Thanks to a careful viewer, I just realized I made an error at 30:49, playing Qxd1+ and then Qxf1+ which could be met with Qxf1 and White wins. Instead, Rxd1 leads to mate. This is what happens when I am more focused on filming than on chess :) I hope these kind of mistakes will be less often as I get more experienced in recording.
@@thenapoleonlover113 for long-term study definitely Laszlo Polgar's "Chess - 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games". If you want a shorter book which you can go through relatively quickly, then Lev Alburt's "Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions..."
@@AdultChessImprover thank you! I'll add both to my basket on ebay! It's hard to chose a tactics/puzzle book because there are hundreds of good options, but for me "bang for your buck" is definitely one of the criteria's choosing a book
Dont know if this example is 100% correct for showing smothered mate. At least i could not find it in the king take variation. Because i found that at 29:02 white has Rf3 to block the check. Perhaps this is still winning for black. But it has to be calculated pretty far... Rook on d1 would be hanging, so black can play Rxd1+ and wins back the sacrificed rook. Whites reply is forced: Ke2. And then black has both queen and rook on d1 under attack. So most likely he can play queen back to d5... Qd5 and the queen gets out of the threath from rook and defend rook on d1. And perhaps the white king is in deep trouble here? But it looks like the whit rook can go back to d3 too, and perhaps force trade of last rooks or repetition? Anyway, white is NOT forced to play Kg1 at 29:02. Rf3 needs to be caculculated too.
You hit the nail on the head. I was stuck at a platuae for the longest time and didn't see much of an increase in my rating until I fully understood the paramountcy of solving tactical puzzles. After that revelation I started doing them everyday and my rating jumped from 800 to over 1000 in just a matter of weeks. Solving tactical puzzles is definitely the key to improving once you pass the beginner stage.
Thnx a lot for such an informative and inspiration video!!! I realised now, that my direction for chess improvement is not correct. Now, i will change the direction to towards tactical perfection!!!Thnx a lot
36:08 in all mate in two problems the first move IS forceful. Otherwise it wouldn't be possible to deliver mate in the second move. "Forceful" or rather "forcing" does not have to mean "with check". It can mean "posing the threat of mate in one" or "posing the threat of loss of material".
“”He was the best-read player of his time, and is known to have been familiar with such books as Bilgier’s Handbook and Staunton’s The Chess Player’s Handbook, among others...,””- Bobby Fischer talking about Paul Morphy.
@@richardwatson7480good point, didnt see that emediately. But not sure if this example is totally good. At 29:01 when king takes rook. White has Rf3, stopping the check in a different way. Okay perhaps black is still winning. Black kan take rook on d1 with check. So black wins back the sacrificed rook and white has to move the king to e1. Then black has both rook and queen under attack. But probably he can move the queen and defend the rook and probably threaten mate again 8n one move...
Paul morphy’s estimated strength is 2400 not 2700 . Of course if he had access to the same training resources that we have today it’d be a different story, but say it as it is
Do you think 3min puzzle rush is a viable way to improve pattern recognition, so that you will see a ton of puzzles in a short time and thus see a lot of patterns? And then if you get the puzzle wrong in your rush you go back and spend time and try to calculate and solve it. Or should you be able to spend as much time as you want on each puzzle?
I'd think it's likely to be the tactics version of blitz chess. It fits the dopamine but you are unlikely to get better as fast as the same amount of time spent studying and calculating the position, even though you do far less problem. It's possible that maybe doing a lot of puzzle rush would help with the pattern recognition that there is a tactical opportunity, but I found that the hardest part of a three ply calculation (e.g. the mate in 2 section of the 5334 polgar book, the section I never finished when I bought the book almost 30 years ago…) is the intensity of a calculation in my opponents responses, not the rough guessof the best first ply candidate move (which is what puzzle rush tests on). I found it not that difficult to generate a lot of problems where I miss just from nearly any tactics course, book, or whatnot. That's not hard. The hard part is doing enough repetition on so many problems that the nature of the opportunity is drilled in to be automattic while not forgotten. I have a feeling that's why 5334 has 300 mate in 1 positions which are easy to compute: seeing and drilling those helps visualize the 3rd ply of all the mate in 2's which are super hard when you do a bunch of them, especially when in the meat of the book. It was enough to wear my discipline down even though I was only in my early 20's and mentally probably at my sharpest.
Hello I agree being good at tactics is number one when it comes to improving at increasing your strength. But the biggest secret in chess to me is looking for IDEAS and making them work. In A.Soltis book " the inner game of chess" he states the biggest cause of mistakes is playing without an idea. How many times have you got a good position maybe due to an earlier tactic but unable to win simply because you had no idea what to do. From the opening to the middle game and endgame chess is clash of idea's with tactics playing a supporting part to your ideas,occasionally you'll find a tactic which supersedes your idea. But to me the big secret is idea's after all how often do tactics appear.
Regarding visualisation of the board, have you heard of aphantasia? It is the inability to visualise. We cannot picture things in our mind. When I ask my friends if they can imagine an apple in my hand, those who have no aphantasia can see it with different levels of clarity. I can't picture anything, not even faces of people close to me. I am able to map out things in a dimensional plane though, which I think is what may help me during chess calculation. Another example on mapping things out, is that I can recall street directions and "visualise" 3-dimensional space as if I were walking the streets, but without any images. If you have not heard about it I thought it may be interesting. Anyhow, thank you so much for your fantastic guides.
Actually, it's not so unusual, I have in my small local club adults who reached 2000. I've met many more online. And yes, they all reached it by excelling in tactics, one way or another.
Obviously if you started playing chess as an adult than your probably not going to become a grandmaster as almost all of them were child prodigies so you probably missed the boat on that however it's my firm belief that anyone can reach a 2000+ rating if they dedicate their life to chess. Anecdotally iv met dozens of individuals who took up chess as adults and we're still able to reach a 2000 rating and in some cases even became national masters. We,ve all got a HUGE amount of room for chess improvement.
Yes, but only the first chapter with easy puzzles. Other chapters are too difficult, it doesn't make much sense to solve them until you are at least 2000 in puzzles.
Thanks to a careful viewer, I just realized I made an error at 30:49, playing Qxd1+ and then Qxf1+ which could be met with Qxf1 and White wins. Instead, Rxd1 leads to mate. This is what happens when I am more focused on filming than on chess :) I hope these kind of mistakes will be less often as I get more experienced in recording.
Hey! Thanks for the video. My question is - if you could only read one book on tactics, and you were rated 1700, which book would you chose?
@@thenapoleonlover113 for long-term study definitely Laszlo Polgar's "Chess - 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games". If you want a shorter book which you can go through relatively quickly, then Lev Alburt's "Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions..."
@@AdultChessImprover thank you! I'll add both to my basket on ebay! It's hard to chose a tactics/puzzle book because there are hundreds of good options, but for me "bang for your buck" is definitely one of the criteria's choosing a book
Dont know if this example is 100% correct for showing smothered mate. At least i could not find it in the king take variation. Because i found that at 29:02 white has Rf3 to block the check. Perhaps this is still winning for black. But it has to be calculated pretty far...
Rook on d1 would be hanging, so black can play Rxd1+ and wins back the sacrificed rook. Whites reply is forced: Ke2. And then black has both queen and rook on d1 under attack. So most likely he can play queen back to d5... Qd5 and the queen gets out of the threath from rook and defend rook on d1. And perhaps the white king is in deep trouble here? But it looks like the whit rook can go back to d3 too, and perhaps force trade of last rooks or repetition? Anyway, white is NOT forced to play Kg1 at 29:02. Rf3 needs to be caculculated too.
Discoverd this channel yesterday. I'm a 33 yo improver. Playing one year.
Thanks for the tips and the content. I appreciate it
You hit the nail on the head. I was stuck at a platuae for the longest time and didn't see much of an increase in my rating until I fully understood the paramountcy of solving tactical puzzles. After that revelation I started doing them everyday and my rating jumped from 800 to over 1000 in just a matter of weeks. Solving tactical puzzles is definitely the key to improving once you pass the beginner stage.
Glad to hear that, good luck with it!
Best video on TH-cam for practical chess improvement
This video is absolutely excellent. All of your videos are incredibly useful and I, as well as many others, greatly benefit from them
That's very kind of you to say, I am glad you find my videos useful.
This is one of the best video on chess improvements. Thank you!
Thanks, I am glad it was helpful!
Great video, I appreciate the knowledge shared here in this video! Thanks !
Thnx a lot for such an informative and inspiration video!!! I realised now, that my direction for chess improvement is not correct. Now, i will change the direction to towards tactical perfection!!!Thnx a lot
36:08 in all mate in two problems the first move IS forceful. Otherwise it wouldn't be possible to deliver mate in the second move. "Forceful" or rather "forcing" does not have to mean "with check". It can mean "posing the threat of mate in one" or "posing the threat of loss of material".
This is a really excellent explanation of tactics training. Many thanks!
After 2. Kxf1, Qf5+ there is Rf3. And you must have surgical precision to mate white, because the shortest mate line is 10 moves aheah :)
“”He was the best-read player of his time, and is known to have been familiar with such books as Bilgier’s Handbook and Staunton’s The Chess Player’s Handbook, among others...,””- Bobby Fischer talking about Paul Morphy.
Thank you very much you gave me a great help
What's the best overall chess book ranging from 1400-2000
I should've learned this earlier in life, Im 41 now, started at 16, quickly became 1600 after few years but barely improved after
Man I should've found this info 8 years ago, I wasted so much time on playing mindless games without analyzing them and studying openings.
Great video man!
Glad you liked it!
In the example where Rook takes Night you do not have mate because the white Queen can take the black Queen.
Hello in 30:51 is not mat because white have queen Qa6x f1
Yes exactly!
You have to play Rxd1+ not Qxd1+ :)
@@richardwatson7480good point, didnt see that emediately. But not sure if this example is totally good. At 29:01 when king takes rook. White has Rf3, stopping the check in a different way. Okay perhaps black is still winning. Black kan take rook on d1 with check. So black wins back the sacrificed rook and white has to move the king to e1. Then black has both rook and queen under attack. But probably he can move the queen and defend the rook and probably threaten mate again 8n one move...
Great video !
My tactics rating is 2300 and rapid 1500.
So i should focus on opening theory and endgame ?
@@CC-yq5bw thanks ! Sitting with my coach right now practicing exactly that
I would continue with the tactics primarily
It's not mate queen take queen is possible
Paul morphy’s estimated strength is 2400 not 2700 . Of course if he had access to the same training resources that we have today it’d be a different story, but say it as it is
Actually the it's 2690: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_top_chess_players_throughout_history
Do you think 3min puzzle rush is a viable way to improve pattern recognition, so that you will see a ton of puzzles in a short time and thus see a lot of patterns? And then if you get the puzzle wrong in your rush you go back and spend time and try to calculate and solve it. Or should you be able to spend as much time as you want on each puzzle?
I'd think it's likely to be the tactics version of blitz chess. It fits the dopamine but you are unlikely to get better as fast as the same amount of time spent studying and calculating the position, even though you do far less problem.
It's possible that maybe doing a lot of puzzle rush would help with the pattern recognition that there is a tactical opportunity, but I found that the hardest part of a three ply calculation (e.g. the mate in 2 section of the 5334 polgar book, the section I never finished when I bought the book almost 30 years ago…) is the intensity of a calculation in my opponents responses, not the rough guessof the best first ply candidate move (which is what puzzle rush tests on).
I found it not that difficult to generate a lot of problems where I miss just from nearly any tactics course, book, or whatnot. That's not hard. The hard part is doing enough repetition on so many problems that the nature of the opportunity is drilled in to be automattic while not forgotten. I have a feeling that's why 5334 has 300 mate in 1 positions which are easy to compute: seeing and drilling those helps visualize the 3rd ply of all the mate in 2's which are super hard when you do a bunch of them, especially when in the meat of the book. It was enough to wear my discipline down even though I was only in my early 20's and mentally probably at my sharpest.
Hello I agree being good at tactics is number one when it comes to improving at increasing your strength. But the biggest secret in chess to me is looking for IDEAS and making them work. In A.Soltis book " the inner game of chess" he states the biggest cause of mistakes is playing without an idea. How many times have you got a good position maybe due to an earlier tactic but unable to win simply because you had no idea what to do. From the opening to the middle game and endgame chess is clash of idea's with tactics playing a supporting part to your ideas,occasionally you'll find a tactic which supersedes your idea. But to me the big secret is idea's after all how often do tactics appear.
great video
Regarding visualisation of the board, have you heard of aphantasia? It is the inability to visualise. We cannot picture things in our mind. When I ask my friends if they can imagine an apple in my hand, those who have no aphantasia can see it with different levels of clarity. I can't picture anything, not even faces of people close to me. I am able to map out things in a dimensional plane though, which I think is what may help me during chess calculation. Another example on mapping things out, is that I can recall street directions and "visualise" 3-dimensional space as if I were walking the streets, but without any images. If you have not heard about it I thought it may be interesting. Anyhow, thank you so much for your fantastic guides.
At time 30:51 in this vedio, it's not mate my dude.
Plzzz check
I know, see the pinned commend above :)
Subscribed
Thanks, welcome aboard!
Paul Morphy would demolish Magnus if he grew up with engine theory instead of just playing otb against his dad an uncle.
Yes all 3 people in human history that have made 2000 when learning chess as an adult are in agreement with this method.
Actually, it's not so unusual, I have in my small local club adults who reached 2000. I've met many more online. And yes, they all reached it by excelling in tactics, one way or another.
Obviously if you started playing chess as an adult than your probably not going to become a grandmaster as almost all of them were child prodigies so you probably missed the boat on that however it's my firm belief that anyone can reach a 2000+ rating if they dedicate their life to chess. Anecdotally iv met dozens of individuals who took up chess as adults and we're still able to reach a 2000 rating and in some cases even became national masters. We,ve all got a HUGE amount of room for chess improvement.
I am a 800 (bullet ) and 1400( puzzle ) rated in chess.com. Would you recommend Woodpecker method book for someone like me?
Yes, but only the first chapter with easy puzzles. Other chapters are too difficult, it doesn't make much sense to solve them until you are at least 2000 in puzzles.
@@CC-yq5bw I agree, and I talk about it extensively in my other videos.