Originally posted by tharkeshyes, i think exposing oneself to positions must be good, but i like the Purdy method, to try to think how the master played, that is to guess the move and then to reveal the actual move played. Try it, its very instructive i find, sometimes you might surprise yourself, that being said, a good chess book should simply be enjoyed, its half the battle, that is what i fear from tomes like Dovertskys manual on the end game, how is a book like that to be enjoyed? Who can say?
you are assuming, a girlfriend could naturally overcome someones natural laziness... 🙂
just meant, that maybe there is something (game or hobby) that kind of really makes you want to do it. that motivates you so much, that the things belonging to it, come naturally. if that is the way for chess with you, except for the studying part, then i think you ha ...[text shortened]... ions - so flipping through gives me a stronger feeling for 'sound' and 'unsound' positions.
Originally posted by ElmyrI'm not going to bother with the book/laziness issue, but I do have one suggestion for Elmyr (and Robbie) -
So I think I want to make chess a real hobby of mine... I was considering buying a
book on general strategy, but the thing is I know I'm too lazy to work through it.
Like I'm one of those people who walks around blind for a month after their contact
lenses run out, just can't be bothered you know?
The thing is, it's just a real pain setting up all the pi ...[text shortened]... .
I feel like my progress has stagnated recently, so any advice would be appreciated!
What, there's a chess club in your town? How can I put this tactfully? Git yer lazy butt over to that chess club ASAP!!!!! There's no courage required. What's the worst that can happen? You don't like it and never show up again? Whoop-de-do! Hey guys, life is short, make the most of it.
I was thinking of getting a collection of really dull games. Capablanca or Smyslov or something, maybe Botvinnik if I can find a book in algebraic. Open to suggestions. I'd probably have an easier time going through those sorts of games in my head, as opposed to ultra sharp Sicilians with pawn storms on both sides of the board.
Robbie, are you able to go through books w/o a board? I have no doubt books are enjoyable, I'm a big reader of fiction myself, I'm just not keen on the idea of going through a book sitting straight up with a board and pieces. If so how did you, or anyone else, learn to do this? I can usually get through the openings ok, but by move 20+ I find there just aren't enough diagrams in books to keep me happy.
FYI
I cut & pasted the following.
Use to own a couple. Really didn't like the format.
I doubt a lazy person would derive benefit from such books not having annotations.
"German series Weltgischte which has a diagram every five moves. I think there are close to 15 books in the series including Lasker, Petrosian, Capablanca, Chigorin, Steinitz, Anderssen,Tal etc. These were pre-database game collections which had (at the time) almost all known games of the players. ALso many books came with a little booklet of annotations."
Originally posted by ElmyrSmyslov is dull????
I was thinking of getting a collection of really dull games. Capablanca or Smyslov or something, maybe Botvinnik if I can find a book in algebraic. Open to suggestions. I'd probably have an easier time going through those sorts of games in my head, as opposed to ultra sharp Sicilians with pawn storms on both sides of the board.
Robbie, are you able to go th ...[text shortened]... ings ok, but by move 20+ I find there just aren't enough diagrams in books to keep me happy.
You deserve a flogging!
Originally posted by tonytiger41That's (almost) what I'm looking for, thank you. Obviously I'd prefer something with notes, but if it has a diagram every 5 moves it's probably worth it for me. They seem a bit pricey from what I've gathered online though, maybe I'll try Ebay...
FYI
I cut & pasted the following.
Use to own a couple. Really didn't like the format.
I doubt a lazy person would derive benefit from such books not having annotations.
"German series Weltgischte which has a diagram every five moves. I think there are close to 15 books in the series including Lasker, Petrosian, Capablanca, Chigorin, Steinitz, ...[text shortened]... t all known games of the players. ALso many books came with a little booklet of annotations."
Originally posted by tharkeshyou know, i'm a little like you. too lazy to study and not going to get much better without it and lets face it can be rather boring. so instead of studying to try and improve my rating or continue to hop along with my mediocre ability i've decided to only play sub 1100 players without my queen to mix up my play a bit. it's fun and can only improve me as a player learning to play better without my queen.
you are assuming, a girlfriend could naturally overcome someones natural laziness... 🙂
just meant, that maybe there is something (game or hobby) that kind of really makes you want to do it. that motivates you so much, that the things belonging to it, come naturally. if that is the way for chess with you, except for the studying part, then i think you ha ...[text shortened]... answer yourself: doesnt the idea of improving greatly motivate you to do more of the lazy stuff?
as for the girlfriend thing. of course they do... a pair of boobs or a sweet ass can make you do anything 😛
Originally posted by trev33Why don't you just tell us how your cat did it?
you know, i'm a little like you. too lazy to study and not going to get much better without it and lets face it can be rather boring. so instead of studying to try and improve my rating or continue to hop along with my mediocre ability i've decided to only play sub 1100 players without my queen to mix up my play a bit. it's fun and can only improve me as a pl ...[text shortened]... friend thing. of course they do... a pair of boobs or a sweet ass can make you do anything 😛
Originally posted by Elmyryes i can, but it depends on the publication, i have a Karpov book that has loads of illustrations, hundreds in fact, yet the writing is rather dull, also it depends upon how far ahead the writer expects us to follow the moves, i dont bother with anything more than five moves ahead, in fact i often wondered if anyone reads those big long lists of moves orders that we often see in chess books. I guess they must. I tried forcing myself to do it but get lost after about five moves, openings are different because they are so well known and one can easily imagine them in the minds eye. One of the most enjoyable books i read was Retis masters of the chessboard, because it followed the historical development of chess against the social backdrop of the times, thus although it was about chess and chess masters and had many excellent games, it introduced other interesting concepts as well. His evaluation of the differences between Morphy and Anderssohn is the best I've ever read.
I was thinking of getting a collection of really dull games. Capablanca or Smyslov or something, maybe Botvinnik if I can find a book in algebraic. Open to suggestions. I'd probably have an easier time going through those sorts of games in my head, as opposed to ultra sharp Sicilians with pawn storms on both sides of the board.
Robbie, are you able to go th ...[text shortened]... ings ok, but by move 20+ I find there just aren't enough diagrams in books to keep me happy.
Originally posted by trev33no we cant, we learn nothing from cats, rabbits is what we learn from, so innocent and fluffy, just bouncing around all day, eating dandelions and watching out for cunning foxes! look at Bugs bunny compared to Felix the cat, or Tweety pie compared to Sylvester the bad ol putty cat, or Tom compared to Jerry, incontrovertible evidence! that cats are mince!
you could learn a lot from my cat. we all could.
Originally posted by Elmyr
So I think I want to make chess a real hobby of mine... I was considering buying a
book on general strategy, but the thing is I know I'm too lazy to work through it.
Like I'm one of those people who walks around blind for a month after their contact
lenses run out, just can't be bothered you know?
The thing is, it's just a real pain setting up all the pi ...[text shortened]... .
I feel like my progress has stagnated recently, so any advice would be appreciated!
Originally posted by robbie carrobiei think your rabbits need a trip to spec-savers, they're obviously failing on the watching out for foxes front 😛 😞
no we cant, we learn nothing from cats, rabbits is what we learn from, so innocent and fluffy, just bouncing around all day, eating dandelions and watching out for cunning foxes! look at Bugs bunny compared to Felix the cat, or Tweety pie compared to Sylvester the bad ol putty cat, or Tom compared to Jerry, incontrovertible evidence! that cats are mince!
lets look at this thing rationally, how often do you need to clean up rabbit poo? the world is my cats toilet, plus he has the courtesy to cover it afterwards.
my cat 1 - your rabbits 0