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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) Chess Book Review blog (Read 336238 times)
brabo
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #42 - 08/02/13 at 13:31:56
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I also know lots of players (even IM level and above) feeling perfectly at ease without preparation during a tournament. Looking to their repertoires they don't go for the most fashionable and critical lines but are satisfied with a playable position. However if you use the powerplay method (as i do) so searching in every position for the most critical setups then you never have done with learning.
  
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ErictheRed
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #41 - 08/02/13 at 09:30:29
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proustiskeen wrote on 08/02/13 at 06:03:58:
I studied a new-to-me line in the Alekhine before the tournament.  It's in my database of things I play.  The guy had 10 games in Megabase.  More than one was an Alekhine.  So I went over my notes for 10-15 minutes.

Call me crazy, but I don't think this is excessive.


No, that's not excessive.  What blew my mind mostly was that a 1400 player had 10 games in a database! 

Also, when I discourage "preparation" during a tournament,  I'm speaking more of typical open tournaments in the U.S.  In these, you often play 2 games (or even 3) in a day, which easily leads to 10+ hours of actually playing chess.  Factor in that the pairings are often not posted until shortly before the round, your opponents usually have few games in a database (if you aren't playing people with FIDE titles), and that the pairings are often changed at the last minute because someone requested a bye, and I think that instead of "preparing" between rounds and eating a burger and fries, you should get a healthy meal and try to rest your mind for a short while.  10+ hours of chess is grueling. 

If you're only playing one game a day then preparing makes more sense, but still--at the class level I doubt you'll be able to find your opponent's games anyway.

Also, every time my opponents have "prepared" for me between rounds (that I know of), I've ended up winning easy games.  One case in point: I was paired against a promising young player (he just became a Master last week) in the last round of the Colorado Open a couple of years ago, and we knew of the pairings a few hours ahead of time.  I always play the Saemisch with 6.Bg5, and I'd won all of my previous KID encounters against this player (two in 6...Nbd7 followed by ...e7-e5 lines and one in some other ...e5 line).   He spent the hours cramming his head with all of Bologan's recommendations and I had a healthy meal and a quick nap.  When we got to the board, this happened:




That was one of the easiest victories against a pretty strong player that I've ever had, honestly.

So maybe I'm crazy or old-fashioned or whatever, but this  has happened to me all the time, and I usually win an easy game as a result.  So yes, preparation should be done at home, and it should consist of much more than just learning "theory"; it should consist of understanding the plans and the ideas of the specialists in the variation in question (notice that Bologan didn't cover Yusupov's plan in that variation).  Any "preparation" done during a tournament should not lead you to purposely play some variation for the first time. 

Anyhow that's my philosophy; others may disagree, and that's fair enough.  But I find that exercising, resting, and eating well at a tournament is much better than cramming some book lines in your head and worrying about what your opponent may or may not play during your off time.
  
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hicetnunc
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #40 - 08/02/13 at 09:24:34
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On the preparation thing, I agree with Stigma and brabo. But I guess it all comes down to the time/amount of energy invested, which is probably very different if you're an average club player than if you're playing at Eric's level (NM).

I've always found light preparation (15'-40') to be very beneficial, if only to get a feel about your opponent's preferences (attack, defence, likes endgames...) and brush up one line or two.

Sometimes it only serves the purpose to increase your confidence, even if the prepared line never appears on the board.
  

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brabo
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #39 - 08/02/13 at 07:47:01
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ErictheRed wrote on 08/01/13 at 21:45:52:
Since you're posting this here I presume that you're open to feedback about your games, so here's what I thought when I saw your game.  Granted I know nothing about you other than what you wrote in the link above.

1.  Preparation: Why on Earth would you frantically spend an hour trying to find information about a 2200-player from Wisconsin?  Do you really think that you can cram preparation into an hour?  Do you think that your opponent will walk into it?  Your time at a tournament should not be spent "preparing," but resting, eating well, and trying to get into a good frame of mind to play.  Your preparation should have been done beforehand--are you suddenly going to begin playing different openings based on one or two games you can find on the internet or in Chessbase?  What would you have done with those 20 minutes of "prep time" if you hadn't spilled your coffee? 

Maybe look over some basic endgames or solve some simple tactics, but unless you're a professional or semi-professional player, the tournament hall is not the place for "preparation."  That should be done beforehand.  Your mind should be kept as clear as possible, you should want to play, you should be well rested and eating well, etc.

I believe unless you are a professional that it is impossible for an amateur to have studied in advance most common openings. Also it is impossible to study in advance all the openings of potential opponents. To cover these gaps, I find it very fruitful to prepare once the pairings are known on 1 or a few lines which have a high chance to come on the board. In my last tournament i was able to prepare 3 times properly and to my astonishment 3 times my opponents played exactly what i prepared which of course helped me a lot (2 clear wins with white against 2200s and 1 easy draw against 2300). On my blog i wrote last year what a preparation can be http://schaken-brabo.blogspot.com/2012/09/de-partijvoorbereiding.html

ErictheRed wrote on 08/01/13 at 21:45:52:
2.  Posting While Playing?: I just realized that this event is currently in progress--are you honestly wasting time and energy updating your blog while playing in a tournament?  Really?  Go out and walk around, swim, get some sun and then take a nap if you have time.  Don't waste time updating a blog and thinking even more than you have to about chess.

A chess tournament is grueling, and you have a limited reserve of mental energy.  Don't waste it updating a blog if you expect to play well.

I fully agree. I never write any articles on my blog during a tournament as I am sure it would negatively effect my performance.
  
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hicetnunc
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #38 - 08/02/13 at 07:25:06
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You won, so you were certainly right !

Besides, it's always courageous to publish all your games on Internet !

Good luck for the next ones  Smiley
  

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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #37 - 08/02/13 at 06:03:58
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I studied a new-to-me line in the Alekhine before the tournament.  It's in my database of things I play.  The guy had 10 games in Megabase.  More than one was an Alekhine.  So I went over my notes for 10-15 minutes.

Call me crazy, but I don't think this is excessive.
  
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ErictheRed
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #36 - 08/02/13 at 03:04:49
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proustiskeen wrote on 08/01/13 at 22:38:45:


Wow, I admit that this post just blew my mind.  A 1700-player was able to find a 1400-player's games in a database and correctly predict that he'd play the Alekhine Defence??  Most of my games in the databases are of openings and variations I no longer play; I can'timagine how ssuccessful you could be trying to discern a random class player's repertoire.

Preparing for a club-mate you know is one thing, but this just blew my mind.  I suppose if you know where someone comes from you can check the Atlanta Chess Club's website (for instance), but I really think that it's a waste of time and energy.
  
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #35 - 08/01/13 at 23:26:17
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@ErictheRed:

Well, in an ideal world I guess I would do most of my preparation before a tournament rather than during it. But for me and many other amateurs the reality is we have more time for chess when we'we cleared a week or weekend for a tournament than at any other time of our busy lives.

I'm not talking about taking up a totally new and unknown opening based on a few of my opponent's games obviously, that's a caricature. More like choosing between my 3 defences to 1.e4 or my 2-3 defences to 1.d4 based on which lines in my opponent's repertoire I want to face to maximise my chances. I tend to assume my opponents have been trying to outsmart me in exactly the same way, though quite often I guess they haven't. With White I have a fairly stable 1.d4, 2.c4 repertoire, but I don't feel at all confident I will remember what I've decided to play in every line unless I look at it before the game.

Btw. despite all this I often end up in positions where both I and my opponent are obviously on our own from an early stage, when neither player manages to get their preparation in. I'm OK with that; after all thinking is what chess is supposed to be about!

During tournaments I also believe in getting a lot of sleep and solving tactics for 20 minutes a day, so recently I've preferred long tournaments with mostly just 1 game per day. With many "double rounds" something has to give; I still prioritize sleep and may cut my opening prep time down to as litte as 15 minutes.
  

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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #34 - 08/01/13 at 23:05:09
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Incidentally, looking at the 3rd-round game immediately reminded me of Borochow-Fine (which I think I learned of from a Fred Reinfeld book) -- so your opponent blundered on move 3 like a world-class player-to-be.
  
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proustiskeen
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #33 - 08/01/13 at 23:03:04
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I think my pre-round preparation is more along the lines of what you're talking about in this last post.  Basically I just want to refresh my memory on likely lines of play.  I am taking your point to heart, however, and just going over a few general lines before my next round and not specifically preparing for whoever my opponent is.
  
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ErictheRed
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #32 - 08/01/13 at 22:59:02
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Well Stigma, I think that preparation at the FM+ level is different than the 1700 level, where proustiskeen is playing.  Having said that, I know many very strong players (USCF 2300 - 2600 or so) that do all of their preparation time before a tournament, with only some minor tweaks if they see an opponent playing something different than expected. 

Perhaps I should clarify: if you notice that your opponent is a Scotch player, then it's not a bad idea to look over some lines of the Scotch.  It's a terrible idea to deviate from your general opening preparation and play a line you aren't familiar with based on a few games that you found online an hour before the round begins.

Even many strong GMs say that they prepare their repertoires for a particular event or tournament and only do minimal tweaking during the event, based on what they see their probable opponents playing.  Presumably a GM has more chess knowledge, culture, and experience than a 1700 player.  He can play different types of positions much more easily than a club player can--it makes no sense for a club player to suddenly start playing the Sicilian because their next opponent will allow 2.f4 d5! when they have no prior experience in that line.

But I honestly feel that a 1-hour nap (or nutritious meal or what have you) is better prep for most non-professional players than suddenly looking up theory that your opponent may or may not walk into anyway.  Just my opinion, which would probably change if we're talking about playing FIDE titled players.
  
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #31 - 08/01/13 at 22:42:25
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@Stigma - I'm of the same mind.  I understand what ErictheRed is saying, of course, but I too feel a little more secure if I have some idea as to what I'm walking into.  Now, pairings here at the US Open go up an hour or so before the round, and then they magically change as I walk over to the site. Smiley  So perhaps I should take his advice to heart and just clear my head a bit before the rounds.
  
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proustiskeen
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #30 - 08/01/13 at 22:39:36
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@ErictheRed

Dead on.  I'd maybe exempt the comments about the coach, but otherwise, absolutely.  I appreciate your taking the time to actually look at the game!
  
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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #29 - 08/01/13 at 22:39:09
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ErictheRed wrote on 08/01/13 at 21:45:52:
1.  Preparation: Why on Earth would you frantically spend an hour trying to find information about a 2200-player from Wisconsin?  Do you really think that you can cram preparation into an hour?  Do you think that your opponent will walk into it?  Your time at a tournament should not be spent "preparing," but resting, eating well, and trying to get into a good frame of mind to play.  Your preparation should have been done beforehand--are you suddenly going to begin playing different openings based on one or two games you can find on the internet or in Chessbase?


proustiskeen can answer for himself, but I wanted to comment on this. I didn't realize looking at the opponent's games and preparing some opening the evening or morning before a game was even remotely controversial! I've done this for as long as I can remember, even if I have less than an hour available, to the point that it feels like I'm "winging it" if I haven't found time for it.

It's a bit hit and miss of course, but I make sure to look at the lines in the opponent's repertoire that I would be most uncomfortable facing. That way I can be reasonably content whether I get what I've just spent an hour learning (or refreshing) or s/he plays something I'm more happy to face.

If I have more time, I also try to look more deeply at my opponent's games and ask: What kinds of games does he win and lose? Where are his greatest chess strengths and weaknesses? This sort of thing is very useful to keep in mind when making difficult, game-changing decisions at the board.

In theory I agree it would be better to learn a lot of theory at home, but it always seems hard to find time for. Among my numerous weaknesses, tactics, calculation and endings all have priority over openigns at the moment! And I would still spend some time refreshing the lines likely to be played before a game.
  

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Re: Chess Book Review blog
Reply #28 - 08/01/13 at 22:38:45
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