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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book? (Read 20009 times)
Scarblac
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #9 - 12/13/16 at 08:34:45
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Doesn't "Fischer swore by Bilguers handbook" belong in that same list of stories that sound good but aren't true?
  
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Keano
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #8 - 12/13/16 at 02:40:59
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Stigma wrote on 12/13/16 at 02:14:26:

I find that chess books have been getting better and better since I started buying them (or winning them as prizes) some 25 years ago. The best offerings from Quality Chess and New in Chess these days dwarf even the classics of the past (with the exception of Kasparov's and Dvoretsky's books, but they are also fairly recent).


I find them getting worse and worse. There is some good stuff but percentage wise 99% is garbage.

Capa had Bilguers Handbook, even Philidor had worked out the standard endings to amazing precision and thats going way way back in the time machine.

  
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Stigma
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #7 - 12/13/16 at 02:14:26
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Keano wrote on 12/13/16 at 01:59:22:

yep plenty, and probably better quality than now. Even Fischer swore by Bilguers handbook and thats going back, so you can fill in the blanks.

These days we are swamped with books but mostly mediocre dross better off ignored altogether.

I find that chess books have been getting better and better since I started buying them (or winning them as prizes) some 25 years ago. The best offerings from Quality Chess and New in Chess these days dwarf even the classics of the past (with the exception of Kasparov's and Dvoretsky's books, but they are also fairly recent).
  
Improvement begins at the edge of your comfort zone. -Jonathan Rowson
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Stigma
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #6 - 12/13/16 at 02:06:54
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ErictheRed wrote on 12/13/16 at 01:19:29:
To me this is a bit like all of that "Jimi Hendrix couldn't read music" or "Einstein was bad at math" or "Mr. Rogers is a former Vietnam sniper" stuff that gets repeated as though it's true.  It just makes for a good story--and don't let the truth get in the way of that!

Yeah, there are quite a few things "everybody know" that are plainly false. Good stories are simply much better at spreading through minds (and the internet) than mundane facts. A vindication of memetics?

"Most people only use 10% of their brain"

"Columbus discovered America"

"Everybody (especially the Church) believed the world was flat until Columbus discovered America"

"Lemmings commit mass suicide"

"Chewing gum takes years to digest"

"There are left-brained and right-brained people with systematic differences between them"

Though actually I think we should correct this kind of thing whenever we can – the truth matters, and there are enough good stories left anyway.
  
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Keano
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #5 - 12/13/16 at 01:59:22
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ExDurisGloria wrote on 12/13/16 at 01:09:28:
Were there even that many chess books available at that time? Would non-book publications be more prevalent or obtainable? It's hard to consider this debate as someone who knows little about the context of this era.


yep plenty, and probably better quality than now. Even Fischer swore by Bilguers handbook and thats going back, so you can fill in the blanks.

These days we are swamped with books but mostly mediocre dross better off ignored altogether.
  
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #4 - 12/13/16 at 01:48:50
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Well what is true without question is that Capa hung out at the Havana and New York chess clubs. That is more than enough to transmit what he also could have learned from books (e.g. Steinitzian principles). Being surrounded by strong players and playing a huge amount is more important than reading books I think.
  
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #3 - 12/13/16 at 01:19:29
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To me this is a bit like all of that "Jimi Hendrix couldn't read music" or "Einstein was bad at math" or "Mr. Rogers is a former Vietnam sniper" stuff that gets repeated as though it's true.  It just makes for a good story--and don't let the truth get in the way of that!
  
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ExDurisGloria
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #2 - 12/13/16 at 01:09:28
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Were there even that many chess books available at that time? Would non-book publications be more prevalent or obtainable? It's hard to consider this debate as someone who knows little about the context of this era.
  
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Stigma
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Re: Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
Reply #1 - 12/12/16 at 20:37:58
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I remember Yermolinsky being extremely skeptical of this claim (and similar myths of natural born chess greats) in The Road to Chess Improvement. But I'm not sure that was based on any concrete historical evidence; he just didn't think it was possible to reach world champion level without quite a bit of serious study.

En passant, it seems one of the "secrets" of our current champion is to somehow study and remember huge amounts of chess while still maintaining a playful, non-work attitude to it.
  
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Is it True that Capa Never Read a Chess Book?
12/12/16 at 19:54:46
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It's been said that Capablanca never read a chess book or, at least, that he didn't do so until after he became world champion.  Has anyone been able to shed light on whether this is true or not?   
  
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