values a rook at 4.5 instead of 5. I had never counted that way in the past, but it makes a lot of sense.

I use relative value( dynamic value) with relative evaluation value in middle game and endgame, similar to stockfish evaluation table.

In general, Rook relative value is higher ( probably 5)

1. Endgame with multiple open files

2.Endgame  with multiple pawn islands

3. Multiple bad pawn structures( double pawns, isolated pawns)

Rook value is relatively decreased ( 4.5) in

1. Middle game

2. Endgame with blocked files 

3. Endgame with single pawn island

And also, dont exchange your rook in endgame if you have bad pawn structure or pawn deficit.

In addition to his stock evaluations, Yusupov goes into a variety of situations that make the pieces worth more or less than typical. For example he prefers a Rook, Minor piece, and passed pawn on the 6th rank or further to a Queen. This despite the nominal value being just 8.5 to the Queens 9.

You clearly cannot always follow the simple little counts regardless of what values you use.

It sounds like this is the answer to the OP's question.

And to add to that - the first 3 books in the series are all orange