Thursday, April 14, 2005

Real Chess and When to Use It

Dan Heisman has indicated that you should play real chess on every move. However, although I can't remember the exact article of his, I believe he later amends this to indicate that there are certain times when you don't need to use it. These would be cases of automatic recaptures as part of an exchange, delivering checkmate, and a few other cases. However, anyone who has tried to play Real Chess can tell you that it takes up a lot of time on the clock to use it properly. So, to make sense of this we need to divide the typical chess game into components and indicate whether or not you should use real chess during those phases of the game.

Here is my proposed breakdown of the game and whether or not one should play Real Chess during those times:

------------Phase----------------------------Real Chess Used? (y or n)
I. Early Opening (Book)-------------------------------no
II. Opening/Middlegame Transition---------------yes
III. Middlegame (Tactics Present)------------------yes
IV. Middlegame (No Tactics Present)--------------yes
V. Middlegame/Endgame Transition--------------yes
VI. Endgame (Familiar/Practiced)-----------------no
VII. Endgame (Unfamiliar)--------------------------yes

5 Comments:

Blogger Margriet said...

Yes, Seirawan describes this to in his book "strategies".
I do this in my games but I often lose on time. I simply don't see much in short time, therefor I need the tactics training.

10:07 PM  
Blogger Pawnsensei said...

Hey CD, Amazon is carrying "Logical Chess Move by Move" again. Do you think it's worth it for me to pick it up since I already have Chess Mentor? I am also going to borrow "Unbeatable Chess Lessons for Juniors" from the library too and I hear they are similar books.

PS

6:54 PM  
Blogger CelticDeath said...

I would think "Logical Chess" might be too basic for you. Maybe check it out from a library first and judge for yourself. I'd tend to think that at your level you'd be better off with Chess Mentor. I'm not familiar with the other book you mentioned, so I can offer any advice on that one.

7:24 PM  
Blogger Pawnsensei said...

Ok, thanks for your input. The local libraries don't have any copies of the book but from your input it sounds like my time is better spent with Chess Mentor anyway.

BTW, Did you purchase any add-ons for the program? I have my eye on "Pawn Endings from Beginner to Expert" for my next purchase down the road. Have you heard any feedback on it?

PS

10:26 PM  
Blogger CelticDeath said...

I haven't gotten any of the add-ons yet, for pretty much the same reasons as you. I haven't heard much. In my view, Convekta covers the post-Chess Mentor Comprehensive area (over 1700 elo) much better.

8:11 AM  

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