Software/Database for studing

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Date: 02 Jan 2005 10:04:07
From: R Alford
Subject: Software/Database for studing

I am attempting to move beyond patzer class and have collected several
interesting books I am reading/studying. My question is how best to study a
book? Using computer software should make it easier to follow games and
variations.

I would really appreciate suggestions on how to manage the learning process?
It is nontrivial to enter the moves, variations and comments and, if
possible, I would like to start on the right path.

Best wishes for a great year,

Mallwyd

Date: 04 Jan 2005 23:46:43
From: Luther Barnum
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

"R Alford" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:PXUBd.12968$ph.2969@okepread01...
>I am attempting to move beyond patzer class and have collected several
>interesting books I am reading/studying. My question is how best to study
>a book? Using computer software should make it easier to follow games and
>variations.
>
> I would really appreciate suggestions on how to manage the learning
> process? It is nontrivial to enter the moves, variations and comments and,
> if possible, I would like to start on the right path.
>
> Best wishes for a great year,
>
> Mallwyd
>

I use Convekta products Chess Assistant and Total Chess Training. The books
to read would be "The Amateur's Mind", "How to Reassess Your Chess" and
"The Reassess Your Chess Workbook" in that order. For endgame, you'll like
"Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual".

Lessons from a player much stronger than yourself would also help. It's not
enough to play games, you must understand the games you play.

Luther

Date: 06 Jan 2005 09:44:52
From: Mallwyd
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

Thanks for the reply. I have those books (and a few more) but I am wondering
what the best way is to study the books. I agree that mental imagery is
ideal, however, my meager mental power is over extended by following the
position and appreciating the position is beyond me. In the good old days I
used a board, but it seems that software should be useful for entering the
positions and notes for study and later review.

Candidates seem to be Bookup, Chess Position Trainer, Chessbase, and others?
I would appreciate comments on "how" to study these books.

Happy New Year - look for me, Mallwyd - I have begun the year by throwing
away wood like it is kindling.....

Mallwyd

"Luther Barnum" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "R Alford" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:PXUBd.12968$ph.2969@okepread01...
>>I am attempting to move beyond patzer class and have collected several
>>interesting books I am reading/studying. My question is how best to study
>>a book? Using computer software should make it easier to follow games and
>>variations.
>>
>> I would really appreciate suggestions on how to manage the learning
>> process? It is nontrivial to enter the moves, variations and comments
>> and, if possible, I would like to start on the right path.
>>
>> Best wishes for a great year,
>>
>> Mallwyd
>>
>
> I use Convekta products Chess Assistant and Total Chess Training. The
> books to read would be "The Amateur's Mind", "How to Reassess Your Chess"
> and "The Reassess Your Chess Workbook" in that order. For endgame, you'll
> like "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual".
>
> Lessons from a player much stronger than yourself would also help. It's
> not enough to play games, you must understand the games you play.
>
> Luther
>

Date: 07 Jan 2005 05:17:24
From: StratPlan
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

"Mallwyd" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:R1dDd.15250$ph.4105@okepread01...
>
> Candidates seem to be Bookup, Chess Position Trainer, Chessbase, and
> others?
> I would appreciate comments on "how" to study these books.

Mallyd:

Other will have different methods for studying books. The following
describes the method I follow.

Initially, I use Bookup to run through the game in the book, or the setup
the position and run through the moves. If, after thinking about it for a
while, I have a question as to why a move was made, I use the Bookup
Professional Engine feature to see what I am missing in terms of tactics and
to get an quick idea as to which side is winning and by how much.

If I get to an interesting position in the book, to gain a deeper
understanding of it, I use ChessBase and Chess Assistant. I will search for
games that have the same position and see what moves and plans the Masters
follow. Doing this allows me to get a feel for which plans win and which
plans lose.

If there is a nice plan or variation (i.e. one I like and feel comfortable
with) that is discussed in the Book, then I use Chess Position Trainer to
add it, or some of the moves to my repertoire. This allows me to follow
theoretically sound plans.

I then try out the new plans during on-line play.

I again use Chess Position Trainer for the practical purpose of checking
these games that I have played on the internet for novelties. If my opponent
generates a novelty, I add that particular move to my repertoire (unless it
is a blatant mistake on my opponent's behalf).

I use Fritz 8 to determine the best reply. I confirm the move fits in with
one of the successful plans found in Chessbase or Chess Assistant and then
add it as my move to Chess Position Trainer. In this way, I know the move is
sound, both positionally and tactically.

If the Novelty is mine (meaning I made a mistake), then I update the
training scores in Chess Position Trainer and re-run the training for that
sub-repertoire until I achieve a 100% score.

Now, that I have a good understanding of the position, I will go back to
Bookup and add comments as to why the particular move was made, for future
reference. This is the method I use to link the theoretical knowledge I have
gained from the books with the practical experience I have gained from
playing.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Richard Reid

Date: 07 Jan 2005 14:41:11
From: Mallwyd
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

Thanks for the suggestions.

Mallwyd.

"StratPlan" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:EXoDd.53499$dv1.42491@edtnps89...
> "Mallwyd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:R1dDd.15250$ph.4105@okepread01...
>>
>> Candidates seem to be Bookup, Chess Position Trainer, Chessbase, and
>> others?
>> I would appreciate comments on "how" to study these books.
>
>
> Mallyd:
>
>
>
> Other will have different methods for studying books. The following
> describes the method I follow.
>
>
>
> Initially, I use Bookup to run through the game in the book, or the setup
> the position and run through the moves. If, after thinking about it for a
> while, I have a question as to why a move was made, I use the Bookup
> Professional Engine feature to see what I am missing in terms of tactics
> and to get an quick idea as to which side is winning and by how much.
>
>
>
> If I get to an interesting position in the book, to gain a deeper
> understanding of it, I use ChessBase and Chess Assistant. I will search
> for games that have the same position and see what moves and plans the
> Masters follow. Doing this allows me to get a feel for which plans win and
> which plans lose.
>
>
>
> If there is a nice plan or variation (i.e. one I like and feel comfortable
> with) that is discussed in the Book, then I use Chess Position Trainer to
> add it, or some of the moves to my repertoire. This allows me to follow
> theoretically sound plans.
>
>
>
> I then try out the new plans during on-line play.
>
>
>
> I again use Chess Position Trainer for the practical purpose of checking
> these games that I have played on the internet for novelties. If my
> opponent generates a novelty, I add that particular move to my repertoire
> (unless it is a blatant mistake on my opponent's behalf).
>
>
>
> I use Fritz 8 to determine the best reply. I confirm the move fits in
> with one of the successful plans found in Chessbase or Chess Assistant and
> then add it as my move to Chess Position Trainer. In this way, I know the
> move is sound, both positionally and tactically.
>
>
>
> If the Novelty is mine (meaning I made a mistake), then I update the
> training scores in Chess Position Trainer and re-run the training for
> that sub-repertoire until I achieve a 100% score.
>
>
>
> Now, that I have a good understanding of the position, I will go back to
> Bookup and add comments as to why the particular move was made, for future
> reference. This is the method I use to link the theoretical knowledge I
> have gained from the books with the practical experience I have gained
> from playing.
>
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Sincerely,
> Richard Reid
>
>

Date: 06 Jan 2005 14:06:37
From: Ron
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

In article <R1dDd.15250$ph.4105@okepread01 >,
"Mallwyd" <[email protected] > wrote:

> Thanks for the reply. I have those books (and a few more) but I am wondering
> what the best way is to study the books. I agree that mental imagery is
> ideal, however, my meager mental power is over extended by following the
> position and appreciating the position is beyond me. In the good old days I
> used a board, but it seems that software should be useful for entering the
> positions and notes for study and later review.
>
> Candidates seem to be Bookup, Chess Position Trainer, Chessbase, and others?
> I would appreciate comments on "how" to study these books.
>
> Happy New Year - look for me, Mallwyd - I have begun the year by throwing
> away wood like it is kindling.....

I sort of feel like a lot of software makes it too easy -- it's so easy
to just push the pieces around the board without losing your place, so
you do... without necessarily putting as much thought into them.

Different strokes for different folks, of course, but I think that if
you do use a database for studying, make sure you're still stretching
your visualization skills to the limit before you start pushing pieces
around the board.

Just my $.02

-Ron

Date: 06 Jan 2005 18:25:31
From: Mallwyd
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

OK - give me a hint as to which software makes it "too" easy :) With the
decades of education etc, I can figure out how to learn, generally. I would
really like suggestions on how to facilitate the learning using software -
for philosophy, I'll study Silman...

Still waiting for suggestions -

Cheers,

Mallwyd

"Ron" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <R1dDd.15250$ph.4105@okepread01>,
> "Mallwyd" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the reply. I have those books (and a few more) but I am
>> wondering
>> what the best way is to study the books. I agree that mental imagery is
>> ideal, however, my meager mental power is over extended by following the
>> position and appreciating the position is beyond me. In the good old
>> days I
>> used a board, but it seems that software should be useful for entering
>> the
>> positions and notes for study and later review.
>>
>> Candidates seem to be Bookup, Chess Position Trainer, Chessbase, and
>> others?
>> I would appreciate comments on "how" to study these books.
>>
>> Happy New Year - look for me, Mallwyd - I have begun the year by throwing
>> away wood like it is kindling.....
>
> I sort of feel like a lot of software makes it too easy -- it's so easy
> to just push the pieces around the board without losing your place, so
> you do... without necessarily putting as much thought into them.
>
> Different strokes for different folks, of course, but I think that if
> you do use a database for studying, make sure you're still stretching
> your visualization skills to the limit before you start pushing pieces
> around the board.
>
> Just my $.02
>
> -Ron

Date: 14 Jan 2005 05:05:14
From: Akorps666
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

>OK - give me a hint as to which software makes it "too" easy :)

Bookup is very easy to use for playing over games from chessbooks, and also for
making your own training databases (when I find an interesting position I store
it in Bookup, give it an appropriate name, then when in the mood for training
go into training mode and "jump" though the examples one by one. I think you
can get a free download of Bookup Express at www.bookup.com, although you'll
probably want to buy it for $29 or so later on if you mean to use it a lot.

I also use Chess Assistant a lot, as their direct tree is very handy for
opening statistics, and CA is lightning fast for operations on large databases.
For example searching the 2 million+ games "Hugebase", for all games where
black won in less than 10 moves, takes less than 2 minutes even on my old
machine, after which those short games can be stored in a seperate database,
then one can go through those short games looking for interesting tactical
positions to store in a training database (just as an example of what one can
do).

There is a free version called "Chess Assistant Lite" I think (or something
like that), that you can download to see if you like it (www.convekta.com is
the website I think)

There are other good softwares such as Chessbase, Scid, and Chess Partner (and
others), but I'm not current on what free versions they have available.

Date: 14 Jan 2005 07:15:10
From: Mallwyd
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

Thanks again for the replies. I am slowly making progress learning the
tools. What I would like to figure out is how to follow a book from my easy
chair - chess isn't for the lazy I suppose :)

I have actually had some luck entering games in HIARCs on my Palm, however,
it is designed for play not study and database activities.

Best wishes,

Mallwyd

"Akorps666" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >OK - give me a hint as to which software makes it "too" easy :)
>
> Bookup is very easy to use for playing over games from chessbooks, and
> also for
> making your own training databases (when I find an interesting position I
> store
> it in Bookup, give it an appropriate name, then when in the mood for
> training
> go into training mode and "jump" though the examples one by one. I think
> you
> can get a free download of Bookup Express at www.bookup.com, although
> you'll
> probably want to buy it for $29 or so later on if you mean to use it a
> lot.
>
> I also use Chess Assistant a lot, as their direct tree is very handy for
> opening statistics, and CA is lightning fast for operations on large
> databases.
> For example searching the 2 million+ games "Hugebase", for all games
> where
> black won in less than 10 moves, takes less than 2 minutes even on my old
> machine, after which those short games can be stored in a seperate
> database,
> then one can go through those short games looking for interesting tactical
> positions to store in a training database (just as an example of what one
> can
> do).
>
> There is a free version called "Chess Assistant Lite" I think (or
> something
> like that), that you can download to see if you like it (www.convekta.com
> is
> the website I think)
>
> There are other good softwares such as Chessbase, Scid, and Chess Partner
> (and
> others), but I'm not current on what free versions they have available.
>

Date: 14 Jan 2005 16:58:39
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

Mallwyd <[email protected] > wrote:
> Thanks again for the replies. I am slowly making progress learning the
> tools. What I would like to figure out is how to follow a book from my
> easy chair - chess isn't for the lazy I suppose :)

The London Chess Centre (http://www.chess.co.uk/) will sell you a
demonstration board and you could hire a servant to move the pieces for
you. Possibly another one to bring you hot or cold drinks and so on.

Dave.

--
David Richerby Moistened Strange Sword (TM): it's
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ like a razor-sharp blade but it's
totally weird and moist!

Date: 08 Jan 2005 17:21:25
From: Mike Leahy
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

"Mallwyd" <[email protected] > wrote in message
news:WFkDd.15284$ph.13328@okepread01...
> OK - give me a hint as to which software makes it "too" easy :) With the
> decades of education etc, I can figure out how to learn, generally. I
would
> really like suggestions on how to facilitate the learning using software -
> for philosophy, I'll study Silman...

I created Bookup so that it would be "too" easy for me to study. Then it
became my day job. :)

Download the free trial of Bookup 2000 Express and try entering your paper
book notes for 30 days and see if it works for you.

And I agree with getting one's philosophy from Silman. Before he began
writing, I based Bookup on the philosophy in _Think Like a Grandmaster_ and
borrowed much of the terminology from the English translation (tree,
candidate moves, etc.)

Mike Leahy
"The Database Man!"
www.bookup.com

Date: 06 Jan 2005 16:31:26
From: Ron
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

In article <WFkDd.15284$ph.13328@okepread01 >,
"Mallwyd" <[email protected] > wrote:

> OK - give me a hint as to which software makes it "too" easy :) With the
> decades of education etc, I can figure out how to learn, generally. I would
> really like suggestions on how to facilitate the learning using software -
> for philosophy, I'll study Silman...
>
> Still waiting for suggestions -

If Chessbase light did easy import and export of PGN files, it'd be
perfect.

But because of that limitation... I dunno. Do later chessbases/fritzes
import and export PGN easily?

Date: 07 Jan 2005 10:26:10
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Software/Database for studing

Ron <[email protected] > wrote:
> "Mallwyd" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> OK - give me a hint as to which software makes it "too" easy :) With
>> the decades of education etc, I can figure out how to learn, generally.
>> I would really like suggestions on how to facilitate the learning using
>> software - for philosophy, I'll study Silman...
>
> If Chessbase light did easy import and export of PGN files, it'd be
> perfect.
>
> But because of that limitation... I dunno. Do later chessbases/fritzes
> import and export PGN easily?

Fritz 8 handles PGN as well as it handles ChessBase's own format.

I personally tend to go through books by entering the moves and variations
but not the textual comments in Fritz. It's not worth the time it takes
to enter the comments -- if you want that level of detail when you next go
through the game, open the book again!

Dave.

--
David Richerby Salted Unholy Lotion (TM): it's like
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ a soothing hand lotion but it's also
a crime against nature and covered
in salt!