| Jarom asks:
Jeremy,
In studying HOW
TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS, expanded 3rd edition,
I came across the position after Black's 14...Qxb4
(page 237) in your game against Powell in San
Francisco 1981. It seems like white has a lot
to play with 15.Nd5 since after 15...Bd4 he
wins a piece back, and any Queen move allows
for Ne7+ followed by f6.I hate to question
anything you write, since I'm only an “A” player,
but I've been looking at this position for
quite some time and I just can't see what black's
follow-up is to 15.Nd5.
Any help would definitely
let me sleep at night.
BLACK TO MOVE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Silman replies:
You should question EVERYTHING I write!
If you accept things on face value you'll never
acquire a true understanding of the subjects
you're studying. And once you do dig deep into
a situation, the mysteries you unravel will ultimately
make you a far better player.
In the diagrammed position, Black wins pretty
easily if he remains calm and doesn't overact
to White's pseudo-threats. The best response
to 15.Nd5 is 15…Qc5 (Black, who's up material,
should be happy to exchange Queens. This makes
his King safe and takes the game into an easily
winning endgame.) . After 15…Qc5 16.Ne7+ Kf8
17.Nxc8 the game ends instantly after 17…Bd4,
picking up White's Queen. Also note that 15…Qc5
16.Ne7+ Kf8 17.Qxc5 Rxc5 takes the Rook out of
harm's way. That leaves the following line: 15…Qc5
16.Ne7+ Kf8 17.f6 Bxf6! 18.Qxc5 Rxc5 19.Nxg6+
Kg7 (19…fxg6 also wins) and the rest is easy.
Simon asks:
My Fritz doesn't always
agree with your assessments, and some people
have told me that Fritz has found tactical
errors in your book, HTRYC. Don't you feel
ashamed of yourself?
Silman replies:
Like everyone else, I make many mistakes. In
fact, there are indeed a few analytical errors
in Reassess, though this doesn't take away from
the book's real point: to teach a person how
to logically break down a position and improve
his/her positional skills and general understanding.
For those who wrote and claimed that Fritz refuted
some positional assessments in the book (and
chastised me for not using Fritz while writing
the book), I have two reactions: 1) Fritz is
great tactically, but far weaker in quiet positional
situations. Don't believe everything Fritz tells
you; 2) Reassess was written before Fritz existed!
Thus, me using it at that time would have made
me something of a prophet. Also, since I didn't
own a computer or a typewriter in those days
of horse drawn carriages, everything was hand
written. Typos and analytical errors are to be
expected (they appear even in Fritz-proofed books).
Sadly, some people get so excited when Fritz
refutes the occasional string of analysis that
they do harm to themselves. Errors in Alekhine's
classic two books of his own games has made some
players leave their copies on the shelf, thereby
depriving themselves of Alekhine's incredible
notes, awesome imagination, and brilliant artistry.
I have no pretensions about my writings being
in the same class as Alekhine's. But I do believe
that a study of my series' three books (HOW
TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS, THE AMATEUR'S
MIND and THE REASSESS YOUR CHESS WORKBOOK)
will help you play and enjoy the game better.
If an individual prefers to point a finger at
a typo or mistake (which is helpful) while ignoring
the lessons the author was tying to impart (which
is self-defeating), you achieve nothing but becoming
your own worst enemy. | 