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In this book I try to explain the most important skills for success as a practical chess player, and how you can train and develop these skills. In a nutshell, these skills are: a) How to find new ideas in openings. b) How to adopt new openings confidently and quickly. c) The various ways of solving practical middlegame problems. d) How to think in the endgame
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On the other hand, just playing a random opening without having any original thought about it is also a bit of a waste. I feel much more motivated and interested in a game if I have the feeling that I’m coming to the board with something new of my own
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After a couple more evenings like that, I couldn’t take it anymore. My biggest problem seemed to be that I couldn’t generate any ideas. If I didn’t start up Rybka, I might stare at a position for hours without finding anything interesting. But ... I used to be really good at this. So what was I missing now?
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The goal is to discover new truths, and those truths may well lie outside the boundaries of your prejudices. My solution had three components: a) To remind myself explicitly before I started that I was analysing, not playing. I was going for creativity and quality, not expediency. b) I drew up a list of six ‘mind-enlarging’ approaches that I hoped would stimulate me to leave my comfort zone when analysing and trigger my creativity. c) I set the rule that I would only use Rybka to check analysis, not to generate ideas. In practice this meant that I followed this routine:
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1) I set an alarm clock for 15 minutes. 2) Analysed for 2 x 15-minute stretches. 3) Typed my analysis into ChessBase (with Rybka switched off). Somehow writing things down always activates the checking part of my brain (I wish I was allowed to do that during games). 4) Then I switched on Rybka and checked through my analysis. I awarded myself points for the number of ideas I had analysed correctly. And what do points mean ... ? Pints! So you can see that a good analysis session tended to last shorter than a bad session.
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3) My goodness, you can play this for a win! 4) Crossover plans. 5) Acts of wanton aggression. 6) The spoilsport gambit (exchanging queens)
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Theme 1: Disturbing the material balance This theme speaks for itself. Don’t automatically shy away from lines where you might have to give something up. Be constantly aware that you can unbalance the material equilibrium in order to generate activity or create compensating weaknesses in the opponent’s position. The following example is a wonderfully subtle exposition of this theme
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When I read an opening book, I first play through the main line, reading what the author has to say about the moves and skipping all the variations. If I like the resulting positions, then I might spend a little more effort learning the opening. Otherwise, I stop reading. Since you've already bought the book, presumably you like the positions. But for other openings, looking at a database before buying a book can be invaluable.
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How do you read an opening book? : chess
year ago I don't spend a lot of time on opening prep, so if you are planning on devoting a lot of effort to this (which I don't recommend, but to each his own), definitely ignore this comment. <span>When I read an opening book, I first play through the main line, reading what the author has to say about the moves and skipping all the variations. If I like the resulting positions, then I might spend a little more effort learning the opening. Otherwise, I stop reading. Since you've already bought the book, presumably you like the positions. But for other openings, looking at a database before buying a book can be invaluable. Once I've decided to pursue an opening, I look at the games the author has included to try to understand more of the main ideas that pop up in all stages of the game (including the endg




Once I understand (at least some of) the ideas of the opening, then I go back and reread the main lines, this time looking at the short variations as well. These are typically tactical shots that one must be aware to avoid (or exploit), several of which may persist into the middlegame
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How do you read an opening book? : chess
look at the games the author has included to try to understand more of the main ideas that pop up in all stages of the game (including the endgame if most of the games reach similar positions). <span>Once I understand (at least some of) the ideas of the opening, then I go back and reread the main lines, this time looking at the short variations as well. These are typically tactical shots that one must be aware to avoid (or exploit), several of which may persist into the middlegame. Once I'm comfortable with the main lines, I create a PGN file with them (and eventually some key variations). There are far too many lines in an opening book to memorize them all, so w




As an example of what I mean, if you don't play the French as black, you don't need to book up on both the advance variation and the Tarrasch -- just pick one and always play that (at least until you have time / decide it is worthwhile to learn more). The one caveat is that you should probably make an effort to be aware of transpositions between lines that could take you from a variation that you are well prepared for into one that you know nothing about.

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How do you read an opening book? : chess
ll, I evaluate the variations as worth knowing or otherwise. Those deemed worthwhile get added to the file, while those that I would never intend / allow to be played are immediately forgotten. <span>As an example of what I mean, if you don't play the French as black, you don't need to book up on both the advance variation and the Tarrasch -- just pick one and always play that (at least until you have time / decide it is worthwhile to learn more). The one caveat is that you should probably make an effort to be aware of transpositions between lines that could take you from a variation that you are well prepared for into one that you know nothing about. When all is said and done, excluding traps, I like my PGN file to have no more than 10-20 variations. Annotations are also generally good, as you might forget some of the ideas, and it




Only now does it make sense to start trying to memorize. I like to do this with by practicing with physical pieces, but there is now software to help as well.

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How do you read an opening book? : chess
eas, and it would be bad to memorize a line and forget whether it is good or a trap to avoid. I also go back through the games in the book and include the relevant ones in my PGN for reference. <span>Only now does it make sense to start trying to memorize. I like to do this with by practicing with physical pieces, but there is now software to help as well. The nice thing about this approach is that when I decide to switch to a different variation (e.g., because I'm not getting great results or my tastes change), I already have a lot of th




The nice thing about this approach is that when I decide to switch to a different variation (e.g., because I'm not getting great results or my tastes change), I already have a lot of the work done, and I can go back through the opening book to look for something better with minimal effort.
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How do you read an opening book? : chess
vant ones in my PGN for reference. Only now does it make sense to start trying to memorize. I like to do this with by practicing with physical pieces, but there is now software to help as well. <span>The nice thing about this approach is that when I decide to switch to a different variation (e.g., because I'm not getting great results or my tastes change), I already have a lot of the work done, and I can go back through the opening book to look for something better with minimal effort. share Save level 1 QuickBenDelat Patzer1 point · 1 year ago Moving forward, buy books that come with a set of chessbase files. share Save Community Details r/chess 99.8k Subscribers 872





#has-images
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And White's attack would likely have succeeded if Black played in the manner that served so well for much of the 20th century, with cautious moves such as ... ♘ f8 to protect h7 and to avert 2 e5? because of 2 ... ♗ xf3 3 gxf3 dxe5 and ... ♕ xd3.
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#has-images
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Why? Because we realize now that White's space advantage, in this and similar positions, is vastly overrated. And we see Black has a powerful plan of 2 ... ♖ fc8 and 3 ... ♖ xc4! 4 ♗ xc4 ♖ xc4. That trumps anything White is doing on the kingside.
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Yes, you can, we say today. Black would have one pawn for the Exchange and powerful pressure on the e4-pawn as compensation after 4 ... ♖ xc4.
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In fact, White retreated 2 ♕ h3 (!) to anticipate threats along the a8-g2 diagonal. He was no longer acting as an attacker. He was beginning to think like a defender. Black continued to think like a counter-aggressor, with 2 ... ♖ ec8 .
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In the next diagram, 3 ♘ g5 would try to take Black's attention away from ... ♖ xc4. It would offer good practical chances after 3 ... h6 4 ♘ xf7! ♔ xf7 5 e5, for example
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What should Black do after 3 ♘ g5? Here's where the solid 3 ... ♘ f8! makes sense and would put the pressure back on White.
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#has-images
[imagelink] A Pomodoro kitchen timer, after which the method is named

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.[1] The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. These intervals are named pomodoros, the plural in English of the Italian word pomodoro (tomato), after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used as a university student.[2][3]

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Pomodoro Technique - Wikipedia
hy competition is now open! Photograph a historic site, learn more about our history, and win prizes. Pomodoro Technique From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search <span>A Pomodoro kitchen timer, after which the method is named The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.[1] The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. These intervals are named pomodoros, the plural in English of the Italian word pomodoro (tomato), after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used as a university student.[2][3] The technique has been widely popularized by dozens of apps and websites providing timers and instructions. Closely related to concepts such as timeboxing and iterative and incremental




The stages of planning, tracking, recording, processing and visualizing are fundamental to the technique. In the planning phase, tasks are prioritized by recording them in a "To Do Today" list. This enables users to estimate the effort tasks require. As pomodoros are completed, they are recorded, adding to a sense of accomplishment and providing raw data for subsequent self-observation and improvement.[1]
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Pomodoro Technique - Wikipedia
ewer than four checkmarks, take a short break (3–5 minutes), then go to step 2. After four pomodoros, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), reset your checkmark count to zero, then go to step 1. <span>The stages of planning, tracking, recording, processing and visualizing are fundamental to the technique. In the planning phase, tasks are prioritized by recording them in a "To Do Today" list. This enables users to estimate the effort tasks require. As pomodoros are completed, they are recorded, adding to a sense of accomplishment and providing raw data for subsequent self-observation and improvement.[1] For the purposes of the technique, a pomodoro is the interval of time spent working.[1] After task completion, any time remaining in the Pomodoro is devoted to overlearning. Regular bre




For the purposes of the technique, a pomodoro is the interval of time spent working.[1] After task completion, any time remaining in the Pomodoro is devoted to overlearning. Regular breaks are taken, aiding assimilation. A short (3–5 minutes) rest separates consecutive pomodoros. Four pomodoros form a set. A longer (15–30 minute) rest is taken between sets.[1][6]
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Pomodoro Technique - Wikipedia
estimate the effort tasks require. As pomodoros are completed, they are recorded, adding to a sense of accomplishment and providing raw data for subsequent self-observation and improvement.[1] <span>For the purposes of the technique, a pomodoro is the interval of time spent working.[1] After task completion, any time remaining in the Pomodoro is devoted to overlearning. Regular breaks are taken, aiding assimilation. A short (3–5 minutes) rest separates consecutive pomodoros. Four pomodoros form a set. A longer (15–30 minute) rest is taken between sets.[1][6] A goal of the technique is to reduce the impact of internal and external interruptions on focus and flow. A pomodoro is indivisible; when interrupted during a pomodoro, either the other




A goal of the technique is to reduce the impact of internal and external interruptions on focus and flow. A pomodoro is indivisible; when interrupted during a pomodoro, either the other activity must be recorded and postponed (inform – negotiate – schedule – call back) or the pomodoro must be abandoned.[1][6][7]
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Pomodoro Technique - Wikipedia
. Regular breaks are taken, aiding assimilation. A short (3–5 minutes) rest separates consecutive pomodoros. Four pomodoros form a set. A longer (15–30 minute) rest is taken between sets.[1][6] <span>A goal of the technique is to reduce the impact of internal and external interruptions on focus and flow. A pomodoro is indivisible; when interrupted during a pomodoro, either the other activity must be recorded and postponed (inform – negotiate – schedule – call back) or the pomodoro must be abandoned.[1][6][7] Tools[edit] The creator and his proponents encourage a low-tech approach, using a mechanical timer, paper, and pencil. The physical act of winding the timer confirms the user's determin




In 2006, when I switched from being a human to being a chess player, I worked through 26 chess books from cover to cover. But somehow I arrived at the conclusion that improving at chess requires more active learning than what is possible by simply reading.
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The first question is whether rules of thumb and thinking techniques are useful at all. I found an extensive debate about this while I was finishing this book and got myself up to date on the latest chess literature of the last few years.
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Willy Hendriks takes the most extreme position in Move First, Think Later (2012). He argues that there's nothing but concrete moves; Alexander Kotov's mechanical variation trees, from Think Like a Grandmaster (1971), and other thinking techniques are oversimplifying and of no use at the board.
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I completely agree with Jonathan Rowson in Chess for Zebras (2005) that the main problem for many ambitious players is that they focus on knowledge.
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A good chess player is not someone with well-defined knowledge, but rather one with great skills.
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During a game, it's too time-consuming to always look for candidate moves and make blunder checks. Instead, I think those techniques should be used extensively in training during a limited period. I will explain what I mean with a short theoretical discussion.
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There are also things we know that we can't do - inabilities. I guess one example is winning with two knights against a pawn. Other things we don't even know that we can't do - it's completely beyond our horizon. For understandable reasons, giving an example is impossible.
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#has-images
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Making a blunder check is such a skill for some players. They do it, but not deliberately. Looking for pawn levers may be a less known example
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It may not give the best short-term results to make a blunder check before every move; it takes time and disturbs the normal thought process. However, hopefully the blunder check will gradually be internalized. After some time, the subconscious intuition automatically makes a blunder check when needed, without a big effort.
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The first chapter is about pawn levers, with the thesis that they are the essential part of planning. The next chapter moves on to the pieces, mainly discussing exchanges but also positions with material imbalances. I think they are a good foundation for understanding which factors make a piece good or bad. In the third chapter, the pawn levers and piece exchanges are linked together to form a list of auxiliary questions, where critical positions and general game theory are two of the added topics.
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Calculation is the subject of the fourth chapter.
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The four pillars of chess training described in this book, in decreasing order ofimportance, are: J.. The List of Mistakes -analysing your games and categorizing the mistakes J.. The Woodpecker Method - learning the tactical motifs and solving simple exercises to internalize them into your intuition J.. Openings -studying them in such a way that you also learn middlegame positions and standard moves J.. Theoretical Endgames - studying them only once
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Learning from our mistakes One important characteristic for a chess player is self-knowledge; to understand that you don't lose by chance but because you still have things to learn. To show what I mean, I dive directly into action -a game.
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#Attack_Defense
The fate of a mating attack is usually decided by controlling a few key squares more than the opponent. For this reason it is not necessary to have a material advantage or even in some cases a general lead in development (it can be enough to have a lead in development in a small part of the board, though this is only rarely what happens). Local superiority is what it is all about
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#Attack_Defense
What makes it complicated is when we have to weigh this consideration against those of material, momentum and other strategic factors. As well as just remembering to include the last piece when all the other pieces are active and so many options exist (and they are almost working; only one special ingredient is needed -the last piece!).
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Flashcard 3316065635596

Question
A study revealed that 65% of men surveyed supported the war in Afghanistan and 33% of women supported the war. If 100 men and 75 women were surveyed, find the 90% confidence interval for the data’s true difference in proportions.
Answer
Here we use the formula : \(SampleSize = (Z_{\alpha/2}/E)^2 \times \hat{p}\times (1- \hat{p})\)
So \({E \over{Z_{\alpha/2}}} = \sqrt{\hat{p} \times (1-\hat{p}) \over {SampleSize}}\)
and the proportion SD in the population is \(\sigma_p = \sqrt{p\times(1-p) \over n} \approx \sqrt{\hat{p}\times(1-\hat{p}) \over n} \text{ where p is the proportion of the parameter in the total population, and } \hat{p} \text{ in the sample}\)

\(\text{So here }E_{\hat{p}_1-\hat{p}_2} = {Z_{\alpha/2}\times\sigma_{\hat{p}_1-\hat{p}_2}}\text{ and }\sigma_{\hat{p}_1-\hat{p}_2}\approx \sqrt{variance_1 + variance_2} = \sqrt{{\hat(p)_1\times (1-\hat{p}_1)\over{n_1}}{+{\hat(p)_2\times (1-\hat{p}_2)\over{n_2}}}}\)

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Unknown title
han it is, because the right side of the equation is actually a repeat of the left! Finding confidence intervals for two populations can be broken down to an easy three steps. Example question: <span>A study revealed that 65% of men surveyed supported the war in Afghanistan and 33% of women supported the war. If 100 men and 75 women were surveyed, find the 90% confidence interval for the data’s true difference in proportions. Step 1: Find the following variables from the information given in the question: n1 (population 1)=100 Phat1 (population 1, positive response): 65% or 0.65 Qhat1 (population 1, negative







Flashcard 3316101287180

Question
How to test a hypothesis about a mean ?
Answer
Decide what is H0
Decide about what tail(s) is alpha on.
Find the critical value, draw Normal dist curve and shade the rejection zone

Find mean and SD of the sample
\(\sigma^{2} \approx s^2 = {\sum{X^2}-{(\sum {X})^2 \over {(n)}}\over (n-1)}\)
OR use sigma from the population.
Use formula : \(Z = {(\hat {X} -\mu) \over {s\times\sqrt {n}}}\)

Calculate \(\hat{\alpha}\) : if ess than α, reject the null hypothesis

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Flashcard 3316105219340

Question
How to test the hypothesis : "16% of vegetarians are vegans" with 19 out of 200 respondents being vegan?
Answer
1. Here H0 must be an equality so H0 is : p=0.16 and H1 is : \(p \neq .16\)
2. We use a Two Tailed test SOOOO =>
3. Z score/T score with formula : \(Z={(\hat{p}-p)\over{\sqrt{p\times(1-p)\over{n}}}}\) needs to be > Zscore of .975 OR < Zscore of .025 (Here \(Z_\alpha = \pm1.96\))
4. Here Z = 1.158 so we cannot reject H0
5. Altenatively p value for Z is 0.13 so > 0.05 so we can not rejet H0

NB : as H0 is an equality we are interested in areas to the RIGHT of a positive Z (in EXCEL 1-norm.dist) and to the LEFT of a negative Z (in EXCEL normdist)

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