After scouring the Malaysian chess blogosphere, it is hard to ignore the fact that the only consistent "source" for chess training tips comes from someone who does not play chess. Unfortunately, THIS does not count as chess training tips (Sorry Jimmy). But thankfully, the internet is a vast resource, and that is why I am able to share the following articles by IM Goh Weiming here:
1. This article mostly contains analyses of Weiming's own games and his thought processes during the tournament. The more subtle pointers included the weight that Weiming places on opening preparation. I am afraid I am not qualified to assess the strength of Weiming's play, but I think it is clear that he puts in a great deal of effort in opening preparation, not just prior to the tournament, but as a whole.
2. The second article, although classified as a book review, shows that training and preparation goes far beyond opening preparation. Many of us revel in the fact that we keep ourselves up to date with the latest novelties, but how many of us truly understand chess openings? A strong player would be able to play any opening based on understanding alone (Mok is one such example) but this is by no means discarding the importance of opening preparation. My point is that openings are not everything, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to this. One of the most foresaken part of training among players (based on anecdotal evidence) is in analysis. The main reason for this is that Malaysia has way too many rapid tournaments. To be "successful" in Malaysian chess simply does not require strong analytical skills. If I may be so bold, I would say it requires strong cheapo skills, and a lot of experience in time management (among other things).
So, the above articles are for those of you who are more serious in improving your chess. Be warned that it is unlikely to improve your results in rapid chess significantly, but it could help you in tournaments like the Malaysian Open or the KL Open. Of course, the key takeaway is not just in the contents of the articles, but in the methods of training.
P/S: It took me quite a while to go through the two articles in their entirety and even then, I still don't think I have fully benefitted from them. But then again, it could be due to my weak chess skills.
Showing posts with label Singapore Chess News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore Chess News. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
The Way Forward
More stuff by Weiwen.
P/S: I am not receiving any compensation in any form whatsoever for this sharing. Nor am I doing this out of any request by any party.
P/S: I am not receiving any compensation in any form whatsoever for this sharing. Nor am I doing this out of any request by any party.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
More Chess Training
More of IM Goh's selfless sharing.
For those of you who are preparing hard for the National Closed in studying your openings and what not, perhaps you can take a break and look at something fresh.
Practice some calculation and determination. It just might come in handy during the National Closed.
For those of you who are preparing hard for the National Closed in studying your openings and what not, perhaps you can take a break and look at something fresh.
Practice some calculation and determination. It just might come in handy during the National Closed.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Interview with IM Goh Weiming
Weiming never fails to disappoint. This is not to say I idolize him, but he is one of the more open IMs when it comes to sharing thoughts and ideas in chess and I really appreciate that. This is why I have been sharing a lot of material related to him here.
This interview shows partially what kind of tough decisions a professional (non-chess) has to go through before thinking about pursuing for a GM title. Also, it shows a very positive attitude in viewing up and coming juniors. He does not see them as rivals, unlike what some people are trying to do, which is to divide chess.
Juniors and seniors alike, are chess players and should compete just the same.
Anyhow, here is the interview.
This interview shows partially what kind of tough decisions a professional (non-chess) has to go through before thinking about pursuing for a GM title. Also, it shows a very positive attitude in viewing up and coming juniors. He does not see them as rivals, unlike what some people are trying to do, which is to divide chess.
Juniors and seniors alike, are chess players and should compete just the same.
Anyhow, here is the interview.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Technical Demonstration
IM Goh Weiming strikes again with a great instructive game. What I like about Weiming is that regardless of whether he won or lost the game, he is always able to take an honest and objective look about the lessons to pick up. A true IM indeed.
Weiming's game against Richard shows the difference in understanding, as admitted by Weiming himself, and has nothing to do with "imagined fears". As I have said before, sometimes, "imagined fears" are merely imagined, resulting in "imagined imagined fears".
If you read the analysis and annotations of the game by Weiming, you may be able to gain some insight into some ideas of what understanding the position means. This is a purely technical concept. I would hardly expect a 12 year-old to even consider 5. ... Bxc3. The move is totally counter-intuitive superficially, but it nevertheless does not stray too far away from true hard principles of the opening.
Weiming's game against Richard shows the difference in understanding, as admitted by Weiming himself, and has nothing to do with "imagined fears". As I have said before, sometimes, "imagined fears" are merely imagined, resulting in "imagined imagined fears".
If you read the analysis and annotations of the game by Weiming, you may be able to gain some insight into some ideas of what understanding the position means. This is a purely technical concept. I would hardly expect a 12 year-old to even consider 5. ... Bxc3. The move is totally counter-intuitive superficially, but it nevertheless does not stray too far away from true hard principles of the opening.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Prophylactic Chess
Prophylactic thinking
Prophylactic chess is most certainly my favorite kind of chess. I simply enjoy containing the opponent and squeeze out a win in a most agonizingly painful process for the opponent. Weiming annotated the game in the link which has some really interesting ideas on what you can do if you "can't find a plan". All you need to do is to make it difficult for your opponent to execute his plan. This is especially useful in rapid games, but of course, applicable in any kind of chess.
Prophylactic chess is most certainly my favorite kind of chess. I simply enjoy containing the opponent and squeeze out a win in a most agonizingly painful process for the opponent. Weiming annotated the game in the link which has some really interesting ideas on what you can do if you "can't find a plan". All you need to do is to make it difficult for your opponent to execute his plan. This is especially useful in rapid games, but of course, applicable in any kind of chess.
Monday, December 20, 2010
More Chess Training - by IM Goh Weiming
I hope that all of you will take this rare opportunity to "look into" how an IM thinks. This may just be one of many possible ways but it most certainly offers some insights to what kind of level of thinking is required of an IM. This is the kind of thing that I hope the Malaysian IMs (or FMs and such) can and will share with the rest of us (patzers). It would be most insightful and I can say for sure that it would be greatly appreciated.
Read here for the insightful article.
Read here for the insightful article.
Friday, December 10, 2010
How to Train in Chess?
Read here.VERY CAREFULLY.
Above is an exceptionally interesting link that logs one of the training session that IM Goh Weiming from Singapore had with his teammate, IM-elect Timothy Chan. This interestingly coincides with the rubbish that I have read from First GM who kept talking about preparation like he knows how to play chess. If you are sick of going round and round in circles in First GM's site, please visit some other more productive sites. I highly recommend www.singaporechessnews.com for chess players of all standards.
Anyhow, I hope to highlight a few points about their training even though the IM-level players from Singapore did mention that even they themselves were not sure if the training method that they used was effective or not. The two most important elements that I noticed about their training is their attitude and mindset. First, they did not sit back and hope to obtain coaching or help from "superior" players. Granted, they are IM-level players. But this is the kind of mindset that they had since they were young (I suppose we can still consider Timothy young). They were willing to work on their own games through spending time on the chess board instead of waiting for chess officials to spoon feed the players. This is called determination. This is the fightting spirit that Malaysians lack. This is what allows battles to be won even before they are fought.
Second, they were willing to work together without fear of letting the other person know about their own strengths and weaknesses. This is in contrast with the attitudes that many Malaysian chess players have who dare not share their ideas and thoughts with their peers so that they can stay ahead of the other players. This is very shameful because it impedes the players' own growths. They do not realize that if their opponents get better, it will automatically push themselves to work harder and become better chess players. Weiming and Timothy were willing to cooperate to come up with stronger ideas together. I am willing to bet that both of them learnt far more than what Weiming could express in words on the site. In all my encounters with Weiming, I've always felt that he is a gracious person who is willing to share as long as you are also willing to do your fair share of work. The fact that he wrote his thoughts on the training session is another evidence of this fact.
Above is an exceptionally interesting link that logs one of the training session that IM Goh Weiming from Singapore had with his teammate, IM-elect Timothy Chan. This interestingly coincides with the rubbish that I have read from First GM who kept talking about preparation like he knows how to play chess. If you are sick of going round and round in circles in First GM's site, please visit some other more productive sites. I highly recommend www.singaporechessnews.com for chess players of all standards.
Anyhow, I hope to highlight a few points about their training even though the IM-level players from Singapore did mention that even they themselves were not sure if the training method that they used was effective or not. The two most important elements that I noticed about their training is their attitude and mindset. First, they did not sit back and hope to obtain coaching or help from "superior" players. Granted, they are IM-level players. But this is the kind of mindset that they had since they were young (I suppose we can still consider Timothy young). They were willing to work on their own games through spending time on the chess board instead of waiting for chess officials to spoon feed the players. This is called determination. This is the fightting spirit that Malaysians lack. This is what allows battles to be won even before they are fought.
Second, they were willing to work together without fear of letting the other person know about their own strengths and weaknesses. This is in contrast with the attitudes that many Malaysian chess players have who dare not share their ideas and thoughts with their peers so that they can stay ahead of the other players. This is very shameful because it impedes the players' own growths. They do not realize that if their opponents get better, it will automatically push themselves to work harder and become better chess players. Weiming and Timothy were willing to cooperate to come up with stronger ideas together. I am willing to bet that both of them learnt far more than what Weiming could express in words on the site. In all my encounters with Weiming, I've always felt that he is a gracious person who is willing to share as long as you are also willing to do your fair share of work. The fact that he wrote his thoughts on the training session is another evidence of this fact.
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