Originally posted by diskamyl50 books ?!?!?!?
I second that. if she is into computers (unlike my parents), than the CM11 would be best choice. it should be out by then. I have CM10, and I think CM11, with additional courses from "the art of learning", would be worth 50 books or something in terms of chess education. it's excellent for beginners. actually I think it's excellent for everyone 🙂
lol, but I doubt.
50 books is a lot...
Originally posted by diskamylI'm not certain how many versions of Chessmaster I have: 2100, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 10th edition, and one or two in between. None of these are more valuable than five decent chess books, although they are far superior to the entire oeuvre of Keene and Schiller. 2100 was a state of the art chess program when I bought it in 1989 (my computer had 1 MB of RAM). 3000 to 5000 held their own against Fritz and company (they ran on Windows 3.1). Chessmaster stopped producing software for the serious chess player after that.
I second that. if she is into computers (unlike my parents), than the CM11 would be best choice. it should be out by then. I have CM10, and I think CM11, with additional courses from "the art of learning", would be worth 50 books or something in terms of chess education. it's excellent for beginners. actually I think it's excellent for everyone 🙂
I bought CM 10 after the price was cut in half (to $20 USD). If you love your mother, recommend that she do the same for CM 11 (perhaps X-mas 2008).
If you wish quality without density, Yasser Seiriwan's set is almost unmatched. Silman's will take you further, but will demand more effort.
Originally posted by vipiuyeah, I may have exaggerated a bit 🙂
50 books ?!?!?!?
lol, but I doubt.
50 books is a lot...
but I'm a huge CM fan. going through all the training sets even without studying the positions (I mean, just listening and watching the board, like a movie) should take more than 24 hours. again, that's a pretty rough estimation.
if you carefully study all those lessons like reading a book seriously (setting all those positions on the board and analyzing them all etc), and if you use the program as a pool of opponents and play regularly against them, it should really be worth a lot of books.
Originally posted by diskamylI prefer books because when I get myself on the PC it is difficult to stop myself to log on to some chess server and play those loooooong series of bullet/lightning or blitz useless games...spending hours on them with no real benefit...as usually you do not learn much out of theose fast games, only training a bit speed of calculation and the view on chess...
yeah, I may have exaggerated a bit 🙂
but I'm a huge CM fan. going through all the training sets even without studying the positions (I mean, just listening and watching the board, like a movie) should take more than 24 hours. again, that's a pretty rough estimation.
if you carefully study all those lessons like reading a book seriously (setting all ...[text shortened]... a pool of opponents and play regularly against them, it should really be worth a lot of books.
On the other side, when I have only a book I can stay out from that tempting ineternet...
Originally posted by vipiuwell down at my level (🙂) it sometimes gets real difficult to follow some move suggestions, especially in the endgame etc, so I prefer to read e-books (which I have plenty), or use softwares when I study, that way I can analyse each variation I cannot see why did not take place in the game.
I prefer books because when I get myself on the PC it is difficult to stop myself to log on to some chess server and play those loooooong series of bullet/lightning or blitz useless games...spending hours on them with no real benefit...as usually you do not learn much out of theose fast games, only training a bit speed of calculation and the view on chess...
On the other side, when I have only a book I can stay out from that tempting ineternet...
playing the continuations of tactics problems I study against an engine, trying to win those "won" positions, or checking if some other move does the same thing, the side variations that I found were wrong (checking if they were actually wrong, is what I mean) etc. were helpful at least as solving those questions itself. so I prefer computers instead of books. I guess everyone has different preferences for learning.
I went through a few of the lessons on CM 10. I missed one problem described as a mate in four because I found a mate in two. Such errors are inexcusable in the 10th edition of instructional software.
Sadly, when UbiSoft took over the Chessmaster software, the quality suffered.
Don't get me wrong, software is valuable. I certainly use ChessBase, Fritz and Hiarcs, as well as the handful of training CDs more than my nearly 200 chess books. Fritz is easily worth a dozen books by any author (even Silman, Seirawan, and Dvoretsky). Chessmaster bears more comparison to Keene and Schiller. See http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/keene.html
Originally posted by gaychessplayerThe is no such thing as a "positional chess monster" below the GM level. Many IM's ARE tactical monsters, Emory Tate being a prime example. I am near master strength, playing for 30 years and no one below the ranking of GM has beat me positionally.
"How to Reassess Your Chess" by Jeremy Silman should probably be read by all players rated below 2000 USCF, IMO.
"Sharpen Your Tactics" by Anatoly Lein, et. al. Over 1000 tactical problems to solve, graded by difficulty.
The first book will make you a positional monster, and the second book will make you a tactical monster! 🙂
Chess 5,344 Problems, combinations, and games by Polgar would be a great book for you. A ton of work to be done in the book but It teaches tactics. Ive just started training from it, myself. I have done all the mate in ones and am going to start on the mate in 2's tommorow. The hardback book if you can find it is beautiful. But I might get the softback book so I can take it to work as well.
I have Logical Chess and it is a very good, entertaining book. Chernev makes the games come alive. Yasser Seirwin does the same in "Winning Chess Brilliancies". It is more fun to go through a games collection than to read middlegame books. I have Silman's "reaccess your chess" and its a little above my head at this point. He has a new endgame book out that is being praised by everyone, that teaches all levels of players the endgame. It might be worth getting as well.
Originally posted by fluffymopI think that when I said that reading the "How to Reassess Your Chess" would make the reader, "a positional chess monster" was quite the exaggeration. But reading it will improve your play a lot. 🙂
The is no such thing as a "positional chess monster" below the GM level. Many IM's ARE tactical monsters, Emory Tate being a prime example. I am near master strength, playing for 30 years and no one below the ranking of GM has beat me positionally.