@mchill
The leap forward in strategical explanations from Silman was astounding. To focus on imbalances leading to advantages instead of just advantages is probably the biggest difference between Silman and those who came before.
I might have to go on a Silman book binge to honor his legacy!
He had a great column in Chess Life called "The Amateur's Mind" that was annotated training games with his students. There were comments from the students about what they were thinking, and comments from Silman, mostly pointing out the flaws in their thinking, but in an entertaining way.
He was a quality writer who could keep an audience engaged.
My favorite story of Silman's is about the chess puzzle scene he made for the Harry Potter movie.
From my memory....
"They had me design a chess puzzle with a lot of parameters to it, and I took a long time to make a position that works. In the end they clipped certain parts out of the movie, and it didn't work anymore. . . I was furious!" 😆
