thibdb13 wrote on 01/22/10 at 12:48:41:
I do not want to sound pessimistic, but looking at the FIDE rating lists, it seems Mr. Hortillosa 'elo is going down each time a new list is published. So his book might not be a guarantee of success.
On the other hand, I am the first to recognize that less talented players can be wonderful teachers.
Hi friends,
Below is a review by USCF Life Master Brian Wall. He sent this out to members of his yahoo group of which I am a member. The group follows his exploits with his favorite Fishing Pole opening. He has tons of videos in YouTube showcasing numerous victories in this "insane" opening. The opening caught the attention of Internet citizens when a class player held GM Browne to a draw in a simul with it.
So, below is a chess master's take on the book.
Andres D. Hortillosa
Improving Player
*****************************
Review - Improve Your Chess at Any Age
By USCF Life Master Brian Wall
What I hated about this book - I didn't write it.
What I loved about this book - Everything else.
What I liked…
I know Andy; we were Denver Open co-Champions in 2000 with Senior Master James McCarty.
Most of the games are very recent, 30 played during 2008-2009 with 7 games before that. Fresh games allow for fresh emotions in the retelling.
Andy uses his education to invent a system to play better chess and he shares it with you. He calls his readers "improvers."
The best part is the honesty, even though he is touting a system, he doesn't shy away from painful blunders on both sides.
I tried to delude myself reading the book that I wouldn't make the errors he did but I remember he showed me the second to last game in the book at the 2009 World Open and I did not find the key moves in C.Boor-A Hortillosa.
I studied or played or befriended or talked to many of his opponents.
Studied - Aronian, Svidler, Ivanchuk, Radjabov, Gelfand, Van Wely.
Talked to - D Hartsook, Van Wely.
Played at least one blitz game - Radjabov, C. Boor, Macintyre, Lugo.
Played slow chess - Ginat, Karklins, Nakamura, Shulman.
Andy also mentions two books by my friend David Vigorito, Challenging the Nimzo-Indian and Play the Semi-Slav.
Knowing a lot of the characters in the book gave it a friendly feel to me. I have also met two of Andy's coaches, IM Mark Ginsburg and GM Dmitry Gurevich.
Andy is not afraid to speak the truth, with his first hand Philippine background he mentions that solving a chess puzzle by starting at the end with the desired checkmate is a pervasive solving method in the Oriental culture.
Andy mentions many common methods of improving, ICC, Chessbase, coaching, and studying your game with Chess engines.
I belong to Dana MacKenzie's Chess blog and he mentioned yesterday the book title was his idea.
The book basically goes like this - Andy mentions his frustration at his chess rust due to his time in the Army. After retiring, he has more time for chess and wants to make FIDE 2300 for the FM title. He invents a system for chess improvement and annotates 37 games, describing how his method worked. Sometimes the method failed, sometimes Andy failed his own system and sometimes he didn't have enough time to apply the system. In general it worked very well, most of the outright blunders belonged to his opponents, and most of Andy's errors were due to the position being too deep. He basically found a method to get the most out of himself.
The book made me laugh too due to our different styles. I play every opening and will sac just about anything, unclear or not. Andy is one of those guys that spends lots of money on chess books and lets many of them collect dust. Others I've met come to mind here. Andy tends to play very solid chess and constantly offers draws to his higher rated opponents in the book. Sometimes they refuse and force Andy to play out winning positions. Andy has never played the King's Indian, Benko or Gruenfeld, not to mention the insane stuff I play. He admits an aversion to unclear play. I like to gamble, Andy likes to play the percentages. Think of us as the Colts versus the Saints.
I read the book pretty much nonstop upon arrival, it reads like an exciting novel. You will squirm when you see how hard Andy is trying and how he twists in the wind with each painful oversight. You will rejoice as he takes down or draws a multitude of higher rated players. You will wonder what you would have done in the same circumstances.
The book is chockfull of original insights on every page, for example, the reason we can see our mistake right AFTER we move is the mind has a clear delineation between reality and fantasy, before we move, it's a fantasy, we have to make our next move in our mind to trick ourselves into believing it's REAL, then the mind will do the necessary work.
Andy doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk, facing 2200-2500 players in every chapter. The chapters are divided mostly by recent strong tournaments he played in. He also gives a few games from 10 years ago so you can see how his chess was when he left off.
Andy thinks out loud as he climbs the Olympian heights in a way that GMs can't or won't somehow. I think you will recognize a friend as he struggles to go higher. I like how he berates himself for missing any move a chess master would see instantly, even if it looks like it loses a piece. It's a fun book, very
readable and a serious book for those trying to improve. His wisdom seeps into you on every page.
Highly recommended.
Brian Wall
USCF Life Master
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Improve your Chess at Any Age - Andres Hortillosa (Read 61984 times)
