Newsgroup: it.hobby.scacchi
Titolo: Libri del M.I. Silman

Qualcuno di voi ha letto qualche libro di questo autore?
Se sě, sono graditi commenti e giudizi.
Grazie
radics
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 Qualcuno di voi ha letto qualche libro di questo autore?
Ho letto How to Reassess Your Chess (che ho comprato pensando che fosse un
manuale per idraulici) e l'ho trovato interessante, ma rivolto ai giocatori
che hanno una comprensione del gioco diciamo sotto al livello magistrale. In
esso l'autore spiega che cosa sono gli sbilanciamenti e come costruire un
piano di gioco adatto alla posizione analizzandoli e valutandoli
correttamente.
Alex

 radics
Io avevo i due volumi di "Essential chess endings explained move by move".
La mia opinione č che esistono testi di gran lunga migliori sui finali, non
solo nei contenuti ma anche nell'estetica, visto che il layout dei libri
della Chess Digest č penoso.
--
Ciao,
Ajeje Brazov
"Dimentichi, caro amico, che siamo sotto il benigno regno di Democrito, il
quale permette ad ogni ignorante di criticare quelli che sono migliori di
lui"
(Philo Vance)
-- per rispondere in privato togli NOSPAZZATURA --

 Se sì, sono graditi commenti e giudizi.


Su "How to reassess your chess workbook" Joh Watson ha scritto
(
http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/jwatsonbkrev36.html
):
What Should the Average Player Study?
by John Watson
The Reassess Your Chess Workbook; Jeremy Silman; 423 pages; Siles Press,
2001
              The definitive answer to my title line would be welcomed by
players the
              world around. Of course, that answer doesn’t exist in
unambiguous form, and
              in any case must vary markedly from player to player. Jeremy
Silman’s ‘The
              Reassess Your Chess Workbook’ (henceforth ‘the Workbook’)
nevertheless
              makes a powerful effort to address the instructional needs of
the maximum
              number of ‘average’ players in as efficient a way as possible.
It is a unique
              and thought-provoking work which deserves close examination;
thus the
              temporary return to my preferred single-review format.
              Normally I don’t review instructional books in this column.
When teaching I
              use my own lessons, notes, and methods, supplemented by
specialized
              references, annotated games and the like. Like most chess
instructors that I
              know, I find many of the leading instructional books
superficial, poorly
              written, and thoughtlessly imitative. The books that best fit
this description
              tend to be the most advertised ones; these are aimed primarily
at the large
              beginners market (while making some silly ‘beginner to master’
claim), with
              the author(s)’ idea of productive communication apparently
limited to the
              back cover hype. So you won’t be surprised that I generally
forego
              discussion of works of this type. Of course, there are
certainly worthwhile
              exceptions out there (many published by small presses).
Unfortunately, I
              don’t read much in this area and would rather utilize my
limited reading time
              elsewhere.
              So why make an exception for Silman’s latest work? First,
because the book
              occupies a strangely underpopulated slot among chess book
types: that of
              instruction and advice specifically tailored for the
intermediate to
              near-advanced player. For working purposes, I would define
this audience as
              encompassing players from about 1300 to 2100. As one would
imagine, the
              Workbook also contains material appropriate for lower players
and even for
              experienced masters. Nevertheless, its main function is to
address those who
              have achieved a certain level of play in the aforementioned
range and are
              having difficulty improving. In many cases, they have been
stuck at roughly
              the same rating level for many years. There are some very
active
              tournament and club players in this group who work on their
game regularly.
              But the majority doesn’t have a great deal of time for study
and are hungry
              for an efficient way to utilize the time they do have.
Interestingly, a
              substantial percentage of my TWIC-generated email (after you
exclude the
              obnoxious ones!) comes from players in this situation.
              Silman has been the most prolific author of quality chess
books in this
              country. His output ranges from technical theoretical works to
books for the
              beginner and average player. His ‘Reassess Your Chess’
[henceforth
              ‘Reassess’] and ‘The Amateur’s Mind’ are already classics of
instruction, the
              sales figures of which always fill me with unseemly envy. For
example, those
              two books remain near the very top of the current sales
rankings for all
              chessbooks at Amazon.com, despite having been out for years.
(‘The
              Amateur’s Mind’, by the way, I see as addressing a somewhat
lower range of
              players than ‘Reassess’ and ‘The Workbook’—perhaps 900-1700).
              I have recommended ‘Reassess’ to people over the years, but
the Workbook
              actually appeals to me more. The word ‘workbook’ might seem to
suggest
              that it is a supplementary text, to be used after or in
conjunction with
              ‘Reassess’. But the book stands very well on its own and has a
broader and
              more instructive set of positions than its predecessor. As for
Silman’s
              teaching method, every key idea in ‘Reassess’ appears in the
Workbook,
              explicitly spelled out. For those who need it, the first 35
pages offer an
              essay on thinking techniques as well as a thorough review of
Silman’s theory
              of ‘imbalances’. The recommended thinking techniques involve
showing the
              reader how to: (a) locate imbalances in a position; (b) find
candidate moves
              in a position; and (c) think about and calculate with the
candidate moves
              once chosen. Step ‘a’ uniquely characterizes Silman’s teaching
method; and
              as Silman points out, the vitally important Step ‘b’ has been
neglected in
              instructional books from Kotov onwards.
              The core of the Workbook consists of 131 problems, 115 of them
set in the
              opening, Middlegame, or ending. 16 problems involved
‘self-annotation’, in
              which the reader is asked to annotate part or all of a given
game. This is
              similar to annotating one’s own games (the method of
improvement most
              frequently cited by top players), with the addition that
Silman then gives his
              own extensive annotations in the Solutions section. This
self-annotation
              section is prefaced by an amusing list of ‘Profound
Platitudes’ that the
              average student will run into when asking for advice from
titled players. They
              are worth listing, with the deflating view in parentheses: (1)
‘Good things
              come to those who work hard!’ (for the average fellow with a
regular job and
              typical responsibilities this is not of much use); (2) ‘Study
endgames first.
              The Middlegame and opening can be contemplated later in your
chess
              development’ (‘Another piece of hot air’, says Silman, himself
an author of
              endgame books. As he points out, profound knowledge of the
endgame
              doesn’t help much when you’re losing in 13 moves. I should add
that this
              much-quoted advice was meant to apply to training of
children); (3) ‘Send
              me a check and we’ll see what can be done’ (an
all-too-frequent response to
              friendly requests for advice. Silman: ‘I’ve never seen this
improve anyone’s
              game’); (4) ‘It’s not the openings themselves that are
important, but the
              ideas behind them’ (Silman thinks that this is near-useless
advice given the
              available literature, and that in the teaching context it
reverts to saying
              ‘Send me a check’ again. I personally think that it’s an
altogether misleading
              notion); (5) ‘It’s not the winning that counts. The joy of
playing the game is
              its own reward’ (Silman: ‘Yeah, right. After absorbing this
bit of swill from
              your chess guru, bide your time and watch closely when he
actually
              loses...’).
              Silman’s counter-platitude? ‘Look at lots and lots of
annotated games!’ And
              of course he is right, and subsequently offers the reader
several ways to get
              the most out of such study. For many students, going over
games is more
              helpful and enjoyable (less energy-demanding) than technical
study.
              What makes this book valuable for me as a teacher is its main
section of 115
              problems (mostly positions) and their solutions. As TWIC
readers may have
              gleaned, I believe in learning from realistic positions
requiring concrete
              solutions. One covers just a vast amount of conceptual
territory in our trek
              through these well-chosen examples, some of which are
virtually impossible
              to solve completely, but all of which lead to fruitful
discussion. Often Silman’s
              solution is a chess lecture of its own. One time, for example,
he discusses
              opposite-coloured bishop positions for 6 full pages before
returning to the
              solution of the problem at hand. Indeed, there are 281 pages
of solutions for
              63 pages of problems! At the end of each solution, Silman
brings together his
              discussion of the problem in a useful section called ‘Summary
of Imbalances
              and ideas’. I think it is in the solutions section that we see
why Silman is
              such a popular author. He writes with great clarity and
humour, and seems
              to understand precisely what would confuse the ‘average
player’ about each
              example. He doesn’t assume too much about the student’s
understanding of
              a position, and thus avoids talking down to the reader.
Because his advice
              remains solidly in the context of an on-the-board situation,
he avoids the
              common pedagogic error of speaking in the abstract while
providing no
              handle for the student to hold on to. Finally, I should note
that this book
              shows every sign of having required a gargantuan effort from
the author.
              The positions are worked out in great detail and with evident
thoughtfulness.
              On a somewhat philosophic note, I have already been asked by
someone
              familiar with both my ‘Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy’ and
Silman’s
              previous work how I can find them compatible. Particularly
with respect to
              his theory of imbalances, Silman lists a great number of rules
regarding, e.g.,
              bishops, knights, isolated pawns, doubled pawns, space,
control of files and
              squares, development and the like. Since my book tends to
question the
              validity and usefulness of rules in chess, it is fair to ask
how I can
              recommend Silman’s work. It’s true that one of my few
objections to
              ‘Reassess’ involves its occasional use of sweeping statements
or even a bit
              of dogma. But that is more of a theoretical problem than a
practical one.
              Silman himself has told me that for instruction of his target
audience, he
              thinks a very clear and easily assimilable message is
needed--this comes
              from his extensive teaching experience. Thus he is aware of
the fact that his
              statements and assessments may not all be literally true; but
has seen the
              effectiveness of his approach (and it is clear to me that his
readers gain
              great confidence by following it). My ‘Secrets’ book is more
theoretical; as I
              point out in the book, instruction isn't my goal or purpose. I
emphasize
              ambiguities (not ‘exceptions’—an important distinction), which
is not a good
              day-by-day teaching technique for less advanced players.
Although players
              eventually need to understand something at least resembling
what I’ve said
              in order to improve, it’s almost impossible to teach without
using some
              general guidelines. What I would recommend is to say, for
example: ‘You
              have two bishops in an open position, and his knights have no
outposts nor a
              way to become effective--they will soon driven back’; or ‘You
are better
              because he has doubled pawns which don’t strengthen his
centre. Note how
              this gives you an outpost in front of them, and see how his
open file is easily
              blocked—this means that he won’t get dynamic counterplay
against your
              king’. I don’t think that sort of thing is too intimidating if
the basic ideas
              expressed are repeated often enough. The Workbook, by the way,
seems
              more concerned with letting the reader explore ambiguous and
exceptional
              situations than did Silman’s earlier works.
              Philosophic matters aside, I would conclude by emphasizing the
author’s
              friendly and readable style, by which he imparts loads of
advice without ever
              becoming ponderous or condescending. The book’s price is a
selling point:
              $19.95 is an excellent price-per-page ratio, especially with
the typically
              attractive Siles Press cover (great colour!). I am already
using positions from
              this book to teach—I think that those of you looking for an
improvement
              book can hardly go wrong with this one.

 Se sì, sono graditi commenti e giudizi.
Ho letto "How to Reassess your Chess " e "The amateur mind"
Il primo è un manuale per migliorare il proprio livello di gioco. 
Dice cose che dicono molti altri, ma in modo IMO molto più comprensibile
(e insiste molto su argomenti che altri danno un po' troppo per scontati,
tipo la valorizzazione dei pezzi minori). Eccellente per giocatori di
livello non troppo alto, diciamo da CM in giù.
Il secondo si sofferma sul modo di pensare dei giocatori di livello
medio-basso (gli "amateurs", appunto). Niente trattati di alta psicologia,
ma solo una serie di esempi tratti dai suoi allievi. Sono gli stessi
allievi a commentare le partite giocate contro il maestro, dando
approfondite motivazioni per ogni mossa. Da qui Silman individua i
pensieri "negativi" che tendono a limitare la forza di gioco. 
Vale la stessa considerazione di prima : ottimo solo per chi queste cose
non le a già imparate a proprie spese sulla scacchiera (però avere uno che
ti rinfresca la memoria male non fa)
 
-- 
Peter : <<Sai l'ora?>>
Curls: << Mezzogiorno circa>>
Peter : << Vorrei qualcosa di più preciso>>
Curls: << Mezzogiorno circa, idiota!>>


 Stefano Tescaro
Grazie sei stato molto gentile ed esauriente!
Sono CM° comunque... :-)
ciao


Negus_ ha scritto:
CUT
Grazie mille!
radics
-- 
