A Realistic Training Program
I have come to the conclusion long ago that the MDLM program sucks as a complete chess training program. However it is a very important part of my training and very usefull for training tactics.
Let's make a simple comparison.
In all the martial arts schools I went to it all started out the same. You learn the basics of everything first. First you learn the rules. Then you learn stances and balance. Then punches kicks, blocks, locks and throws individually. Then you learn combinations (McMartail arts anyone? I'll have a combo #30 with a side of form 1). Then if you are lucky you start training in a freer form where you figure out how it all really works.
How effective would it be if i just trained punches and kicks with no footwork, balance, locks, blocks or defensive abilities? I am guessing not very (Just take a look at the Arts that teach to fight with one fist on your hip. It didn't take too many sore jaws later to learn to keep my fricken hands up).
Also you hear about comments from various knights and masters about the accumulation and application of chess knowledge. I know far more book knowledge than I can apply in my games. But what knowledge goes unused? Is it the basics or the advanced stuff? Well as you can surely guess it is the advanced stuff. I am coming up on my 2 year anniversary of chess training. The MDLM training (1st year) did little for me except show me that my tactics were weak and make them stronger. The thing is I was not losing that many games to tactics. Sure I missed some but you are likely playing opponents at your skill level who are missing them too. I became stronger at tactics but I wasn't winning that many more games. Why? Because my openings, positional and end game skills sucked. After I added that training in my rating really took off. Apparently tactical training does not help you learn these things as MDLM states. Like the comment he makes about about whether you are better off studying Kotov's book or setting up random positions and looking for tactics. Absurd!
Anyway some basic opening, positional and endgame study had greatly improved my game along with some advanced tactical study.
Here are my training recommendations:
Learn the basics.
Pandofini's books are excellent especially the kid's books. I bought several for my son and found the very valuable.
The Rules
Tactics
Basic endgame study
Thought process / General Principles
Heres some stuff I may write about later:
Playing
Subconscious training
Analysis
Opening
Let's make a simple comparison.
In all the martial arts schools I went to it all started out the same. You learn the basics of everything first. First you learn the rules. Then you learn stances and balance. Then punches kicks, blocks, locks and throws individually. Then you learn combinations (McMartail arts anyone? I'll have a combo #30 with a side of form 1). Then if you are lucky you start training in a freer form where you figure out how it all really works.
How effective would it be if i just trained punches and kicks with no footwork, balance, locks, blocks or defensive abilities? I am guessing not very (Just take a look at the Arts that teach to fight with one fist on your hip. It didn't take too many sore jaws later to learn to keep my fricken hands up).
Also you hear about comments from various knights and masters about the accumulation and application of chess knowledge. I know far more book knowledge than I can apply in my games. But what knowledge goes unused? Is it the basics or the advanced stuff? Well as you can surely guess it is the advanced stuff. I am coming up on my 2 year anniversary of chess training. The MDLM training (1st year) did little for me except show me that my tactics were weak and make them stronger. The thing is I was not losing that many games to tactics. Sure I missed some but you are likely playing opponents at your skill level who are missing them too. I became stronger at tactics but I wasn't winning that many more games. Why? Because my openings, positional and end game skills sucked. After I added that training in my rating really took off. Apparently tactical training does not help you learn these things as MDLM states. Like the comment he makes about about whether you are better off studying Kotov's book or setting up random positions and looking for tactics. Absurd!
Anyway some basic opening, positional and endgame study had greatly improved my game along with some advanced tactical study.
Here are my training recommendations:
Learn the basics.
Pandofini's books are excellent especially the kid's books. I bought several for my son and found the very valuable.
The Rules
- Find them online or have someone teach them to you.
Tactics
- The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics
- Chess Tactics Server
- The Seeds of Tactical Destruction
- Revisiting the Seeds of Tactical Destruction
Basic endgame study
Thought process / General Principles
- Novice nook articles
- Real Chess,Time Management and Care: Putting It All Together
- A Generic Thought Process
- The Tao of Chess: 200 Principles to Transform Your Game and Your Life
Heres some stuff I may write about later:
Playing
Subconscious training
Analysis
Opening
posted by phorku at
1:10 PM
1 Comments:
Seems like a good balanced program. For a beginner, I wouldn't recommend all this stuff: way too much money. I would just recommend Idiot's Guide to Chess, which has a bit of everything. Then play. A whole lot, and go over losses.
As I think you agree, play is more important than books.
MDLM was unbalanced in his approach because he was unbalanced in his deficits. He was clearly strong positionally, had spent years studying Silman and the like, and was relatively very very weak in tactics. So I think the degree of balance in one's training depends on the degree of balance in one's deficits.
If you would be a black belt if only you could get the roundhouse kick right, if you had all the other mental and physical stuff down in your martial art, you would probably focus quite a bit more attention on your roundhouse kick. A crazy, disproportionate amount of attention, an amount of attention that would be completely inappropriate for a beginner.
PS Nice to see you posting. I was going through checking for sidebar detritus, and was glad to see you still around after the douchebag post :)
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Blue Devil Knight, at 9:40 AM
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