-
Nýr titill! Harðspjaldabók Half a century ago I left a country whose red color dominated a large portion of the world map. One way or another, the fate of almost every single person described in this book is forever linked with that now non-existent empire. Many of them ended up beyond its borders too. Cultures and traditions, and certainly not least of all a Soviet mentality, couldn’t have just left them without a trace. Having been transplanted into a different environment, they had to play the role of themselves, apart from certain corrections with regard to the tastes and customs of a new society. Nevertheless, every one of them, both those who left the Soviet Union and those who stayed behind, were forever linked by one common united phenomenon: they all belonged to the Soviet school of chess. -
Nýr titill. Mæli með þessari! The character of any player is reflected in their game. It also applies to choosing their openings. Therefore, for you to better understand what I’m going to explain in this book, I should describe my style. I play simple positional chess and like to play the endgame. I don’t look for complications for the sake of complications, but if the position requires sacrifices based on the situation on the board, then I will do so without hesitation. I like to control the course of actions; therefore, I would prefer to play with the initiative without a pawn than vice-versa. In general, giving the opponent dynamics is a bad idea. -
This book is dedicated to chess, though I must confess it is not that same chess with which I immediately and eternally fell in love many, many years ago. There were plenty of wonderful moments, and no shortage of horrible disappointments associated with that version of the game in which I certainly considered myself a true professional. The realities of chess life during the second half of the twentieth century are diffi cult for today’s young people to imagine or understand: Tournaments lasting 30,40 days with adjourned games being completed on specific days allotted for such adjournments. Unbelievable time trouble given that back then only the unrestrained dreamer David Bronstein even thought about incremental time to be added after each move. Mountains of cigarette butts in ashtrays — a fixed attribute of the chess battles and battlefields in those severest of days. Finally, suitcases filled to the very brim with Yugoslav Chess Informants and handmade card indexes. -
How does one achieve the unique ‘sound’ and distinct technique that are absolutely necessary to become successful at the highest level? It can only be done via a deep understanding of the chess player’s personality and the unique talent that distinguishes him from other soloists. It is here that the role of a coach is of the utmost importance. First, it is necessary to understand the nature of your student’s chess talent, and second, it is important to identify the player’s character and personality traits. His style ought to be harmonious, so that the essence of the human being matches the characteristics of his chess talent. Since it is the same emotionless computer that is now in charge of the purely chess component, it falls upon the coach to deal with the chess player’s personality, mysterious and unknowable as it might be. -
I found the idea to switch sides. By this, I mean to look at games from White’s perspective and then from Black’s. A rather interesting concept, as things often appear quite different, depending on the viewpoint. If one searches for videos showing a joint analysis of elite players, one may often see them completely disagree on certain positions, both of them claiming he stood, or would have stood, better here or there.
skákbækurTómas Veigar Sigurðarson2023-06-12T16:33:59+00:00
