Quotes Improve Your Chess Now

The three pillars of learning  

Seeing much, suffering much and studying much, are the three pillars of learning.   
- Benjamin Disraeli  

Have your eyes on the goal 

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal. 
– Hannah More  

Chess maxims (Established chess principles, phrases), 
Rules of thumb 

…many chess maxims have become consigned to cliché status, or condensed to catchphrases. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

One of the most important projects for an improving player is advancing to the stage where one can judge when rule-breaking is justified. 

A closer study of the reasons certain chess maxims came to be popular needs to be done. We need to explain some of our phrases better, and then examine how, when and why we can break sensible rules. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

…I would propose that all such rules of thumb gain more general relevance the later the stage of the game they refer to. So, the opening 'rules' are the ones most often violated. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Logical move need not be obvious 

...we often think of an obvious move as a natural one, when in fact we should be looking for a logical move, which need not be obvious at all. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Often we consider a move to be natural just because it is obvious. What we should be looking for is a logical move, which may not be obvious at all. Beware of superficial thinking.  

A phrase like 'This natural move turns out to be the decisive mistake' is a familiar one. What it generally means is that the hand took over the thought-process, and the hand tends to prefer obvious moves. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Examine each move 

Examine each move, however natural it may appear. 
– Rudolf Spielmann 

Can your threats achieve something concrete? 

...threats in themselves are not an accomplishment; they must achieve something concrete. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Pawns 

…pawns should help and not hinder the pieces. 
– Alexander Kotov 

Pawns in the way of a bishop 
(Pawns on the same colour of a bishop) 

Most players, even quite strong and experienced players, have a simplistic view that just because there are a lot of pawns in the way of a bishop, that bishop is, by definition, bad. 

While placing all of one's pawns on the same colour as those controlled by one's bishop clearly hampers a bishop, one should not overlook other properties (expansion potential, rigidity) of the pawn formation. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Exchanging opponents good bishop is not always a good idea 

If the bishop…becomes strong, conventional text-book wisdom would suggest exchanging it off. But this tends to leave a network of weak squares behind… 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Positional sacrifices 

Reliable forms of compensation for material are: 

Greater piece activity. 
Damaged enemy pawn structure. 
The insecure position of the enemy king. 
Greater board control, more space. 
Secure control of the centre. 
Unassailable outposts, domination of a colour complex. 

A lead in development offers dangerous but temporary compensation. 
The value of the pieces can change radically as the position simplifies and becomes more open. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Pattern training 

A collection of recurring themes and patterns is the fundamental building block of intuition. 

Well-armed players can often use these patterns to guide them through more unusual positions. 

Well-known position types contain a wealth of sub-patterns that greatly enhance one's understanding of these common positions.  

Patterns can be applied in different contexts. 
Be sure to weigh carefully how the elements of a known pattern are affected by the new environment.  

When a combinational finish exists, a known tactical theme will probably act like a lighthouse beacon.  
In complicated tactical situations, there may be many signals, and the challenge will be determining the correct one. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Time pressure, 
Time pressure addicts, 
Perfectionism 

Perfectionism may occasionally be to blame, but more ignoble reasons are more common. 

Perfectionism will not get you far as a player, unless you are one of those rare creatures that can produce something close to the goods. Perfectionism is something to keep you motivated, but should be left behind at the workshop when it is time to play. 

Too much attention to detail will certainly bring you time-pressure, and probably turn you into a teacher or an accountant. There are worse fates, but you should be warned.  

The cause of chronic time-pressure can be revealed by an honest examination of one's own games. 

[Nikolai] Krogius outlines basic reasons [in his book Chess Psychology], and these are more or less self-explanatory. Besides the most common reason, a congenital weakness in making decisions, he lists: inadequate theoretical preparation, inadequate practical preparation (being 'rusty'), objective complexity of the position, and conscious entry into time pressure (a desperate but often rewarding psychological gambit). He also goes on to detail different types of 'doubts', related to both to the situation on the board and in the player's psychological state. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Common errors and 'hallucinations' in chess games 

Isn't it strange how quickly we notice the truth after making our move? This shows how important it often is to regain some objective distance before moving. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Enthusiasm for the plan is so high that calculating is often done solely for 'one's self', as though the opponent did not exist. 
– Nikolai Krogius, Chess Psychology 

Horrific blunders tend to occur due to a sudden loss of concentration, or because of a lack of distance (not seeing the wood for the trees, which could be a symptom of the opposite extreme, too much concentration). 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

…it is indeed possible to concentrate too much, and usually a little distance is both refreshing and healthy. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Just reading about what kind of errors recur can raise your awareness and help avoid similar mistakes. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

...it can help simply to know of the existence of such hazards. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Method for improving one's ability to calculate deeply and clearly    

See the chessboard clearly without looking at a real chessboard.   
Analyse without a board.  
Calculate blindfold.  

Blindfold practice 

…the powers of clarity and depth of calculation. Like any other muscle group, it can be exercised and its strength increased. …the most reliable method to do this is by directed blindfold practice. 

…Shirov, Ivanchuk and Svidler…often calculate variations by suddenly staring into space instead of at the board. …they have some built-in-belief that they can more clearly focus their visualization of critical variations by looking away from the board. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

[Alexander] Beliavsky explained that between tournaments he tried to play through and analyse at least five games a day – blindfold. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Blindfold exercises 

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 d4 4.Nce2 Ne4 5.c3 dxc3 What should White play? 

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.a3 0-0 9.b4 Be6 10.d3 a5 11.b5 Nd4 12.Rb1 f6 13.Nd2 Nd5 What happened now? 

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 g6 6.Bc4 c6 7.Qf3 Be6 8.Nc3 Nd7 9.0-0 Bg7 10.Re1 0-0 11.Bd2 Nxe5 12.dxe5 What happened now? 

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bg5 c6 11.Na4 h6 12.Bh4 Re8 13.c4 Bd6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Nc3 Be5 16.Nxd5 What happened now? What was the point of White's last move?  

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 0-0 6.Be3 Na6 7.Bd3 e5 8.d5 Nh5 9.Nge2 f5 10.exf5 gxf5 11.g4 e4 12.gxh5 exd3 13.Qxd3 f4 14.Bd4 Nb4 15.Qd2 Bxd4 16.Nxd4 Qf6 17.0-0-0 Bd7 18.Ne4 Qe5 What happened now? 

Training to visualize and calculate blindfold 

Visualization: 

Exercise your ability to visualize a position by bringing it into clear focus. Do this whenever you begin to lose the contours of the position you are trying to calculate. Concentrate on resetting those pieces that have moved since the original position. Take particular care with the pawn structure – this often remains fixed in the mind's eye. 

Preparing for calculation: 

Certain moments of variations suggest themselves as places to concentrate one's focus. Positions just before a major bransch help one to extend the depth of a calculation, and can be used as a home base when returning to investigate the next line. Another key type of position occurs at the end of a calculation, at which one may wish to have a more detached "look", prior to a final assessment. 

Visualization and calculation are separate processes, which are related by the fact that they take place in the mind's eye. One does not calculate by stopping and visualizing every new position. One calculate normally (by seeking out sequences of likely moves and replies) and uses visualization to provide stepping stones to increase the distance travelled from the original position. Visualization is a static image, like a photograph. Calculation is dynamic, like the rapid succession of stills that make up a motion picture. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Playing bad positions 

Keep fighting – never relax. 

Create problems for your opponent. 
Identify your trumps and make the most of them. 

Simple things like aiming for centralization can automatically improve your position. 

Try to seize the initiative, even if it costs some material. 
Complications improve the inferior side's chances as a general rule. 
Keep your forces as active as possible. 

On the other side of the coin: Though complications are undesirable when better, one should also be wary of becoming too conservative. One should not fear complications initiated out of the opponent's sheer desperation. 

Prolong resistance. 
Don't make things worse. 

Playing for cheap, risky tricks is a last resort. 
If you limit the damage and battle on, you will almost always get a chance to claw your way back into the game. 
If things are really beyond repair, however, you should have no qualms about playing for traps. 

Use your imagination. 
There are often hidden resources, or subtleties that an overconfident opponent may miss. Keep looking.
Stretch your imagination. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now 

Other considerations when playing bad positions 

In general, the inferior side should avoid exchanges. 

King safety is a basic element in compensation. 
If your opponent has a superior position but a slightly exposed king, this will greatly hamper his ability to win. Just having a more secure king position can often provide compensation for a deficit elsewhere. 

Never look back. 
It is very easy to start whipping oneself because of a mistake. 
Don't think back to what could have been. This is a common waste of time and vital nervous energy. Live in the present, and fight for the future. 

If you turn the tables, don't relax. 
After a successful escape, both sides can be psychologically vulnerable. 
Relaxing too soon after a fight-back is one natural reaction. This usually results in a quick return to misery. 
Other common psychological pitfalls: often one's opponent cannot adjust to not being better and crashes forward to defeat. 
Another standard reaction is going from lost to winning but agreeing a draw from general relief. Stay calm. 
– Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now