Jose wrote:
I’m a Brasilian chess player with a FIDE
rating of 2150.
I have a bothersome question that nobody, including
very strong players, ever explains: Should
I put aside the classic books and only study
modern chess writings (This is the opinion
of GM John Nunn)? Or, must I first study the
classical texts? I have many, many, books,
classic and modern, but which book - group
would best help me to improve? I'm working,
I don't have much free time, and I am forty
years old. My dream is to play in a Brasilian
Championship, so I know that hard work is necessary
if I’m to survive in that tournament.
I don’t like opening study and am not sure what would give me
the best return on the study hours I put into chess.
One more question: What's your opinion about Alburt’s COMPREHENSIVE
CHESS COURSE series?
Silman replies: Chess is blessed with books on all its aspects:
improvement, entertainment, history, bio, etc.
I’ve always believed that a study of
chess history is necessary in order to appreciate
the highs and lows of those that came before
us, and how the dynamics of tournament chess
have drastically changed due to computers and
the surge of opening theory. However, your question is solely about improving
your game, and about the usefulness of studying
old instructive classics that might help you
achieve your goal of a successful showing in
your country’s championship. Let’s look at a comparison of classics
vs. modern in the various categories: BEGINNER: Be it now or 100 years ago, the rules are
the same and the basics haven’t changed.
Thus, any lucid “how to move the pieces” book
from yesteryear is likely no better or worse
than those written today. Oddly, Chernev’s
classic LOGICAL
CHESS MOVE BY MOVE (1957) is still the
best beginner’s game collection. OPENING: Opening theory changes drastically from one
year to another, so comparing theory books
written 20 or 30 years ago to those written
now is ridiculous. Unless you’re researching
old games in some antiquated system, the newer
the book the better off you’ll be. MIDDLEGAME: Understanding this area of chess calls for
books that can excite the reader, and pass
on knowledge in a fun-to-read manner that’s
easy to assimilate. Classics like THE
ART OF ATTACK (1965) by Vukovic, ART
OF THE MIDDLEGAME (1964) by Keres and Kotov,
Euwe’s two-volume set on THE
MIDDLEGAME (1964), and Kotov’s THINK
LIKE A GRANDMASTER (1971) have never been bettered. Of course, quite a few modern middlegame books
have already made an impact on chess literature
and deserve to be in every chess library. A
few that come to mind: HOW
TO DEFEND IN CHESS by Crouch, the whole
series by Dvoretsky, my own HOW
TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS and the REASSESS
YOUR CHESS WORKBOOK for players in the
1600 to 2100 range, THE AMATEUR'S
MIND for players 1000 to 1599, Eingorn’s
wonderful DECISION
MAKING AT THE CHESSBOARD, Watson’s
award winning SECRETS
OF MODERN CHESS STRATEGY and his brilliant
follow up CHESS
STRATEGY IN ACTION, IMPROVE
YOUR CHESS NOW by Tisdall, UNDERSTANDING
CHESS MOVE BY MOVE and SECRETS
OF PRACTICAL CHESS both by Nunn. ENDGAME: Here we have a whole slew of classic endgame
books that hold their own in every way to their
modern counterparts. Shereshevsky’s brilliant ENDGAME
STRATEGY (1985) is one of my favorites,
and the advanced but spectacular Averbakh series
(around 1974) is just about as good as it gets
(for example, if you find PAWN ENDINGS by Averbakh & Maizelis
in a used bookstore, grab it and laugh your
way gleefully out all the way home). REINFELD
ON THE ENDGAME IN CHESS (1957) is another little
known used bookstore gem that can often be “stolen” for
a buck or two. Celebrated modern efforts are: THE
SURVIVAL GUIDE TO ROOK ENDINGS by Emms, FUNDAMENTAL
CHESS ENDINGS by Muller & Lemprecht,
and DVORETSKY'S
ENDGAME MANUAL. GAME COLLECTIONS: There are an enormous amount of excellent
game collections out there, and the decision
really rests on your tastes as a player and
whose style interests you. Personally, my favorites
are all classic books that I feel are better
than anything that’s appeared in the
last thirty years: Alekhine’s BEST GAMES
collections, ONE HUNDRED SELECTED GAMES by
Botvinnik, BENT
LARSEN MASTER OF COUNTER-ATTACK by Larsen, THE
LIFE AND GAMES OF MIKHAIL TAL by Tal, and
TIGRAN PETROSIAN HIS LIFE AND GAMES by Vasiliev
(the only non-autobiographical work in this
Game Collections list!). The study of deeply annotated master games
is THE best way to improve, so pick a chess
hero and bask in the glory of his chess masterpieces. PSCHOLOGY: There’s a solid base of books that deal
with chess psychology, but the only one that
seems worthwhile is SEVEN
DEADLY CHESS SINS by Rowson. Naturally, your study program should revolve
around eradicating your particular weaknesses.
Reading these books (just owning them isn’t
enough!), and playing against people who are
a bit better than yourself, will help you achieve
your chess goals. Click if you would like to read an article
about THE
STUDY OF TACTICS. |
