A New Toy

This week the TASC cd 2 arrived containing TASC Chess Tutor (Henceforth known as TCT) and Chessica (a chess playing program). Chesstiger is currently using the very same program.

TCT is based on the Steps Method and as some of you might know, I got stuck in Step 3 of the Step Method working from books. I did start all over again earlier this summer, but this now got easier using the TCT on the computer.

Currently I'm working my way trough Step 1, and I'm making some mistakes every now and then. I really need to take my time doing the exercises! I have to remind myself constantly that it's okay to take more than 10 seconds if I need them, but I'm getting better at it. It's a bit the same as with CTS, forget about the time.

Currently I'm working my way trough each chapter. Reading trough the instructional text and doing the exercise sections. Before moving on to the next chapter I redo the sections in which I didn't score a 100% and the I redo those in which I still don't have a 100% score until I do.

This is level one people, even I should know this by now! But these are exactly the things that should be practiced "until I can't get it wrong"

Additions to my chess library

I've had two orders with chess books coming in, adding the following titles to my small, but expanding chess library. In some posts I've mentioned some of the books, but not always stating that I had them already.

I think the books I have now should be able to take me a long way. I don't have a specific endgame book yet, but in the Steps Method there is some attention to basic endgames. Now I just have to come up with a study program for these books and then "just do the work".

Here are the two deliveries. The bold letters represent a shorthand to mention these books.

First these four:
LCT John Nunn, Learn Chess Tactics;
IYM Chris Ward, It's Your Move;
IYM.I Chris Ward, It's Your Move Improvers;
IYM.TP Chris Ward, It's Your move. Tough Puzzles.

These arrived a couple of weeks later:
MBC Graham Burgess, The Mammoth Book of Chess;
LC Irving Chernev, Logical Chess. Move by Move;
UC John Nunn, Understanding Chess. Move by Move.

Full information about these books and others can be found in the original and updated My Chess Library post.

My Chess Library

This post will be used to list my growing collection of chess books and other tools I use in training.

Last update: January, 16, 2013.

Format:
abbreviation author, title. subtitle, publisher, year of publication, number of pages.

CTS Chess Tactics Server

DCO John Emms, Discovering Chess Openings. Building Opening Skills from Basic Principles, Everyman Chess, 2006, 248 pages.

IYM Chris Ward, It's Your Move, Everyman Chess, 2000, 143 pages.
IYM.I Chris Ward, It's Your Move Improvers, Everyman Chess, 2001, 144 pages.
IYM.TP Chris Ward, It's Your move. Tough Puzzles, Everyman Chess 2004, 160 pages.

LC Irving Chernev, Logical Chess. Move by Move, Batsford, (1957, 1998 First Algebraïc) 2000, 256 pages

LCT John Nunn, Learn Chess Tactics, Gambit, 2004, 160 pages

M60MG R.J. Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games, Faber and Faber, 1972 (or a later reprint), 384 pages

MBC Graham Burgess, The Mammoth Book of Chess, Robinson, (1997) 2000 2nd revised edition, 537 pages

S1 Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 1
S2 Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 2
S3 Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 3
S4 Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 4
S5 Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 5
(= Let's Play Chess. Step 1 etc.)

SC A.J. Gillam, Starting Chess, 1977/1978, 128 pages
SCT A.J. Gillam, Simple Chess Tactics, 1978, 136 pages
SCM A.J. Gillam, Simple Checkmates, 1978, 128 pages

TCT TASC Chess Tutor (Software programm using the Steps Method)

UC John Nunn, Understanding Chess. Move by Move, Gambit, (2001) 2007, 240 pages

Books to start with, books to begin with

People who want to improve their chess like buying books and at that I'm certainly no exception, I have to hold myself back from buying books anyway.

When I got tired of just reading chess blogs, that went largely beyond my comprehension anyway, when I was done doing some exercises on the Chess Tactics Server on an irregular base, and when I had had it with getting my ass handed to me with the very few games that I played I started thinking about getting a bit more serious about chess and improving myself. The natural response is obvious: start buying chess books!

So that's what I set out to do, but where to start. A friend of mine, we'll call him Jabba, lend me a copy of a Dutch translation of:
A.J. Gillam, Simple Chess Tactics, 1978.

Whilst working my way trough this book I wanted more, more exercises and a more thorough understanding of the basics based on a modern method. To start with the latter, thankfully I live in the Netherlands where there are several choices for books that are based on the infamous Steps Method. This is also the method where Tasc Chess Tutor is based on.

I got myself a complete series of five books so I had all Steps. ("Step" is the English translation of the Dutch word Stap.
Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 1
Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 2
Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 3
Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 4
Brunia & Wijgerden, Lekker Schaken. Stap 5
(= Let's Play Chess. Step 1 etc.)

Now I had the basics covered and got Dutch translations/editions of the first three of a four book series that would provide me with quite some exercises. I can't find proof of existence of that fourth one anywhere, although it is mentioned in at least one of those books. It's possible it wasn't published, or that at least there wasn't a Dutch edition of it.
A.J. Gillam, Starting Chess, 1977/1978, 128 pages (nice to have the first part of the series as well, however it's useless compared to the Steps!)
A.J. Gillam, Simple Chess Tactics, 1978, 136 pages
A.J. Gillam, Simple Checkmates, 1978, 128 pages

Then I got myself a birthday present and a motivational tool: Once I can understand this one, I'll know a thing or two about chess.
R.J. Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games, Faber and Faber, 1972 (or a later reprint), 384 pages

Currently I've ordered a few books, but I'll write about those once I've got them.