Mysteries of Chess

Technical questions regarding Openings, Middlegames, Endings etc.
User avatar
Jon Mahony
Posts: 669
Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:47 pm
Location: Leeds

Re: Mysteries of Chess

Post by Jon Mahony » Fri Dec 05, 2014 4:12 pm

Geoff Chandler wrote:Hi Jon,
I agree, handicapping the so called stronger player does not help the weaker player.
Next it will be letting them take moves back.
Couldn't agree more Geoff - I remember reading somewhere that Morphy got to the point where he wouldn't play a game without at least giving pawn and move to his opponent - I would have told him to get knotted! :lol:
"When you see a good move, look for a better one!" - Lasker

Matt Fletcher
Posts: 271
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:42 pm

Re: Mysteries of Chess

Post by Matt Fletcher » Fri Dec 05, 2014 4:13 pm

A stronger player going over a weaker player's games can be very useful. Similarly, a stronger player giving their thoughts on their own games can be helpful (and involves fewer losses for the weaker player!)

But there really isn't much substitute for playing (and losing) if you want to get better.

Geoff Chandler
Posts: 3486
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 1:36 pm
Location: Under Cover

Re: Mysteries of Chess

Post by Geoff Chandler » Fri Dec 05, 2014 4:21 pm

Hi Matt,

That is the truth, You can read all you want about swimming but
you will never know anything about it till you jump into the water.

Play and keep learning, seek guidance, listen, then play some more.

Jonathan Bryant
Posts: 3452
Joined: Sun May 11, 2008 3:54 pm

Re: Mysteries of Chess

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Fri Dec 05, 2014 4:31 pm

Peter Webber wrote: Let's put it in golfing terms ....
Something that hasn’t been mentioned yet is the possibility of getting a professional coach. I wouldn’t recommend unless you were very clear on what your goals were and what you’d be getting for your money, it’s just something to think about.

I mention it mostly because you mentioned golf in your post. In golf, as I recall, it’s quite common for amateur adults to pay for private 1-2-1 coaching. Similar story in tennis (my chess club plays its home matches at a tennis club so I’m often watching adults get lessons while I’m waiting for the chess to start). See also: learning the piano (as I am).

In chess, though, it’s really rare for adults to pay for tuition. I"m not sure why that should be (perhaps because we spend our money on instructional books and DVDs instead?). It’s just not something that many of us seem to do.

JustinHadi

Re: Mysteries of Chess

Post by JustinHadi » Sat Dec 06, 2014 11:32 am

Jonathan Bryant wrote: Something that hasn’t been mentioned yet is the possibility of getting a professional coach. I wouldn’t recommend unless you were very clear on what your goals were and what you’d be getting for your money, it’s just something to think about.
I'm not sure you need to be so clear on what your goals are. Something vague like win more games or erase some bad habits from your game could be enough to improve your play and enjoyment of the game. I had 6 lessons from a coach back in 2005 and won more than the cost of the coaching in prize money in major (U160/U170) rapidplay and longplay events :)

Jonathan Bryant
Posts: 3452
Joined: Sun May 11, 2008 3:54 pm

Re: Mysteries of Chess

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:39 pm

JustinHadi wrote:
Jonathan Bryant wrote: Something that hasn’t been mentioned yet is the possibility of getting a professional coach. I wouldn’t recommend unless you were very clear on what your goals were and what you’d be getting for your money, it’s just something to think about.
Something vague like win more games or erase some bad habits from your game could be enough to improve your play and enjoyment of the game.
Oh for sure. But those goals are clear even if it’s vague.

You want to win more games? Fine. Then you can move on to asking how coaching might help that.

You want to erase bad habits? Fine. Then you can ask "Which ones?" and then end up with how coaching would help.


What I was trying to get at is that if you just approach a coach thinking "I"ll have lessons and I’ll get better", you stand a good chance of wasting your money.


Out of interest, why did you stop?

JustinHadi

Re: Mysteries of Chess

Post by JustinHadi » Sat Dec 06, 2014 9:15 pm

Change of career and moved out of the area, plus I was improving anyway. It felt more like getting rid of a roadblock with hindsight. The main benefits I would say were getting rid of some bad habits (I won't tell you what) and getting a decent opening repertoire which was suitable for my level. It's quite hard to do either of these just with instructional and openings books. Experience helps though.

User avatar
Michael Farthing
Posts: 2069
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:28 pm
Location: Morecambe, Europe

Re: Mysteries of Chess

Post by Michael Farthing » Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:17 am

We have a tame FM in our club and after the games finish at around 10 he invariably invites players (of whatever standard) to go through their games with him. This is a communal venture so that all the rest of us can profit from it. It is not for the faint-hearted as he is a strict task master - reminds me of that nasty judge on Strictly whatever it is. Even if we won our games, by midnight we are going home miserable at our abject performance! But it is useful and makes a very companionable end to the evening and brings the club together socially.

But there are lots of other possibilities that have not been mentioned if someone is prepared to put a bit of effort into offering tuition. For example, set up a position where one player has a win if the position is played correctly and give that position to the weaker player. Clearly the starting position should be chosen to provide the most fun - a strong possibility that the weaker player will win but a a good possibility that he won't. And of course, there can be after-analysis and hints during play. The sky's the limit with this one - a whole year's structured course with gradually harder positions could generate a best-selling book :-)

Consultation games are another possibility.

Many years ago my school chess club ran competitive "How good is your chess" sessions. [In brief, for those unaware of this, these follow a grandmaster game in which competitors have to guess the next move and get points for the quality of their answers ].

Simultaneous displays offer a challenge for the best member of a club and a chance for the rest.

At Christmas we always run a time-handicapped rapid play based on a Swiss or all play all depending on numbers. Time allowed varies from 5 minutes each to 9 minutes to 1 minute depending on grade difference. This has already been suggested but the competition element adds spice (and a bottle of wine for the winner).

Perhaps a change since yesteryear is the advent of grading itself. I have to admit that I go to club meetings hoping to add a graded game to the tally and maybe that is now a common problem among us - but I would suggest it is a dangerous road and that we should be looking to keep fun in our hobby.