I've
decided to log my chess study. I had
originally planned a more regimented study plan, but I've revised it upon taking into account my true dedication to improving
at chess, instead of the idealized dedication I had previously
envisioned.
I'm
reading IM Erik Kislik's excellent Applying
Logic in Chess, from
which I've gained new ideas about how to study chess and how to track
my progress. Kislik talks about six elements of chess to work on, using both short-term and long-term study:
(1)
Concrete knowledge (particular game positions)
(2)
Pattern recognition (tactics)
(3)
Calculation
(4)
Candidate Moves
(5)
Positional Understanding
(6)
Logic (reasons for moves)
While
he recommends sources such as chess software, books, expert
advice (coaching if possible), and your own tournament games, I'm going to mainly rely on books and opening DVDs. I
can't really afford coaching, so this will have to do for now, and I want to put off joining a chess club until I shore up some weaknesses in tactics, positional understanding, and openings. Kislik recommends various books as well as CT-ART 5.0 (now available
in 6.0), but I've heard the interface is a bear, so I'll stick to the
many tactics books I already have and the free unlimited puzzles available
on lichess.org, although my books cover a broader range of tactics, so I'll rely heavily on them.
My
new plan is to simply list the books and software I'm using and log
the last three weeks of progress, this way I'll see how much work I'm
putting into chess and how far along I'm moving with each book. Erik
says that for the best improvement players should play tournament
games, analyze those games deeply and also study more chess, and then
repeat this cycle over and over. For now, I'm going to simply study
a bunch of chess and hold off on playing tournament games. But
eventually I will follow his advice, as the man seems to know what
he's talking about.
Below
are the books, software, and online sources I'm using to improve my chess
understanding. I haven't really put too much thought into it, nor
curtailed it to optimize my learning, but nevertheless it's
something. It's a bit of a mixed bag right now. Later I'll
streamline it to account for the six elements Erik talks about. This list doesn't include the books I've already read, which I might list and review as separate entries in the blog, but for this entry, it's just what I'm currently working on.
| Book/Software | 07/14/18 | 07/21/18 | 07/28/18 | |
| Python
Strategy – Petrosian (380 pages) |
p. 31 | |||
| The Soviet
Chess Primer – Maizelis (400 pages) |
p. 60 | |||
| Learn Chess
Tactics – Nunn (157 pages) |
p. 25 | |||
| Chess: 5334
Problems, Combinations, and Games – Polgar (1037 pages) |
p. 126 | |||
| Chess
Endgames – Polgar (782 pages) |
p. 32 | |||
| 1001
Brilliant Ways to Checkmate – Reinfeld (180 pages) |
p. 12 | |||
| Applying
Logic in Chess – Kislik (317 pages) |
p. 93 | |||
| Chess
Strategy for Club Players – Grooten (407 pages) |
p. 34 | |||
| Grandmaster
Preparation: Calculation – Aagaard
(297 pages) |
p. 20 | |||
| Build Up
Your Chess: The Fundamentals – Yusupov (251 pages) |
p. 44 | |||
| How to Beat
Your Dad at Chess – Chandler (124 pages) |
p. 80 | |||
| The London
System (DVD) – Simon
Williams (15 lessons) |
3 lessons | |||
| lichess.org | 1850 Puzzle Rating |
