I am a beginner about 200 elo. And I find it extremely difficult to understand a grandmaster game move by move. I am not particularly interested in modern gm's but instead I focus on older ones like Petrosian,Andersson,Karpov (My choice because I want to learn Defensive Chess) but I never understand where they are going with their game what is going on in their minds when they play a particular move and what they are doing for which they gain the title of a defense player.
It's valuable to read a player's own annotations whenever possible so you can understand what they were thinking in the moment, but top players assume quite a bit of knowledge beyond the basics. The book Python Strategy has a lot of Petrosian's own notes for a book he was preparing but never finished, but it might not be a good choice for your level. Alekhine's game collection is probably the best for a beginner, and one of my favorites, but I would strongly recommend that you start with something like Neil McDonald's "Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking from the First Move to the Last", which has some games of Petrosian, Andersson, and Karpov, or Irving Chernev's "Logical Chess Move by Move", which only has games before 1952. Both of these books explain every single move for absolute beginners and are great introductions to chess and how to read commentaries.
"... [annotated games are] infinitely more useful than bare game scores. However, annotated games vary widely in quality. Some are excellent study material. Others are poor. But the most numerous fall into a third category - good-but-wrong-for-you. ... You want games with annotations that answer the questions that baffle you the most. ... masters usually don't make the kind of instructive mistakes that amateurs learn the most from. In master-vs.-master games, the errors are usually minor and the punishment is so slow coming that the educational value is often lost. Perhaps the best game collection written specifically for novices is Logical Chess, Move by Move. It provides an explanation for every move and shows why the good moves are good and the bad ones are bad. Many of the games were lost by non-masters. ... there are major advantages to studying older games rather than those of today. The ideas expressed in a Rubinstein or Capablanca game are generally easier to understand. They are usually carried out to their logical end, often in a memorable way, ... In today's chess, the defense is much better. That may sound good. But it means that the defender's counterplay will muddy the waters and dilute the instructional value of the game. For this reason the games of Rubinstein, Capablanca, Morphy, Siegbert Tarrasch, Harry Pillsbury and Paul Keres are strongly recommended - as well as those of more recent players who have a somewhat classical style, like Fischer, Karpov, Viswanathan Anand and Michael Adams. ..." - GM Andrew Soltis (2010)
"... I suggest a norm of getting out a chessboard, playing each move, reading what the author has to say about the move, and then making the next move. At this rate, it should only take 20-40 minutes to play over an annotated game. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2005)
web.archive.org/web/20140627023809/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman50.pdf
"... I suggest a norm of getting out a chessboard, playing each move, reading what the author has to say about the move, and then making the next move. At this rate, it should only take 20-40 minutes to play over an annotated game. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2005)
web.archive.org/web/20140627023809/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman50.pdf
@Ayushm_2010 said in #1:
> I am a beginner about 200 elo. And I find it extremely difficult to understand a grandmaster game move by move.
Sam Copeland has a series of articles which explains every move played in classic chess games: www.google.com/search?q=site%3Achess.com+samcopeland+%22every+move+explained%22
> I am a beginner about 200 elo. And I find it extremely difficult to understand a grandmaster game move by move.
Sam Copeland has a series of articles which explains every move played in classic chess games: www.google.com/search?q=site%3Achess.com+samcopeland+%22every+move+explained%22
If you're a beginner, forget about plumbing the depths of GM moves. I can't really do it either. That's why they're GMs. :)
I can only stress what @MrPushwood just said, furthermore I suggest to start with very basic videos and blogs about chess rules and tactics (preferably in your language).
@MrPushwood said in #5:
> If you're a beginner, forget about plumbing the depths of GM moves. I can't really do it either. That's why they're GMs. :)
But then how can I improve? Its like I am stuck in 200 elo only
> If you're a beginner, forget about plumbing the depths of GM moves. I can't really do it either. That's why they're GMs. :)
But then how can I improve? Its like I am stuck in 200 elo only
@Ayushm_2010 said in #7:
> But then how can I improve? Its like I am stuck in 200 elo only
Solve mates in one and mates in 2 and talk with players.
When i started chess they told me exactly everything i needed at my level.
> But then how can I improve? Its like I am stuck in 200 elo only
Solve mates in one and mates in 2 and talk with players.
When i started chess they told me exactly everything i needed at my level.
"... Logical Chess [(Batsford edition by Chernev)] ... a collection of 33 games ... is definitely for beginners and players who are just starting to learn about development, weak squares, the centre, standard attacking ideas, and the like. In many ways, it would [be] a wonderful 'first' book (or first 'serious' book, after the ones which teach the rules and elementary mates, for example), and a nice gift for a young player just taking up chess. ..." - IM John Watson (1999)
theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-books
www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Every-Explained-Algebraic/dp/0713484640?asin=0713484640&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1004861
theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-books
www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Every-Explained-Algebraic/dp/0713484640?asin=0713484640&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1004861
Just a suggestion...You should start with analyzing yout own games...I yield the floor to Artur Yusupov...see below...
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Artur Yusupov on Analyzing Your Own Games
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Why do I wish to highlight this topic in particular? Well, it is quite possible that my own development as a chess-player has been successful precisely because I have devoted a great deal of time to the analysis of my games. I consider that analysis of one's own games is the main method by which a chess-player can improve, and I am convinced that it is impossible for a player to improve without having a critical understanding of his own games. Of course, this does not mean that one need not concern oneself with other aspects of chess training. It is necessary to study the opening, the endgame and the middlegame; it is extremely useful to study the games of strong players, etc. But by taking our own games as examples we can generally learn rather more.
Our own games are nearer to us than any others. We played them, and we solved the problems which were put in our way. In analysis it is possible to examine and to define more precisely the assessments by which we were guided during the course of the game, and we can establish where we went wrong and where we played inaccurately. Sometimes our opponent punishes us for the mistakes we make, but often they remain unnoticed and may only be brought to light by analysis. So, what do I consider are the important points to pay attention to when you analyze your own games?
Above all, you need to find the turning- points - to establish where mistakes were made, where the assessment of the position changed, or where an opportunity to change the situation on the board abruptly was not exploited. The ability to find the critical moments of a game during analysis is itself exceptionally important, since this will also help you to track down such moments during actual play. This is perhaps the most difficult aspect of chess - recognizing the critical turning-point in a game, the point when it is necessary to think really hard and to solve a problem; when the outcome of the whole game depends on a single move.
The second point to which you should pay attention when analyzing your games is the search for the reasons for your mistakes. By revealing your mistakes you will gradually come to realize what they might be associated with, and you will see the deficiencies in your game. Of course, it is easier if you have a trainer who can help you. But you will feel the benefit only when you yourself begin to sense the reasons for your mistakes acutely and no longer wish to put up with them. An objective awareness of one's own weaknesses is a necessary first step in the serious business of correcting them.
The third aspect that I wish to mention is that it is very important to look for new possibilities, moves which in the course of the game you paid no attention to because you were fascinated by other ideas. After analysis you begin to get a better feeling for the type of position being studied, you master the strategic and tactical methods which are typical of such positions. And the conclusions that you arrive at independently imprint themselves on your memory much more permanently than those obtained from other sources.
A final point. When analyzing a game you have played, you need to give considerable thought to the opening phase, to try to improve on your play, especially if you were not entirely satisfied with the outcome of the opening. By adopting a critical approach to the problems that you faced in the opening it is possible to improve your knowledge, to outline new plans and to think up important novelties.
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Artur Yusupov, Training for the Tournament Player
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Artur Yusupov on Analyzing Your Own Games
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why do I wish to highlight this topic in particular? Well, it is quite possible that my own development as a chess-player has been successful precisely because I have devoted a great deal of time to the analysis of my games. I consider that analysis of one's own games is the main method by which a chess-player can improve, and I am convinced that it is impossible for a player to improve without having a critical understanding of his own games. Of course, this does not mean that one need not concern oneself with other aspects of chess training. It is necessary to study the opening, the endgame and the middlegame; it is extremely useful to study the games of strong players, etc. But by taking our own games as examples we can generally learn rather more.
Our own games are nearer to us than any others. We played them, and we solved the problems which were put in our way. In analysis it is possible to examine and to define more precisely the assessments by which we were guided during the course of the game, and we can establish where we went wrong and where we played inaccurately. Sometimes our opponent punishes us for the mistakes we make, but often they remain unnoticed and may only be brought to light by analysis. So, what do I consider are the important points to pay attention to when you analyze your own games?
Above all, you need to find the turning- points - to establish where mistakes were made, where the assessment of the position changed, or where an opportunity to change the situation on the board abruptly was not exploited. The ability to find the critical moments of a game during analysis is itself exceptionally important, since this will also help you to track down such moments during actual play. This is perhaps the most difficult aspect of chess - recognizing the critical turning-point in a game, the point when it is necessary to think really hard and to solve a problem; when the outcome of the whole game depends on a single move.
The second point to which you should pay attention when analyzing your games is the search for the reasons for your mistakes. By revealing your mistakes you will gradually come to realize what they might be associated with, and you will see the deficiencies in your game. Of course, it is easier if you have a trainer who can help you. But you will feel the benefit only when you yourself begin to sense the reasons for your mistakes acutely and no longer wish to put up with them. An objective awareness of one's own weaknesses is a necessary first step in the serious business of correcting them.
The third aspect that I wish to mention is that it is very important to look for new possibilities, moves which in the course of the game you paid no attention to because you were fascinated by other ideas. After analysis you begin to get a better feeling for the type of position being studied, you master the strategic and tactical methods which are typical of such positions. And the conclusions that you arrive at independently imprint themselves on your memory much more permanently than those obtained from other sources.
A final point. When analyzing a game you have played, you need to give considerable thought to the opening phase, to try to improve on your play, especially if you were not entirely satisfied with the outcome of the opening. By adopting a critical approach to the problems that you faced in the opening it is possible to improve your knowledge, to outline new plans and to think up important novelties.
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Artur Yusupov, Training for the Tournament Player
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