Introduction
My Father taught me to play chess (before I'd ever picked up a snooker cue!) and he had taught himself from a standard "How to Play" book. The results were two chess players who played the way all beginners were advised to play. Namely the above moves with a couple of different continuations thereafter. Why? Well, this was recommended as the strongest way to start the game. Who were we to question the word of experts? We continued in our own little world of chess, game after game following a similar pattern, never experimenting, and not really improving until snooker appeared on the horizon. bviously that took up the majority of my teenage years (when a hobby also turns into a profession it becomes all-consuming). Nevertheless, while travelling around the world trying to knock balls into holes with a wooden stick, my chess computer was an ideal companion. Initially I was frustrated by the time they took to play a decent move and eventually, with the evolution of silicon into a pain in the backside, I was demoralised by the strength they'd achieved. In the space of a decade a piece of plastic had left me in the stalls in the learning stakes! I felt I didn't have enough ability to enjoy the game so I stopped playing.
You may be wondering why I'm involved in a book on chess; look no further than curiosity. Chess Monthly (a magazine about chess that comes out monthly) approached me to be their June celebrity page 3 pin-up due to my documented interest in the game. A question-and-answer interview was printed which thoroughly flattered me. I played a game with my interrogator Edward Penn which I lost inspirationally and I arranged to turn up at the Chess & Bridge Centre in London for one of their pen days' where, coincidentally, Graham Burgess (Managing Editor for Chess at Batsford) was attempting to destroy his sanity in an assault on the World marathon Blitz record. 72 hours of continuous five-minute games! During an enjoyable day I managed to lose gracefully to Graham (by running out of brain cells within the allotted time) and decided to play more chess again.
Quite soon after, Graham approached me with the novel idea of co-authoring this book with David Norwood GM. This approach to a tuitional book from a different perspective appealed to me. A part of me said great! - a chance to ask the questions I've always wanted to ask, and not to read something well over my head. The other part of me was sceptical. I'd hit a brick wall long ago when it came to improvement. If you can't improve naturally then even an expert would be unable to add the missing ingredients. I should have known better from my own experiences in snooker. Whatever the outcome, I thought it would certainly be a challenge for both of us. What I wasn't prepared for, was the way David, overnight, started to change the way I tackled the game. It was a revelation. Nobody had ever explained to me how to go about assessing the position on a chess board before. Perhaps I'd never asked the right person!
Look, I know where the pieces start off, how they move, what they're worth and the main idea behind the game, but that's not enough. Chess represents a war, and you're the General. You decide where to put your men, what strategy to employ and how to react to the changing patterns. Unless you are one of a small minority, you won't become a General on your own. You'll need someone with experience to guide you and point out the pitfalls. You'll hardly scratch the surface by yourself; I'm proof of that. Until recently I'd been pushing pieces around the board with a short-sighted view to the game. Either attacking something, or just reacting to a move by my opponent, I honestly had no real idea what I was doing. Basically I didn't understand chess.
I've never studied the openings. The middle of the game I'd always found the most confusing and if I ever reached the endgame against my computer, I always messed it all up. David Norwood has managed to unlock more chess talent in me than I'd ever thought possible. Together we've tried to come up with a book that is entertaining, informative and isn't a cure for insomnia! While the contents of this book never boast my improvement to the dizzy heights of a grandmaster, with more understanding, I've started to enjoy playing chess again. I hope you'll find it a similar experience.
Steve Davis
Brentwood 1995
How and Why to Improve Your Chess
David Norwood:
There has been a never-ending stream of books and articles on the theme of 'How to Improve Your Chess'. Already there are several videos on the same topic, and soon CD-RM's will also be instructing us on self-improvement. Whatever the mode of communication, one thing is taken for granted: that people actually want to improve their chess. After teaching chess for more than ten years, my feeling is that this is a dangerous presupposition.
At first this might sound ridiculous. All chess players, from novices to masters, will tell you that they want to improve. Many people are willing to pay for private tuition. Every year tens of thousands of books are purchased because the buyers believe that this will somehow improve their chess. I have a good friend who made a resolution to improve his chess and promptly bought every ChessBase disc available on the market.
But do people really want to improve? In my experience many chess books remain as new as the day they were bought. Purchasing a book might display a desire to improve, but conviction lies in ploughing through the pages. To play chess, however badly, can be one of the most enjoyable pastimes known to man. Sitting down and studying a book ... well ... that constitutes WRK.
Still, certain people do improve their chess. In the main though these people are smaller than grown-ups. Children seem to have no problem improving their chess and I do not believe that this is due to a greater capacity for hard work. The key is that adults become stubborn. They refuse to keep their minds open - especially on the chess board. I remember watching a 'friendly' game in which two veterans kept missing a key move. When the game was over I pointed out the move but one of the players glowered at me as if I'd insulted his mother.
The fact is that 'bad' players can enjoy the game just as much as grandmasters. There are some players who simply do not want to improve, no matter what they claim, because chess may be too much fun to take seriously. The main problem with the 'How to Improve Your Chess' industry is that it ignores certain aspects of human nature. It is for this reason that I have added a Why to the topic.
So Why? Ask an exuberant schoolboy why he wants to improve and he might say with flourish 'To become World Champion'. But most of us have long since given up such dreams. Still, the better we get, the more chance we have of winning. And one thing that every player agrees on is that winning is enjoyable. Everyone wants to win.
Steve, you have known a lifetime of winning. Isn't that enough? Why then do you want to improve your chess?
STEVE: Winning isn't the only thing. I'm not even sure it's the most important thing. It's just that I've been playing this game for years and I keep making the same mistakes over and over again. I like chess, but I don't feel that I'm enjoying it as much as I could. When I'm playing against my Father we get into certain positions and neither of us has a clue what to do. It would be nice to actually understand what's going on. I'm sure I should be better than my current standard. I'm not talking about reaching international standard. I'd just like to know where to put my pieces, and more importantly, know why I'm putting them there..
To understand more about chess is a worthy goal. Not only will it make you a better player, but it will also enable you to appreciate the games of the greats. The problem is that in chess there is so much to understand. Even though I have been playing the game for most of my life, I sometimes feel that I know nothing. So if you really have decided that you want to improve your play, the next problem presents itself: where to begin?
STEVE:The main problem for me is time. I practice snooker every day and then there's my family. Possibly, reading dozens of books would help my chess, but the ones I have read are heavy going, and I tend to mentally switch off after a while. I want a book that sends out a different message to the reader. ne that encourages a desire to improve; something that doesn't bore the pants off you, telling you what to do, but actually enlightens and helps you to enjoy learning during your limited hobby hours.
Steve's problem I think is everyone's problem. Most chess books are written by chess professionals. For such players, chess is not a hobby but a means of earning a living. For them, improving their chess is not a luxury, it is their only means of surviving in a highly competitive chess world. I sometimes feel that they are writing books for players like themselves. I'm always staggered when I see a 300 page book containing an in-depth analysis of some sub-variation of the Sicilian Defence - who actually reads all that? They seem to assume that the average club player has as much time to devote to the game as they do. The truth, though, is that most chess players have jobs and families which occupy 95% of their time. So even if you are committed to improving your chess, you have to be realistic. With so little time available, you have to use it efficiently. And I do not believe that memorising a thousand different lines of the Sicilian Najdorf is the best way to use one's valuable time.
STEVE: But is it possible to improve with limited practice? I feel I've become so set in my ways. I'm probably no better than I was when I was 14 years old.
obviously to become very good you have to work very hard. But I believe that many players could improve all aspects of their play without having to make dramatic changes to their lifestyles. The most important quality required is a willingness to re-learn. This is why children improve so rapidly. They are not fixed in their ways so they find it easy to absorb new ideas. You also have to be honest with yourself. Be ready to accept that much of what you are doing is wrong; that is the only way to get it right. The best thing that ever happened to my chess was when I went to the Soviet Union in 1986. I was crushed game after game. It was terrible for my ego but it did illustrate all the weaknesses in my play.
So the answer to the question Where to begin? is with you. You are the one trying to improve, and you are in the best position to identify your weaknesses. More importantly, only you can decide how much time and energy to devote to chess improvement. From now on every game that you play should be seen as a potential lesson, even if you go on to win!
Steve, let's play a game. But on this occasion I want you to tell me everything that you are thinking. Explain why you are playing the moves, what you think of the position, which moves you spotted and which you missed. This can be the first step in a process where you question your whole approach to chess.....
After a few months of torment, Steve starts to change his mind:
Source: From Chess Connection