Lessons with a Grandmaster II

Den andre boka med superstormester Boris Gulko og amatørsjakkspilleren Joel Sneed som sammen går gjennom 30 av Gulkos partier, her med fokus på dynamisk sjakk, utvikling av fantasi, visualisering og variantregning.

Den første av bøkene ble en klar suksess, da dette konseptet på en ny måte virkelig søker å bygge bru mellom toppspilleren og den interesserte amatørspilleren. Psykologen Joel Sneed forteller i introduksjonen hvor stor framgang han hadde etter å ha arbeidet seg gjennom den første boka - med fokus på strategi - sammen med Gulko.

Boris Gulko ble Sovjetmester i 1978 og siden to ganger USA-mester etter at han emigrerte i 1986.

INTRODUKSJONEN TIL DENNE BOKA:

• Boris: So we meet again to continue our study of the mystical teachings of chess.

• Joel: Yes! Working with you on the first book had a major impact on my playing. I added several hundred points to my rating. Immediately after completing the book I scored 4 out of 5 with 2 draws and 3 wins at the Marshall Chess Club under- 2000 tournament in New York. I tied for first and had a performance rating of 2100! My increased playing strength is a direct reflection of the work we did studying your games, solving exercises, and, in general, listening to you talk about chess. I will never forget the experience of going over your game against Kasparov (1990); it was so clear to me how little I understood about what was going on and how much more I need to learn in order to unlock the hidden mysteries of this great game.

• Boris: Chess is a rich game indeed. In fact, we can say in general that it contains two games in one. First, there is strategic chess based on positional understanding, which includes prophylaxis, maneuvering, and understanding which pieces to exchange and which to keep on the board, to name a few of the elements we covered in the first book. Second, there is dynamic chess, which includes developing your chess imagination, capacity to take risks, ability to attack and defend simultaneously, and, perhaps above all, your ability to visualize the chessboard and calculate combinations in sharp positions.

It is not always true even at higher levels that players excel in both. For example, Grandmaster Ulf Andersson was a very skillful positional player but was not so inclined toward dynamic chess. On the other, Grandmaster Viktor Kupreichik was, in his prime, one of the most dangerous attacking players but he did not develop a predilection for positional play. Because of this, neither player realized their true potential in chess, despite their extraordinary talent. Joel: In my case, it is clear that I overwhelmingly prefer playing positional games, to avoid complications, to grind people down based on positional superiority and win in the endgame. As you have pointed out, this is a function both of individual taste (what kind of chess I like to play) but also a lack of confidence in my tactical ability, which is why I shy away from sharp positions. - Boris: Right, and in order to reach higher levels, it is critical to try and improve your skill in both directions. We devoted Volume One to positional play, so now we turn to dynamic chess. We’ll discuss chess imagination, risk taking, simultaneous attack and defense, and the calculation of combinations in sharp positions as they come up in my most spectacular games. The games I have chosen for this book are very entertaining, some really beautiful, and many of the tasks I set will be very complicated. Therefore, instead of rating tasks in difficulty from 1 to 5 as I did in the first volume, I will rate the exercises from 1 to 6 to reflect the increased level of difficulty. Only after you have tried to solve the problems will I explain to you the secrets of the position. As you have shown, this method of teaching produces rapid results and I am sure you (and players at your level) will get a lot out of the book. Given the nature of the games selected, however, I think this volume will also be useful to stronger players who have more experience, because many of the tasks will be extremely difficult. - Joel: I am very excited to get started. My goal is to break the 2000 mark by the time we finish the second volume. - Boris: Alright then, let’s get started. I will present the games in increasing order of difficulty, as in the first volume.