The Chess Scalpel - 32 Master Games Dissected : Predict the Moves and Maximize Your Chess Understanding

The idea behind this book is for you to‘play’ as in a real game, and it is my job to ensure you have a pleasant timewhile training. I suggest you take at least an hour and a half for eachgame and as your coach I will indicate when to guess the moves. Sometimes therewill be suggestions — including tricky ones — to measure your concentrationlevel. The ideas behind the moves are always explained. Points are awarded forthe ‘right answers’ as well as for some other moves, and at the end there is ageneral assessment plus a review of some of the things to be learned from thegame. During my coaching period I was able to witness how motivating it is forkids to receive points for the right answers, their ‘lives are at stake’ whenthey try to find the answers, and it is a challenge much appreciated by them. Later I also noticed a similar effect with adults although, unlike the kids,the older students try to hide it. The final score is not that important; it isnot scientifically based. But of course the more points you get the better you‘would have played’. The effort you put into trying to find the best moveevery time is what matters most. I firmly believe it really helps to learn alittle more about playing chess with every game. The methodology recommendedfor solving the exercises is the ‘old-school’ one of using a piece of paper tocover the text and scrolling down the page as you advance.

The idea behind this book is for you to ‘play’ as in a real game, and it is my job to ensure you have a pleasant time while training. 

I suggest you take at least an hour and a half for each game and as your coach I will indicate when to guess the moves. Sometimes there will be suggestions — including tricky ones — to measure your concentration level. The ideas behind the moves are always explained. Points are awarded for the ‘right answers’ as well as for some other moves, and at the end there is a general assessment plus a review of some of the things to be learned from the game. During my coaching period I was able to witness how motivating it is for kids to receive points for the right answers, their ‘lives are at stake’ when they try to find the answers, and it is a challenge much appreciated by them.

Later I also noticed a similar effect with adults although, unlike the kids, the older students try to hide it. The final score is not that important; it is not scientifically based. But of course the more points you get the better you ‘would have played’. The effort you put into trying to find the best move every time is what matters most. I firmly believe it really helps to learn a little more about playing chess with every game. The methodology recommended for solving the exercises is the ‘old-school’ one of using a piece of paper to cover the text and scrolling down the page as you advance.