I'm embarrassed to post this, but I've had a problem for many years, and wondered if any of you had it too:
In playing over GM games from books or other printed material, you're following an interesting line, and reach (for example) move 27 only to discover the position on your board doesn't match the diagram in print because on move 12 you played whites move incorrectly in haste, You go back and make what you think is the necessary correction and play on, only to discover the position still doesn't match because that's not the only error you've made, you also overlooked blacks 9th move. Now then doubt starts to creep into the back of your mind, "should you play on, or start over?" You start over, and after repeating this (less than happy) experience 2-3 more times complete with different move errors, you finally get through a 47 move GM game in about 4x the time it should take, angry, distracted, and unable to absorb the lessons of the game you just played, because you're now starting to question your ability to complete even this simple exercise without making a mess of it. You wonder - Is this is a common thing players experience, or are you just born stupid. Experiences like this on a regular basis are one reason you shy away from playing over GM games from printed material, since they drain away any enthusiasm and interest you found in the game you just struggled to get through. 😕
* Is this something any of you face?
* Does it get better with practice?
* What can one do to cut down on these errors?
@mchill saidThis is by no means uncommon.
I'm embarrassed to post this, but I've had a problem for many years, and wondered if any of you had it too:
In playing over GM games from books or other printed material, you're following an interesting line, and reach (for example) move 27 only to discover the position on your board doesn't match the diagram in print because on move 12 you played whites move incorrectly in ...[text shortened]... f you face?
* Does it get better with practice?
* What can one do to cut down on these errors?
In 1980 we went on strike so I decided to spend some time improving my game.
As you say, you get a book and a board and try to play thro' some games.
First of all, some moves are played which you don't understand-the text doesn't explain every move.Then you get to the situation where things don't "match".
Is it a misprint in the book? Unlikely so as you say you go back and start again.In those days it was p-kb4 etc which was even more prone to error
It wasn't long before I got fed up with the entire process.
My interest waned somewhat until I bought a Kasparov chess computer years later and I played against that.I never won of course!I also found a friend who played and we used to play in pub gardens when the weather was suitable.
When I retired ,I found this site and now only really play on here for recreation.
I haven't the patience to study and improve a lot but I have learned a lot playing on here
@venda saidThank You. Just needed to read that. 🙂
This is by no means uncommon.
In 1980 we went on strike so I decided to spend some time improving my game.
As you say, you get a book and a board and try to play thro' some games.
First of all, some moves are played which you don't understand-the text doesn't explain every move.Then you get to the situation where things don't "match".
Is it a misprint in the book? Unlikely ...[text shortened]... reation.
I haven't the patience to study and improve a lot but I have learned a lot playing on here
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- 18 Jan 07
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@contenchess saidQuite. It happens to me, too, but not often and only when I don't think about every move for at least a few seconds.
@mchill
Slow down. 😉
To really study a Master game you should be taking about the same amount of time as it took for the Masters to play that game.
One thought is to keep the official position using an electronic device on which the game of interest has been loaded, and to use a second board (whether electronic or physical) for analysis. That way, advancing through the game would entail only pressing the right-arrow key (or other key if defined).
@fmdavidhlevin saidWhy didn't I think of that? 🤔
One thought is to keep the official position using an electronic device on which the game of interest has been loaded, and to use a second board (whether electronic or physical) for analysis. That way, advancing through the game would entail only pressing the right-arrow key (or other key if defined).