Semkov wrote on 03/20/13 at 15:11:41:
I would suggest that you read chess books on Ipad via the new Forwardchess app and analyze critical positions on a powerful desktop machine. Why Forwardchess?
Because:
1. You get a book which looks like in print - easy to grasp the structure, branches, highlighted lines. In short - it is like an epub, but at the same time it is interactive - you can press any move to see it on a board. You can switch off the board to see bigger chunks of text.
2. The text is formatted - nothing similar to pgn viewers which offer a total mess of unstructured variations where I get lost immediately.
3. The technology allows chapters with main ideas, many examples, starting from, say, move 15 etc. A pgn book can offer only commented games - you cannot incorporate many fragments in one game.
4. The book is 30-40% cheaper than the hard copy. You can have free updates.
5. A tablet is not fit for analyzing anyways - it is 10-20 times slower than a decent desktop machine, it cannot handle searches in huge databases. It is not for work - a tablet is an excellent reader, but nothing more.
I've been using Forward Chess to read the new Dreev book on the Benoni, and I agree with most of this. I still do get lost on occasion, but not nearly as often as with others. It's a good reader as far as readers go, but I would not say its great. The book on the other hand is great, so its been worth putting up with the reader.
The main problem for me in analyzing on the iPad is that, whatever program I'm using, I find it hard to jump from variation to variation or to record my thoughts and notes. That kind of analysis is really not do-able on the iPad. Ask Stockfish to find the tactic you missed -- OK. Try to figure out which line of the Najdorf to go down -- wait until you get home.
BTW, I actually think its a mistake to read a chess book with an engine running in the background. Whenever I do that, I end up checking to see if the engine agrees with the author, rather than absorbing the material. Better to pay attention to what the author says and go back later to check key positions. Besides OTB, I've got a much better chance of remembering the plans and ideas, than I do any specific, engine-recommended moves.