Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age Free

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When I see two top GM's playing today, it feels like watching two computers. The opening lines can go on for 20 moves and more. Who wins or loses seems to be based more on who has the better home preparation and memory then who is the better player. Capablanca, Fischer and many others have warned about this problem. It seems to me that the top players today are young and play very antiseptic chess. Technically proficient no doubt, but hardly appealing. Those that try and deviate and play more creatively ie; Morozevich, Shirov etc, don't stay among the the top for very long. I was reminded by this when playing over the recent Nakamura - Eljanov game where the former deviated from theory and was roundly criticized and went on to lose the game. His opponent joined in on the critcism in a later interview. I guess Nakamura should have stuck with theory to God knows what move, before the two finally got around to actually making moves on their own. That or sprung some novelty prepared by a computer. I had really hoped that Chess would have replaced the old game by now. Kill the opening, and we would truly see who is the most talented player around. It may very well be Nakamura. To his credit, he does go against convention. Very few top GM's these days even try. This means however, that he may never be World Champion. This style doesn't lend itself so well for match play. He might have to temper his play, and play the more dry, technical, colorless chess that :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age of his top competitors play. Fischer and Capablanca didn't warn about computers. Capablanca was worried about draws back in the day when anything that wasn't :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age QGD practically got a? Fischer faced the dilemma that chess was his life, but he couldn't keep the title forever. So either his life had to end, or chess had to end. In his cognitive dissonance, he predictably protected his life, and made chess the bad guy. For years after both Capablanca and Fischer, chess has grown. It's grown in popularity, theory not just opening theoryand given us great fighting games. I don't like how much opening prep dominates the very top either, but that level of play is farther away from us than most people realize I think. Anything is still possible for guys like you and me. So if anything, the bane of modern chess fans. It has zero impact on me. I play a myriad of openings equally bad. When one loses its flavor, I turn to the other. This game, annotated in Chess Informantis one of many examples of current GM practice that challenges the OP's claims. Chess is the answer, but the powers that be don't want it for financial reasons. Imagine all the chess publishing businesses going broke when you remove their whole opening book catalogue, the elite players don't want it as home prep with computer help is their only way of staying ahead of the genuinely talented players. FIDE does have the ability to lead a change and could in my mind introduce Chess for tiebreak opportunities instead of the blitz system they employ now. I also think there is an anti Fischer mentality by the higher up powers in the Chess world and introducing Chess could be seen as supporting he weird views he held in his later years. It is true that at the very top level opening preparation is of paramount importance. These players are so strong that a slip in the opening may well cost the game. In former times,the term "opening" used to signify the first moves. Nowadays however,the opening may be considered the first 25 moves or so and we see innovations on move For the rest of us really there is no problem whatsoever,and weak players who memorize long computer lines are welcome to do so but it won't do them any good really. Chess is not as deep, because you have to come up with things on the fly. In regular chess you can have deeper ideas, more difficult struggles, all that good stuff. An alternative to Chess would be a selection of starting positions. For example, positions where the King and Queen remain on the standard squares and shuffle all the other pieces on the 1 and 8 rank. It wouldn't make opening preparation disappear only more diverse, and it could be used for tiebreaks You don't need CHess Chess has so many movees that there is no way even a computer, let alone a GM can stay in book the whole game. Even in well known lines, there are many, many ways to deviate without entering a losing position. The top GMs arent there because they only know theory. They're still top very top at Chess variants and win because they are better players. Carlsen in particular, loves playing out of book, and has no problems playing through tough endgames. If you have the time and like studying openings, play classical chess. If you dont; play Problem solved. The only "benefit" to chess is its different, and removes the need for opening theory. But unless youre Master strength or above, why the desire to remove opening knowledge? You worred that your usual class opponent might have prepared a novelty on move 14 of the berlin, and is waiting to spring it on you at the club next week? Chess variants are a joke. Chess is more than good enough as it is and it will stay that way. I dont think chess variants are a joke, but if youre coming up with them simply because youre "bored" with chess, or your need more excitement, then maybe chess isnt for you. The point of the game is to win, not to play different positions to see if you can win with them. Unfortunately for me I will not live long enough to get bored with chess. Or maybe it's fortunate. For me playing and finding my own moves is more fun, and every game I play is kinda new instead of starting only at move Every game that I play is new unless it ends early. I've played a few identical games that end before move ten. I neglect opening theory in favor of endings and middlegames. Even so, I spend a few hours per week honing my openings. Only "theory" I know is the lines that have developed themselves by my own play, which means they are probably none too solid, but my opponents aren't computers, so it doesn't matter. As long as you're not a professional try to remember games were being created to spend spare time in a fun way. You would be amazed at how often i hear young players bragging how they know certain openings moves deep, and recite chess engine analysis. But they have no clue why they lost a game? Indeed, I no longer look at current grandmaster games, If I want to play over a good game or two I will select say a game by Karpov or Capa. Your opinion on this new game would be appreciated, positive or negative comments are welcome, but it seems to me that it is a taboo subject in the chess world, nobody ever says anything about it. Final Wars. Forums General Chess Discussion. Sep 24, 1. Sep 24, 2. Some deviations are bad and criticized, others are praised. Sep 24, 3. Sep 24, 4. Unless youre Master and above opening prep is not going to ruin chess for the rest of us. Sep 24, 5. To avoid copywright violations, I have deleted all but the annotation to Black's first move. Sep 24, 6. Sep 24, 7. Sep 24, 8. FM Vandros Sep 24, 9. :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age 25, RubiksRevenge wrote: Chess is the answer, but the powers that be don't want it for financial reasons. Apotek wrote: Chess variants are a joke. Some people like the opening phase as is and don't consider it a problem. Yeah, I'll never be a player like this, but who cares? If learning :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age does that for you, fine. Regards Warlord Final Wars :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age. Log In or Join. Chess in the Digital Age

Vladimir Tukmakov. Opening, middlegame and endgame are the three universally recognized stages of a :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age of chess, but what about the art of preparation? Winning starts with planning before the game, teaches legendary chess trainer Vladimir Tukmakov in this enlightening and entertaining work on a neglected subject. Exploring and understanding, prior to the game, the strengths and weaknesses of your next opponent and being aware of your own strong points and shortcomings, are a key to success. Tukmakov describes how planning has become a systematic process, how methodical preparation works, and which critical steps you have to take. The role of the computer in preparing :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age a game has grown tremendously, and Modern Chess Preparation explains how it is used by top players to get organized for success. But you will also learn the limitations on the use of chess engines and databases and how disastrous it can be to overly respect them and rely on them. A separate chapter is devoted on how to prepare for all-important games, games that will decide a tournament, a match or a even an entire career. Modern Chess Preparation is about more than just opening preparation. It also teaches you how to immerse yourself in order to find the best approach to the game. With powerful anecdotes and many instructive high-level games, Tukmakov explains how, as a competitive chess player, you can organize your homework, focus your efforts, and arrive at a viable game plan. Vladimir Tukmakov is a chess grandmaster and a former national champion of Ukraine. In his active career he won many tournaments as well as gold medals in international team competitions. He is universally acknowledged as an outstanding chess trainer and coach. After his active career he became an esteemed chess coach. He was non-playing captain of the Ukraine team that won gold at the 36th Chess Olympiad in Calvia, Vladimir Tukmakov | Chess Book Reviews

Book Review by John D. In this broad survey of chess preparation, the author, a Ukranian national champion who has also distinguished himself as runner-up in three Soviet championships, has opened a dialogue on a topic that has received surprisingly little attention: what professional chess players go through in readying themselves for tournaments and matches. One hundred twenty years of progress and development are discussed and analyzed in ninety games. Along the way, the author peppers his survey with advice, tidbits, and common sense, with strong writing and a balanced and solid approach. Though not a spoiler, per se, the subtitle of the books is perhaps more teasing than truthful. This is not a manual about preparing for tournaments, per se, but a historic survey of playing styles and game-phase preparation with emphasis on openings illustrated through ninety games. The author warns against putting too much faith into opening preparation alone. Analysis capabilities and theory have exploded. Top-level games are played and web-cast within seconds worldwide. Faster time controls and better-prepared opponents have led to the sharpest play currently imaginable. Because it is impossible to keep up in an age of information overload, the author recommends preparing for :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age human opponent. His basic approach may run counter to what many might expect in an age of computers, databases, and smart-phones. His style favors study and discipline. Much of what he recommends involves old-fashioned hard work. One feels that he sees the computer :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age always as a tool, but a crutch. Simply stated, the virtues of hard work, common sense, trusting our instincts, and recognizing the limits of our own preparation will sharpen us, making us mentally stronger. He vividly compares and contrasts the playing and training styles of the greatest names in chess. He credits Rubinstein for his long-lasting opening innovations, among them, the Meran Variation of the Semi-Slav Defense. He would painstakingly and persis- tently seek out chess truth, without striving for anything more. Of course, it would be hard to call Rubinstein a scientist, although the methods of chess research are akin to those of science. You might instead compare him to a gold- miner, painstakingly sifting tons of ore for the sake of a single nugget. Fortune often favored him during his searches, and a lot of his discoveries were far ahead of their time. It was Rubinstein who laid out the main paths for the development of many openings. Even half a centu- ry later in the match in Baguio, almost every game saw Kortchnoi use systems introduced into practice by Rubin- stein. Nowadays his best achievements still look absolutely natural. Alekhine, a white Russian had left his homeland in the wake of the revolution. But another Russian, Mikhail Botvinnik, would become so identified with the Soviet school of chess, that he was called fondly, the Patriarch. Tukmakov rightly credits Botvinnik as representing the ultimate approach to a codified and rigorous approach to chess:. Botvinnik was the first to use training games seriously as preparation for events—and not only for trying our purely chess ideas. During those games he simulated every possible situation. Given that back then it was permitted to smoke during games, Botvinnik would get someone to blow cigar smoke at him. During tournaments he steadfastly adhered to a daily routine, one broken down literally by the minute. He scrupulously studied the route to the tournament hall: it had to pass through quiet streets and take minutes. Nutrition was also an important element of preparation. Particular attention was paid to phosphorus, essential for intense mental activity. He constantly replenished it with appropriate products. Kortchnoi, who always included black caviar in his daily tournament menu, learned that from Botvinnik. Like a boxer, Botvinnik would also leave sex out of his training regimen. While some of his methods might seem arcane today, they had lasting effects on Russian players. Botvinnik studied the openings played by his opponents, including typical middlegame positions and theoretical endgames rising from those middlegames. Another Mikhail—Tal, had little use for rigorous methods in his opening or personal training habits. Tal, who defeated Botvinnik in their world championship match was a master of attack who had mastered the element of surprise:. His survey of others is comparatively complete, but with the Soviets the anecdotal information is richer, and readers will find engaging stories told with a fresh approach. We glean from our reading that the author respects hard work, and figuring out what makes chess players tick: which training methods work, and which may not. Time and again Tukmakov cites using books instead of relying on computers for game analysis. Get to know the styles and strengths of your opponent, and not to rely too much on hours of opening preparation, since whatever lines we exhaustively prepare are quickly exhausted at the board. Prepare to be surprised. Even so, What makes this book such compelling reading? The answer is simple: vivid writing. Turkmakov is terse and insightful. He brings chess players to life through games illustrated with sharp notes and anecdotes. He shows how players prepare for matches. He sharpens games with nail-biting action. He talks about mind-numbing fear and dread. He advises us how to play on when caught :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age guard. He discusses lapses and lost focus. He talks about coping: staying motivated under pressure. These factors showcase chess as a sport of the intellect. :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age need to recognize and overcome our debilitating flaws. Chess players are both predators and prey thrusting and dodging while seated and silent, winning and losing in a contest fraught with tension and excitement. Tukmakov takes us to the center of these fights and imbues these games—and a number of his own—with the passion and zeal of a sports writer. Tukmakov shows what playing chess at top-levels means: preparing for a sporting event filled with tension, fear, and exhaustion. He recommends training through classic games, studying from books, and learning to analyze our own games by ourselves. He advises us that gaining self confidence and calming our minds can strengthen :Modern Chess Preparation: Getting Ready for Your Opponent in the Information Age play even more than can magic rays from glowing screens. This is an important book on a much-neglected topic. Tukmakov has penned a classic to be studied, savored, and enjoyed. Modern Chess Preparation is a mature and balanced work that should remain in print for decades to come. Jump to. Sections of this page. Accessibility Help. Email or Phone Password Forgot account? Sign Up. Log In. Forgot account? Not Now. Related Pages. Kentucky Chess Association Community Organization. Highland Chess Social Club. Tennessee Chess Association Community Organization. Anderson Chess Club Social Club. Scholastic Chess of Indiana Nonprofit Organization. Chess Performance Education. Pages Liked by This Page. Director, Chess Club of Southern Indiana. Tata Steel Chess. Recent Post by Page. Chess Club of Southern Indiana. Warth Chess Club of Southern Indiana, USA In this broad survey of chess preparation, the author, a Ukranian national champion who has also distinguished himself as runner-up in three Soviet championships, has opened a dialogue on a topic that has received surprisingly little attention: what professional chess players go through in readying themselves for tournaments and matches. Tukmakov rightly credits Botvinnik as representing the ultimate approach to a codified and rigorous approach to chess: Botvinnik was the first to use training games seriously as preparation for events—and not only for trying our purely chess ideas.