There could be a huge difference between studying with the real board and the screen, because the screen is 2D and the real board is 3D. I am saying this 'cause once I stopped playing tournaments for some years, playing only on-line. When I went back to tournaments the board and pieces seemed strange. I do not know how many people had this feeling. I know that young players are used to browse through a book very quickly and absorb some content, but as I am an old fashioned player I still prefer books, paper books, not even e-readers.
I'm an IT guy. I love computers and I use them often. I feel I need a break from a screen when it comes to chess however. I prefer boards and books. I can't for the life of me make myself read e-books.
This is one of the best book i have. I love each part. The Carlsbad section is really great. And yes, read the words. Zlotnik give tons of great info. The guy did worked with Kortchnoi and he have a lot of anecdotes. The last section before the exercises section show a lots of good ideas about the d5 square in the Sicilian. For myself. Yes i read the words. I Play the game on a real board without looking at the variation first. Than i play the game again on Fritz 17 (chessbase) and after that i start looking at the variation's and yes sometimes the evaluation at first sight don't always agree but if you let the machine run for longer time. I think Zlotnik was subventionned by some chess engines developers. And like you said Kostya, i like to ask question to engines. Why did he not play the move i would had played ? And than, copy the variation the engines see. This book is really good. From the beginning to the exercises section it took me 5 weeks. Another author that i like is Ivan Sokolov ( -winning chess middlegame and also - Sacrifice and initiative) However (with the kindle) you have to be aware with the notation sometimes they're are small errors.
Yes, with the kindle there are errors and sometimes it is difficult to go back to where we were. Besides this there is the problem with the index. I have a lot of ebooks but I still prefer paper books and many words.
I feel using a physical board a bit impractical when reading a book with lots of variations. You'll have to remember the positions, reset pieces after each variation. Things can get quite tricky if you read an opening book or My Great Predecessors. So is there any great advantages using a physical board when reading? How much time do you spend reading a game? How fast do IMs and GMs read through a chess book?
Some I've been writting into a program like scid vs pc. Annotating the game with the author ideas, as well as engine checking them. Sometimes I feel like not playing on a screen and playing over the board. And I read a few games from the book in the actual board. I just remember the key positions before I go and adventure a variable. While the variable review over the board is not as deep and simple as when I do it on a chess program. I feel it helps my calculations when I do it over the board, specially because I have to remember the actual position of the game.
I feel like practicing the moves on a real board helps my muscle memory for OTB play and helps me memorize the positions a bit more than looking at a screen
Do you think it can be beneficial to practice reading to chess book without a board? Im studying the ruy lopez from Modern Chess Openings and im starting to be able to see the board in my head. This is something i want to be able to do anyway, playing in my head to calculate better, but should i always be using a board anyway?
@@ChessDojo thanks, i think ill plan to go through each line in my head first, then otb, then review in my head, that way i get the best of visualization and memory.
I was thinking the same, I don't always have a board with me (for exame, when reading in bed or on a train) and don't really want to make the moves on my phone. I can often manage to follow from diagram to diagram and sometimes try to remember the games, but it's time consuming.
Hello really want your help please reply me I was studying silman reassess your chess there was a knight tests in which it was written white to move so I decided a move but when I checked the solution there is a whole new different lines how would I be able to know the move of black please help😢
Romain Edouard's three volume series on calculation was good enough for MVL to use as prep for the first leg of the 2020 candidates. If you're looking for something easier Edouard's Calculation for Kids book isn't bad either.
I liked using Chessbase when reading old game collections. I can click through the game while reading. I had a grand goal of entering all of Alekhine’s and Botvinnik’s annotations from ‘My Best Games of Chess 1907-1938’ and ‘100 Selected Games’ and creating CBH files but I type TOO SLOW.
Even after going through this game, I'm struggling to answer the question of "what did we learn?" Maybe it's just that this one was a "game for children", as you said, and not the most instructive example, but I'm not sure if this game was intended to illustrate any particular concept, or what generalizable idea I was supposed to be taking from it (beyond "don't play copycat chess for 10 moves straight"). I often have this issue when they show variations, especially less forcing ones; there's often no analysis of why a particular move is played, just an assessment at the very end. What do you try to gain from going through games on books like this? How do you take lessons away from it that aren't hyper-specific to the position in the game? Or was this game just a poor example compared to later ones in the chapter, where the words on the page say more about what to pay attention to?
Yeah miniatures are typically only instructive up to a certain level but generally if there's nothing to learn from a game then I've found that you can go through it fairly quickly
The point of the game provided is that playing copycat moves will lead to a loss or at least stopped because eventually you will be checked and the symmetry will be broken. And then you can see exactly at which point that occured; lesson learned. Now if you're white and someone is copying you, attempt to build an attack that contains a check and now you've broken symmetry. It's that simple.
I don’t know if it’s just me, however I don’t think middle game books are useful, I only read opening books and endgame guides because I feel like it’s wasted time to read middle game stuff… Or maybe I’ve only read bad middle game books and that’s why I don’t like reading them.
I feel like a lot of time spent in this method is mostly transcribing the moves on the book. Would it more efficient to study from an interactive online chess course like a chessable course where it eliminates a lot of this time that would otherwise be spent just putting the moves on the board?
It's not really a method, just reading a book and playing the moves out yourself. To answer the question, moving the pieces with your own hand can be great for retention rather than quickly speeding through everything
Excellent video! Just what i was looking for. A couple questions, do you think is better to read without any board (nor physical nor digital) just going throght the moves on the head? Some coaches recomend It in orden to train visualization, but do you think it’s helpfull or it´s better to focus more on learning by replay the moves using a board. There’s a level when it is possible/convenient to read books like This? I appreciate to read your thoughts on this. Thanks.
Thanks! I'd say the point of reading is to learn new ideas, while working on visualization is a separate thing, so I'd recommend using a board while studying and working on visualization a different way
I'm a fairly beginner level player (like, ~1100) but am interested in training and trying to get to ~1600. I feel comfortable (for a newbie) in the early game and I can identify how to close games, but I am totally lost in the mid-game...I find myself thinking "All my pieces are protected and developed...now what...?" I looked at reviews of Zlotnik's book and it seems much of it will be way over my head. Is there a "Midgame for Dummies" book? Or, would a general "Chess for Dummies" book be smarter?
Hello , i had a chess opening book its named “modern chess openings” I couldn’t figure out how to read it or understand it , it is my first opening book. I would be very happy if someone would help me bcz the book is like 20 bucks but I couldn’t figure out the book. It has been sitting on my desk for a while :).