422 THE BRITISH MAGAZINE

HOW TO BECOME A STRONG

by Alexander Vaisman, Honoured Coach of

By any standards Alexander Naumovich Vaisman may be called the most colourful and influential Ukrainian chess coach of the last two decades. Being a strong master (in 1975 he won the Ukrainian Championship), Vaisman gradually switched to coaching and devoted himself to this profession with a passion and energy which is rarely seen. The entire list of his pupils (including those who reached a rating of 2700) would include players from all over the world, but below we give only such ‘Vaisman boys’who grew up as players in Kharkov – the second largest town in Ukraine, where Vaisman resides. His Kharkov trainees include grandmasters Boris Alterman (born 1970, highest rating 2616), Alexander Berelovich (1967, 2546), Michail Brodsky (1969, 2559), Alexander Goloshchapov (1978, 2577), Anton Korobov (1985, 2572), Valery Neverov (1964, 2601) and Alexander Stripunsky (1970, 2567). By the end of Soviet era, the Kharkov team, consisting almost exclusively of Vaisman’s pu- pils, was a regular winner of Ukrainian junior team competitions. Kharkov’s main rivals were Lviv and Odessa, and, to a lesser extent, Kiev. The juniors of these teams were probably no less talented and in many ways it was just Vaisman’s untiring work that made the difference. Apart from coaching, Vaisman has written articles, though most remain unpublished and cannot be found even at his personal website (www.users.itl.net.ua/vaisman). Vaisman says they might form material for a book. In the meantime he shares his coaching philosophy with us in this article which we publish in a slightly abridged form. (Mikhail Golubev)

What is needed for consistent success at calculating variations and play blitz or rapid chess? chess well. There is a practical rule for the Above all, it is God’s gift – a specific chess coach: “blitz is proof of talent”. Just the tal- talent. The talent can be greater or lesser, ent, not the strength of a chessplayer for however without talent it is impossible to which the talent is necessary but is insuffi- climb the chess Olympus. Neither fanatical cient in itself. At the age of 12, Grandmaster learning of chess nor playing lots of chess B played so fast that I proposed that he wrote tournaments can help. Talent can be only de- down candidate moves in a notebook before veloped. No coach can graft talent onto even physically making the move. That was my the most diligent and industrious pupil. device for teaching him to play slower and Though it is impossible to say precisely more thoughtfully. The crafty boy managed what “chess talent” is, an experienced coach to put down seven (!!) potential moves in will recognise it at once. A talented child ac- about one minute, and in the end played an quires chess knowledge quicker and makes eighth move. use of it more efficiently. He is quick to grasp the fundamentals taught by the coach (or un- What do parents need to do? derstand what he finds in books), and he de- Talent is a gift of God but the young termines the correct moments to apply a chessplayer’s parents’role is no less important. particular chess rule, or to use a specific First, it is of the utmost importance to chess technique. Usually, talented children identify a child’s abilities as early as possi- can start playing blindfold without a chess ble, and create the most favourable environ- board. They make moves quickly, are fast at ment for their accomplishment. Chess THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 423 abilities manifest themselves almost as soon The chess world knows the names of the as the child is shown how the chess pieces great chessplayers’ parents but their role in move and how chess principles apply in the establishment and development of their their most primitive form. Usually it hap- children’s talent still awaits a researcher. pens between the ages of five and six, some- One may become a strong grandmaster de- times even earlier. Therefore parents should spite having some psychological problems: take steps to develop such children as soon there are well-known examples. However, as possible. reaching the top with the current level of com- Many have argued about whether chess is petition is only possible with a strong nervous a sport. Chessplayers themselves have never system and an ability to withstand the inevita- doubted it. It is hard to expect serious success ble, and quite numerous, blows of fate. in sport if one does not inherit good health Chess reflects life, and parents are the first from parents or if parents don’t take good to begin inculcating such human qualities as care of the child’s health. Chessplayers cer- objectiveness, perseverance and patience in a tainly need good health, but it is impossible child. The ambition and will to drive a tal- to make strides in chess without the physical ented child to make progress despite obsta- and psychological endurance that is required. cles should also be fostered from childhood. Therefore amongst individual tasks to per- It is necessary as well to develop fantasy and form, I always include this item: “to jog regu- imagination – all that will be reflected later in larly in the mornings and visit a swimming chess games. All my experience as a coach pool at least twice a week”. Jogging and tells me: the way a man is in his life is the swimming – these are our kinds of sport! same as he is at the chess board! A coward Garry Kasparov likes jogging and swim- will never become a good attacking ming. He swims 1.5-2 km at high speed and chessplayer, a person of low self-confidence without a break. will always suffer from time trouble, a man For a child, it is very important to have an not accustomed to work will make inborn strong nervous system which the par- dilettantish decisions, and someone lacking ents should preserve. In doing so, the psy- objectiveness will miss counterblows. Char- chological climate within the close family acter is carried over from childhood! of the child is of the utmost importance. Chess is referred to as an intellectual game, and the role of the intellect is quite NEVER KILL A DREAM high. It is possible to reach a certain (even quite high) chess strength without paying too Here’s an example. A talented chess much attention to the improvement of one’s player of teen age, who lived in a town with- general intellectual level. Still, at some time, out chess coaching facilities, decided to a chess fanatic who is not interested in any- come to me. I asked him more than once how thing except chess will come up against a his parents could let him live apart from his kind of wall which blocks further progress. family, stay on his own at such an early age Then neither intensive work nor playing and in an unfamiliar city, and deal with all the more tournaments helps. Play withers and re- day-to-day domestictasks. Only muchlater, sults weaken. after he had become a strong grandmaster, High-level chess demands a deep (and, I did he quote to me his mother’s words: would say, philosophical) approach in the “Never kill a dream”. All credit to such a assessment of what is happening at the mo- mother: could many other mothers do the ment and how to plan further work. It is an same? Would this boy have become a bril- important part of the creative and sporting liant grandmaster had she acted otherwise? development of a grandmaster to be 424 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE

what is right for their child and who they should choose as a trainer. How do practical players cope when called upon to act as trainers? They work this way – the weaker ones teach the child what they know themselves, making the child a pale copy of themselves. As is well-known, a copy is always worse than the original. Thus the trainer suppresses any trace of individuality in the young person. If the trainer is stronger (for example a grandmaster) then he normally ful- fils the role of a second, something that he does pretty well. This is a necessary role, but only at a fairly high level. A knowledge of maths or physics hardly suffices in order to be a teacher of these subjects. Just imagine the pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka working at coaching while his trainer V. Petrov is the one who does the vaulting in actual competitions, and you will appreciate what I mean. ‘Let the Alexander Vaisman cobbler stick to his last.’ interested in things other than chess and to If it is possible to prove to some extent strive for general character-building. that a surgeon has done a bad job in an oper- Once when teaching a girl, I noticed that ation, then the bad work done by trainers she used to move the pieces in an awkward, only becomes clear much later as people ugly way. As she continued to do this, I reminisce along the lines of “Do you re- rather lost my temper and told her: “You’re a member so-and-so?” The boy or girl had girl! You should have a sense of beauty!”, some talent, but did not make it, yet it would and sent her to the Museum of Arts. Nowa- seem that no-one is to blame for this. Being days she is an international grandmaster. a chess trainer is the most irresponsible of Maybe, this advice helped as well... professions! To achieve success in modern chess re- CHOOSING A COACH quires being a universal style chessplayer, playing all stages of a game confidently and Now we come to the most important step mastering typical positions in various open- for parents when it comes to the child’s des- ings. Such a training program takes several tiny. This step should be made once parents years’ strenuous work under the guidance of a understand that their child has a future in qualified and thoughtful coach. For instance, chess: the choice of a coach. To choose a in order to play the ending confidently, it is coach for a talented chess player is compa- necessary for a junior player to remember the rable with the choice of a surgeon before an right way to play more than 3,000 typical end- operation! It is impossible to have an opera- game positions, requiring something like two tion done by one surgeon and then go back years of the most arduous study. and see what would have happened if it had How and where to look for such a coach? been another surgeon! Frankly speaking, I do not know! My opin- Unfortunately, at this most important ion is that the decisive factor is the experi- stage, the parents are least likely to know ence and intellect of the parents. THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 425

Some sad words. “Parents are our greatest agrees with him. During my career as a coach help, parents are our greatest disaster!”–afa- I have twice came across the “university prob- mous American swimming coach said that. lem”. Both youngsters became strong grand- Unfortunately parents do not always help masters. Grandmaster B left university after with the development of a young chessplayer. 2½ years, and grandmaster M is still studying There are instances when parents put money now. Both of them had excellent chess abili- on their children as if they were betting on ties. My sincere belief was that M might con- horses. They don’t understand that, during the tend for the world championship against training process, the desire to get immediate Kasparov. This opinion was shared by some results leads to forced preparation, exhausting other professionals. However... the boy was the nervous system and proving detrimental to made to enter university. The moment had long-term development. They don’t under- passed – he will never become a world cham- stand that all junior chess competitions are just pion. It is a pity... “Never kill a dream” – the a preparatory stage for adult chess. The same boy’s and the coach’s dream. refers, for instance, to football. Chess is for And what about a young talent himself? grown-ups! What does a talented child have to do to en- In this connection, I cannot but mention sure that his or her chess future does not turn FIDE policy with regard to junior chess. In or- out to be a waste of effort and money? der to increase financial proceeds, FIDE started running world championships for TALENT – PLUS WORK ten-year-old chessplayers and is considering holding tournaments for eight-year-old chil- First of all, a chessplayer must be able to dren. Federation executives don’t care that the work hard consistently. How many spar- burden of such huge contests is absolutely kling talents never made it to the top because harmful for young boys and girls. No kind of of the absence of this skill? I always remind sport has world championships for such my pupils: “Talent has one advantage – the young children. And where are the champions right to work more than the others”. A sim- of competitions below 10-12 years when they ple reasoning convinces you. Suppose a tal- become 20? There are no such! I know just ented boy needs just ten minutes to master one exception – Boris Avrukh (Luke McShane some chess material. A “less talented” is arguably another - ed). player needs 20 minutes. If the “talent” will Unfortunately, there is another extremity. not spend these ten minutes and the other Guided by the best of intentions but not having one will spend “his” 20 minutes, then who the patience to wait for the “required” results, will be at an advantage?! Only those chil- some parents try to have the child receive dren who are fanatically devoted to chess higher education in parallel with chess studies. may spend long hours at the chess board at A combination of studies and chess brings home, reading chess books every day and harm to both. One needs to have the guts and solving an enormous number of various tac- choose one or the other. Never impose your ticor “dull” endgame positions. Garry will on a child when making this decision. Kasparov once wrote: “I perceived all too Many a psychological trauma, and even life early that you have to pay for everything in tragedies, have occurred because of it! “The your life. A talented child has just a single first to blight a talent are the parents” – wrote a thing to pay – that’s his childhood”. Nobody professor of 26 years standing, a doctor of has ever found any other formula of success: mathematical sciences. “If you feel like going TALENT + HARD WORK! in for something – go!”. These are the words From their very childhood, junior sports- of a mathematician, and this chess coach fully men live under the stress of chronic lack of 426 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE time. It is necessary to develop the skill of No ‘incredible’ events occur. If something good time management, spend the time with happened – it was possible! It is necessary to maximum efficiency. Such skill in a young try and understand the cause of what hap- talent determines, to a great extent, the rate pened. at which chess strength grows. Only a sportsman and his coach know It is impossible to expect great success in how many hours they spend training. To pre- chess without ambition. It is ambition that, clude exhaustion of the young chessplayer’s more often than not, is the main drive urging nervous system, it is essential to plan care- a junior sportsman on to work at chess. It is fully all the time spent by the chess player . equally important that such ambition does An approximate guide is shown below. not become excessive and turn into vanity or Pure “chess preparation” can be divided self-admiration. into three parts: preparation for the competi- One of my pupils, a very talented boy, tion, play during the tournament and analy- was achieving excellent sporting results. At sis of performance. It is required to 13 he became under-16 champion of distinguish the current general preparation, Ukraine and at 14 he won a silver medal in which takes about a half of all time spent on the under-18 championship. Still, the qual- chess, and is conducted every day, and prep- ity of his play caused me to criticise him. aration for a specific competition. If the re- Regretfully the talented young man used to maining time is divided equally into the answer most of my remarks with: “Still. I above three remaining parts, our annual bal- won!”. I had to explain patiently that he ance for playing tournaments is about 50 would not be able to claim great triumphs in days. So we have reached the figure of 50 future. The crisis came after the following games per year that Botvinnik advised for argument. “If a thousand men play badly, competitive play. For a long time the then somebody will still be first and some- planned workload of world champion Garry body else will be last. However, it does not Kasparov was 55 games per year. mean that the winner will be playing any Despite the immeasurable acceleration of better. You are winning like that!”. The boy modern life, and the advent of significant fell to thinking and soon he became notice- aids for playing chess – computers and ad- ably more objective in assessing his victo- vances in medical science that lead to the ries. More serious results were achieved. improvement of the human physical condi- The skill of objectivity helps to avoid tion – the number of days in a year has not many hurtful defeats caused by an overesti- changed! Considering current realities, the mation of the position. It will be of use in number of games for a young chess player real life as well. should not exceed 60 games annually. It will let them preserve a healthy nervous system How often should one compete in tourna- for many years. ments? A chessplayer’s strength is measured by How should you design an effective sys- his or her successes in tournaments. Sport tem of studies? has a single criterion – the result. Should we Each coach works according to his own disagree with it, or bring in some other crite- understanding of the training process with ria, the very essence of sport is nullified. due consideration (let us hope) of the pu- Comments such as “this sportsman is more pil’s personality. Therefore I would like to talented”, “blundered in time trouble”, “lost a draw the reader’s attention to the fact that won position”, “incredible error”, “acciden- everything laid out below is my subjective tally”, etc. – are for the fans (and media - ed). opinion. THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 427

The first manual on chess basics is of im- Moreover, all that is being forgotten or be- portance. Even now, the best manuals are still comes obsolete with the passage of time. the books written by the leading figures of My pupils Brodsky, Stripunsky, Berelovich the past – Lasker, Capablanca, Nimzowitsch and Shmuter have studied modern opening and Reti. These books cover aspects of chess theory after becoming IMs and spent less strategy as well as openings and endings. I than half a year on that. They have found an recommend even the grandmasters to revert enormous number of new interesting ideas, to them at definite stages in their chess devel- which they make use of even now, due to a opment. fresh perception and absence of clichés. The next stage is a familiarization with the creative wealth of great masters of the past. Which openings should be studied? The main strategicgoal of this stage is to I believe that the chessplayer should learn study, hopefully in a short time, what to play classical openings first, and not the chessplayers have achieved until now. A English Opening, Reti Opening, PircDe - study of the classic heritage of chess devel- fence, etc – the so-called “anti-openings”. ops the player’s erudition, assisting the mem- It might seem that everything has been orization of “typical” middlegame and studied through the length and breadth of endgame positions and the selecting of a classical openings, and that it is hardly possi- stock of openings suitable to one’s playing ble to obtain a great advantage, especially style. It is hard to overestimate the assistance against an experienced opponent. However, of the experienced coach at this stage to pro- that is where the strength of players who play vide guidance to the pupil to find his way in classical openings lies: the sort of struggle the ocean of chess books and treatises. where it is difficult to catch the adversary un- awares at once makes you appreciate micro- NO SHORT CUTS scopic achievements, accumulating them move by move and valuing the strength of Usually chessplayers want to get good re- each move. sults immediately (which frequently coin- There is a law in the arts: the artist’s pro- cides with “hidden” desires of their parents fessional level is measured against their per- and coaches), cutting short the learning pro- formance in the classical repertoire of cess of the chess basics and proceeding to a immortal works. If an actor cannot play the study of opening theory. To my mind, it is a classics, he is hardly a genuine artist but just mistake of principle. The most significant an artisan. Still, if an artist may appear in study principle is violated: proceed from the classics but is not able to bring in something simple to the complicated. One does not “of his own” and just plays his part (albeit start building a house from the roof – it is the conscientiously), then he is just a competent foundation that is laid first. Any battles, in- professional, but not a creative artist. Let us cluding chess battles, are won not by the recollect how Kasparov used the Evans’ army that can array itself before a battle ac- Gambit against Anand. cording to the earlier developed plan, but by the army that proves its skill and profes- PLAYING THE CLASSICS sional worth in battle. Trying to hold in mind as many fragments of openings played For an actor it is very difficult to play the by contemporary grandmasters as possible, classics. This is mainly because the audi- a player has no time for their creative and ence has seen them before or has at least critical processing, for working out their read of them in books. They can hardly be own opinions and developing original ideas. surprised by the text – they come to see the 428 THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE way the actor plays it, so they are able to no- an advantage in the opening. If it was im- tice every aspect of the play. To win over the possible to accomplish “plus over equal” in audience, the actor must look for, find and a classical opening, it means that the attack show the finest nuances of the part, and do and the defence were equally adept. so without paint. This is unachievable with- “Anti-openings” “are in principle poorer as out technique and talent. to their contents. The Ruy Lopez is akin to a Chess is also an art, and the same law ap- classical waltz, where one can exhibit ele- plies to it. If a player aspires, not just to suc- gance and masterhood, whereas the Reti cess but also artistry, he or she must study Opening is more like “the twist” where each the classical chess heritage, and study and partner ‘shakes’ himself and spares himself play classical openings. There is no other the trouble of thinking about technique and way to reach the top. gracefulness of movement. A course in mastering classical chess puts a high demand on a coach, his expertise in Annotate Games! openings and general level of knowledge. If From childhood one must get used to ana- a coach has only a poor grasp of the classics, lysing and annotating every game played. does not like to study openings or is not Analysis of games, conceptualization of knowledgeable – the affairs of his pupil will their content, explanation, assessments, mo- be in bad shape. tivations behind moves played, threats and The art of playing the opening is akin to what caused them create a powerful incen- theatre. Should a causal connection and a se- tive for a chessplayer’s growth! Analysis is quence of events be lacking, it is difficult to necessary for rapid chess games as well. I play well and beautifully, as both artist and consider that rapid chess gives even more in- spectator can hardly discern the thread of a formation about the merits and drawbacks play amongst chaos and clumsiness. Good of a chess player. When there is more time to moves occasionally glimpsed are like dia- think, these drawbacks can be concealed by monds in a corroded setting. longer thinking, whereas in rapid chess and A young chess player should learn how to in blitz games all the pros and cons reveal create complicated positions, and not be themselves more vividly. A. S. Nikitin, dragged into a position where they might be Garry Kasparov’s coach, wrote that the fu- created, or, in 80% of cases, are not created. ture world champion even annotated his Nowadays, when it is extremely difficult blitz games. to get even ‘plus over equal’ in the opening, Timing is of great help in identifying it is necessary to be able to play positions weaknesses of a chessplayer. It assists in un- where both players have equal chances of derstanding and explaining the chess player’ victory. Today, the opening of a game is con- drawbacks and their causes, and is particu- sidered successful if you get a position to larly demonstrative as it rates the time re- your taste, or a position that you know quired to make this or that decision. better, or just a position that you like and/or After each tournament it is necessary to that your opponent does not like. report on all games played by a sportsman, Classical openings comprise an immense including thoughts, variations and assess- wealth of strategic content and tactical tech- ments that were going through his mind dur- niques. They conceal, in perspective, a ka- ing the play, and compare these with the leidoscopic change of situations and the results of subsequent calm analysis. Particu- widest scope for showcasing a player’s lar attention should be drawn to the phase imagination. This is because the evolution when the game passes from the opening to of play is based on the intention of achieving the middlegame, and it is worthwhile THE BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE 429 showing the extent to which the 12 Íxc4 Ìc6 13 Ìxf7?! middlegame events correlate with opening 13 Íd6!? is a better possibility. structure logic. The opening part should end 13...Êxf7 14 e4 e6 15 exd5 exd5 16 Íb3 with a brief theoretical reference pointing Íxb2 17 Îc2? out the best variations for continuing the White gets into big trouble after this. 17 struggle and with an “exemplary” game of Îd1 looks safe enough. this variation played by grandmasters. The comments of each game should be finalized r+-t-+-+ with an assessment of one’s own play and zp+-+k+p conclusions (reasons for win or loss, includ- ing non-chess factors; what to do in order to -+n+-+p+ avoid these). Such work on the annotations +-Zp+-+- should last for 4-5 hours. -+-+-V-+ At a higher level, it is useful to annotate other people’s games, though it is more +L+-+-+- complicated due to a difficulty of under- PvR+-ZPZ standing motives behind moves without ob- serving the playing process directly. +-+-M-+R

And, finally – play blitz! 17...Ìb4! 18 Îe2 If I said this is bad, you wouldn’t believe The sacrifice of the exchange for a pawn af- me. Is it bad to eat sweets? Eating too many ter 18 Îxb2 Ìd3+ 19 Êd2 Ìxb2 20 Êc3 Ìc4 is bad. An excessive infatuation with blitz is 21 Íxc4 dxc4 22 Îb1 Îd7 23 Êxc4 is proba- certainly harmful as it accustoms you to bly insufficient to hold, but the text is no better. thinking superficially. The Polish say: 18...Ìd3+ 19 Êf1 Ìxf4 20 Îxb2 Îac8 “what is excessive – is bad” (Eng- 21 Íd1 lish-speaking people say ‘everything in The c5 pawn cannot be held. moderation’- ed). Still, strong chess players 21...Îc7 22 Íf3 Ìe6 23 g3 Ìxc5 24 Êg2 play blitz well. Sometimes, with a view to b6 25 h4 h5 26 Íd1 Êf6 27 f4 Ìe4 28 developing self-confidence, I suggested my Îe1 Îc1 29 Îbe2 Îxd1! 30 Îxd1 Ìc3 31 pupils play in blitz or rapidplay tourna- Îed2 Ìxd1 32 Îxd1 d4 33 Îd3 Êf5 0–1 ments. The only obligatory condition was to use openings never played before – Black -+-t-+-+ and White. It used to help! Play blitz. Still, z-+-+-+- chess is a game – our beloved game. -z-+-+p+ Here’s an example of Alexander Vaisman +-+-+k+p in action as a player at the Moscow Trades -+-z-Z-Z Union Championship in December 1964. +-+R+-Z- Moscow 1964 P+-+-+K+ ¨Lev Polugaevsky nAlexander Vaisman +-+-+-+- Grünfeld D92 1 d4 Ìf6 2 c4 g6 3 Ìc3 d5 4 Íf4 Íg7 5 White can play 34 Êf3 to keep the black e3 0–0 6 Îc1 c5 7 dxc5 Íe6 8 Ìf3 dxc4 9 king out, but he will soon be in zugzwang and Ëxd8 Îxd8 10 Ìg5 Íd5 11 Ìxd5 Ìxd5 eventually have to give ground.