Update: 8/7/2010: I have been following my own advice for the past two weeks, and I have to say that my training is more focused than ever, and I am beginning to see tangible improvements over the board. If you are interested, I am continuing to post my weekly training schedule at my Chess Notebook…
I have created a PDF document that is based on Karpov and Mazukevich’s thought process guidelines, and includes Herman Grooten’s modifications. You can download it here. The idea is to use it when going over annotated games, or when performing Stokyo exercises. Hopefully, by using it during your training sessions, the questions will sink into…
I am organizing my chess training, and trying to simplify the material that I will be using in my studies. One of the new changes I have made is to create a site dedicated to my training program, which is called chessnotebook.com. I will be using chessnotebook.com as my online chess training diary and there I will…
1. Before even beginning to think of making a passed pawn, put all your pieces into as good positions as possible. Queen – Center of board Rooks – seventh rank for White, second rank for Black. But if the enemy has two or more minor pieces the rook must be careful about leaving his own…
Below are a few guidelines from C.J.S Purdy on playing the opening. Purdy had an incredible gift of explaning difficult chess concepts, and these rules are no exception. I also haven’t seen these rules in many other chess books, so it is important to learn and apply them in your games. 1. When you…
USChess.org has a great article on how Christian Galwe increased 200 rating points in 6 months! Here are a few of the recommendations from the article: * Study your own games with an instructor * Don’t study openings…study structures and plans instead. * If you play blitz, play with a 5 second increment and always…
I have made an observation while solving puzzles, that I feel will improve my tactical puzzle solving skills, and might have direct application during actual games. When solving a tactical puzzle of intermediate to advanced level I either: 1. Have no clue how to go about solving it and get it wrong. 2. Have multiple ideas that…
GM Dorfman, has suggested that every game has 5 or 6 critical junctures “forks” at which important decisions need to be made. By understanding that the game has reached a critical moment, you can take extra time in analyzing and evaluating your moves. These critical moments are where games are won or lost, and identifying these milestones in a…
White wins this position by creating a passed pawn on the Kingside. Note that if the Black pawn would be on d3 instead of c3, the game would be a theoretical draw. Copy the FEN position 4k3/1pp2ppp/p1p5/8/4P3/8/PPP2PPP/4K3 w – – 0 0 and play this position against an engine. NOTE: There was an issue with…