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Valuable Chess Lessons by Steve Goldberg Chess Lessons, by Vladimir Popov, Quality Chess 2011, Figurine Algebraic Notation, 256pp. Paperback $25.95 (ChessCafe Price: $21.95); Hardcover $40.95 (ChessCafe Price: $34.95) As a trainer, Russian chess coach Vladimir Popov had "collected some ideas which I think should be of interest, whether the reader is a youth trainer or a player who has reached a reasonable standard and wishes to improve further." Many of these examples are from the games of his two most celebrated pupils, the Kosintseva sisters; others are from his own games or from players both well known and not so well known. He writes, "There is no disputing that in order to improve your quality of play, the quantity of errors has to be reduced. ... A coach involved with talented children on a one-to-one basis should understand this very well." With regard to the Kosintseva sisters, Popov notes he "had to choose suitable exercise positions for what was then their chief fault, and organize various solving contests followed up by serious critical discussion." Thus, Chess Lessons is not a book for beginning chess players. A reader needs to have a bit of playing experience, and a basic grounding in chess fundamentals to get the most out of this work. This is also not a book to be run through quickly. The aim of the book is to help the reader to minimize errors in his own games by studying the material and solving the exercises. As Popov notes, "It is well said that 'you learn from your mistakes.' And you can also learn from the mistakes of others." A look at the table of contents will give the reader a reasonable indication of what to expect:
Each chapter offers introductory material and examples on a particular theme and ends with approximately six to twelve problems for the reader to solve. The problems are rarely straight tactical puzzles, though these are encountered from time to time. Rather, they are more on the order of "White to move. Provide the best move and the reasoning behind it." Therefore, each problem is much more involved than what will be found in a basic instructional manual. In the Chapter Nineteen, in which mate-in-two problems are presented, the reader is asked to solve the problems "blindfolded," without the aid of a board. Popov advises this as a method of improving calculation skill. The many examples provided throughout the book are similarly presented. Popov provides a diagrammed position, and proceeds to explain why a move that was selected was less than ideal, and then shows a more advantageous continuation. One of the more simple positions discussed in the book comes from the following diagram, in the "Monitoring Counter-Threats" (MCT) chapter:
It is White to move in this position from Prizant – T. Kosintseva, Russian U20 Ch, 2002. Popov explains, "The verdict on the diagram position is obvious. In return for her opponent's extra pawn, Black has the more active pieces. With correct play the game should end in a draw. "In the event, the nineteen-year-old Yaroslav Prizant played the logical 1.c6??, planning to exchange the c-pawn for the h-pawn. In so doing he failed to check whether the resulting position contained an aggressive sequence of moves for his opponent. In fact it did: 1…g4+! 2.Kh4 Kf6!-+. "This piece of play comes under the heading of 'mistakes on the MCT theme' because in the initial situation Black was not threatening …g5-g4 (the white rook could check from a6!). The possibility only arose as a result of White's mistaken move in the game." In the actual game, Kosintseva followed up with a weaker series of moves, and the game ended in a draw. But the point above remains. Here is another example from the chapter that considers the matter of exchanging material – what types of exchanges are favorable and which are not:
In this position, from Kirillov – T. Kosintseva, Russian U18 Ch, 2002, it is White to move. As Popov explains "The game continued: 1.Bf1? g5 2.Nb1 e4 3.Qb2 Bxc3 4.Qxc3 Rxd1 5.Rxd1 f4 and Tatiana had the advantage." Here is that position:
Instead, Popov insists, White had a better continuation. "In actual fact," he writes, "White could have reached a good position by exchanging his own key bishop! But in order to decide on this outwardly risky plan, Kirillov would have had to find the following sequence of moves: 1.Bxc6! bxc6 2.Nf3! e4 3.Bxg7! Qxg7 4.Nd4 Bd7 5.c5!" This, instead, would have been the resultant position:
Compare the relative activity of the minor pieces in this position, versus the previous diagram. Popov would seem to have a valid point. Working through the many examples in each chapter will provide the reader with a good understanding of the topic at hand, and the end-of-chapter problems will likely present a challenging test for most readers. Popov has selected his problems carefully, and offers "grades" based on how closely the reader reaches the same conclusions as the author. Don't be disappointed by an occasional (or frequent!) "failing" grade. The tests are intended to challenge chess players to work on their weaknesses. Incidentally, although a great many of the examples in the book are from games in which Nadia or Tania Kosintseva, or less frequently, fellow student Karmen Mar, went wrong, the author wants to make clear that the reader not be left with an incorrect impression of these players. "We have seen many of their errors," he writes, "but that is only because it is by studying mistakes that we can learn to make fewer of them and thus improve our play. The reader should be in no doubt that all three young women are strong and talented players." Indeed, both Kosintseva sisters are now 2500+ rated FIDE grandmasters. Karmen Mar is not yet at their level, but as of this writing carries a FIDE rating of 2219. I would suggest that this book is especially suitable for players roughly in the 1600-2000 range, although I suspect that higher-rated players will benefit as well, touching up their weak spots.
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