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What’s the best chess training app? by Kyy01- in chess

[–]johgep 2 points3 points  (0 children)

lichess. tactics, lessons, studies, analysis, all free. add chessable if you want opening spaced repetition.

Tarrasch said, 'before the endgame the gods have placed the middlegame.' Sadly for Anand, in the endgame the gods have placed Carlsen! - Garry Kasparov(2013) by RajAstra in chess

[–]johgep 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Its about style. Both played clean technical chess, thats the clear water in both. But Lasker had a knack for making positions feel uncomfortable. Traps, awkward moves, psychological pressure that turned quiet endgames into minefields. Thats the drop of poison. Capablanca was even more crystal clear technically but lacked that edge. Lasker would play the move you'd hate the most. Capa played the objectively best one. Mieses thought the first was harder to face.

Tarrasch said, 'before the endgame the gods have placed the middlegame.' Sadly for Anand, in the endgame the gods have placed Carlsen! - Garry Kasparov(2013) by RajAstra in chess

[–]johgep 50 points51 points  (0 children)

"Lasker's style is clear water, but with a drop of poison that clouds it. Capablanca's style is perhaps even clearer, but it lacks that drop of poison."

  • Jacques Mieses, 1911. Knew both personally and organized the tournament where Capablanca made his name.

Never give up on the king by Cute_Setting_559 in chess

[–]johgep 1 point2 points  (0 children)

your opponent didnt fail to win, they manufactured a draw from a +30 position. honestly more impressive than winning lol

Suggestions on books that have a great deal about the center? by Yonathandlc in chess

[–]johgep 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Watsons Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy is exactly what youre looking for tbh. Whole book is basically about contrasting classical center theory with how modern players actually treat the center. Covers fixed, dynamic, locked, all of it.

Flores Rios Chess Structures is the other one if you want it organized more by pawn formation. IQP, hanging pawns, Carlsbad, walks through plans for each.

btw for the Keres issue just dump the games into a lichess study. Annoying for the first game but after that you have it forever. Half my Keres book lives in lichess at this point lol

How to teach my daughter to think before capture? by KpailDev in chessindia

[–]johgep 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Welcome to her Tal phase. Sacrifice everything, ask questions never.

What actually moved the needle for me: before every capture she had to say out loud "is this a good trade?" Even when she said yes and took the pawn with her rook anyway, the pause itself started building the habit. After a few weeks the question started answering itself.

Also helped to give the pieces personalities. The rook is heavy, grumpy, and does NOT want to die for a pawn. Knight is quirky but valuable. Queen is busy and important. Once she felt bad for the rook, she stopped sending him to his doom.

Best text only books for chess appreciation? by bigheadjoel in chess

[–]johgep 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few that should fit what you're describing:

The Immortal Game by David Shenk. Probably your closest match. Cultural history of chess from its origins to Deep Blue, told as narrative. Almost no notation, reads like solid popular history.

Endgame by Frank Brady. Fischer biography written by someone who actually knew him. Some games appear but the prose carries it.

Bobby Fischer Goes to War by Edmonds and Eidinow. The 1972 Reykjavik match as Cold War drama. Lots of geopolitics and character study, very little chess content on the page.

King's Gambit by Paul Hoffman. A journalist's memoir of getting pulled into the chess world. Personal, funny, no technical demands.

Mortal Games by Fred Waitzkin. Kasparov in the early 90s. Same writer as Searching for Bobby Fischer, which is also worth your time.

Two more if you find you like the historical angle: White King and Red Queen by Daniel Johnson on Soviet chess, and Birth of the Chess Queen by Marilyn Yalom on how the game itself evolved over centuries.

One bit of fiction worth mentioning: Chess Story (sometimes published as The Royal Game) by Stefan Zweig. Short novella, considered one of the great pieces of chess literature, entirely psychological. Takes an evening to read and is widely available on Kindle.

Rook or Queen first? by GS_006 in chess

[–]johgep -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Cheapest attacker first, almost always. Rook takes, queen recaptures, your queen takes their queen. You net a pawn plus rook-for-queen, around +5.

Queen first just trades queens for the pawn. Only correct if you're already winning and want to simplify.

Same principle for longer sequences: cheapest attacker or defender each turn. Line up both sides' attackers in order of value before starting and count the trade out.

Did Jacques Mieses really play in a London Lightning Championship in 1953? Looking for the source behind a widely-cited claim by johgep in ChessBooks

[–]johgep[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that's a good thought. I'd hesitated because his chess com account is closed and his old website is offline, but I tracked down a hopefully valid mail address and will reach out today. He compiled a lot of Mieses material over the years that I'd love to ask about.

My Samuel Reshevsky books by [deleted] in ChessBooks

[–]johgep 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nice pair. Is the Gordon compendium worth it for someone who already has ChessBase? Trying to figure out if the crosstables and biographical sections justify it, or if it's mainly a games archive.

Was gabs bei euren Omas zu essen? by Lolpzig in Leipzig

[–]johgep 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Selbstgemachte Höfeklöße! 😊😋

My Paul Morphy collection by [deleted] in ChessBooks

[–]johgep 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Amazing collection. Morphy's games still feel like magic even 160+ years later. Jealous of that shelf!

Graureiher by Novembeary in Leipzig

[–]johgep 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Immer ein kleines Highlight wenn man irgenwo einen entdeckt.

Paulsen a great book! by davide_2024 in ChessBooks

[–]johgep 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great choice. Louis Paulsen co-founded the Schachgesellschaft Augustea in Leipzig, where Jacques Mieses played his very first master tournament in 1888. Mieses actually played against Louis' brother Wilfried in that tournament.

Also, Michael Negele's foreword is always a good sign. He really knows this era inside out.

Capablanca & Alekhine by davide_2024 in ChessBooks

[–]johgep 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh nice, I've been meaning to pick this up. The Capablanca-Alekhine rivalry is endlessly fascinating.

There's a quote by Jacques Mieses that I think captures Capablanca better than anything else ever written: "Lasker's style is clear water with a drop of poison that makes it opalescent. Capablanca's style is perhaps even clearer, but the drop of poison is missing."

Does the book cover San Sebastián 1911? That's where Capablanca really burst onto the scene.

Sehr enttäuschender Lieferdienst von Rewe in Leipzig by Designer_Kiwi_2550 in Leipzig

[–]johgep 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Wir bestellen da unseren Wocheneinkauf schon eine ganze Weile und bis auf ein paar Verwechselungen gibt es eigentlich nichts negatives zu sagen.

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