Dr. Frank Brady is the President of the Marshall Chess Club. In these videos, he discusses Bobby Fischer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWLScbFmc7E - Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLf7hxY9BWQ - Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHt0VnlH75Y - Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85a19r2q91I - Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdW7LAy7jws - Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR0OOG1cOGk - Part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrOuFex_7C0 - Part 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6hzRTuQtt0 - Part 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoMFjF9fDHs - Part 9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLkOJtUnY6A - Part 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOQSvN6SGUA - Part 11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80dXeGybZaU - Part 12
Enjoy.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Marshall Chess Club
Was browsing "Out of the Ether" which is a good chess blog and came across this video from YouTube talking about the Marshall Chess Club. So much chess history - would be awesome to play some games there. Who knows, maybe someday! Enjoy!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Free Susan Polgar Curriculum / Training Guide
Susan Polgar does so much for chess and children - it never ceases to amaze me! Recently she has posted on her blog a free training guide for coaches and children to introduce and train young people in the world of chess. The curriculum guide is a year long 30 lesson program plan that cover some of the most essential aspects of the game, and puts it across in such a way that you can help train your child in the many aspects of chess.
You need to register on her chess discussion forums here and then download the PDF file from this location. For chess parents looking to get their youngsters into the game, enjoy!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Revamping Site Components and a Thank You!
I have had some free time recently to do some changes and updates to www.jrobichess.com and have replaced the forums tab with a reviews tab. I plan on doing reviews of things related to chess that I come across in my chess pursuits. I am also thinking of things to do differently on the very first page of the site. Any suggestions or recommendations are always welcome, and you can either post here or email me at jrobichess@gmail.com.
I also want to take this time to thank all of my YouTube subscribers around the world for your comments and feedback that you have left on the videos since the very beginning. This week I surpassed 1000 subscribers on YouTube, and I want to thank everyone for their support, help, and friendships!
I can still remember beginning my journey into the world of chess and YouTube back in the summer of 2007. My son and I had just watched "Searching for Bobby Fischer" and his interest in the game helped to introduce me to all that chess has to offer. When I started playing, I began vlogging my chess experiences on YouTube. At the time I thought it would be a great way to meet people who shared my passion for the game, and have good discussions around what to focus on and how to improve. As a side benefit, making the decision to vlog about my chess pursuits on YouTube also turned out to be a great motivational factor for staying focused on what I was studying!
The decision to produce videos for YouTube, in retrospect, was the most beneficial decision I made when it came to my personal journey into the world of chess. The feedback and comments from subscribers has helped me greatly from day one, and still continues to do so in so many ways. More importantly, just getting to know many more people who share a great love for the game of chess has been very rewarding! I appreciate all the friendships that have resulted from getting to know many of you, and I want to sincerely thank everyone for the entire experience so far, and for the experiences yet to come!
I also want to take this time to thank all of my YouTube subscribers around the world for your comments and feedback that you have left on the videos since the very beginning. This week I surpassed 1000 subscribers on YouTube, and I want to thank everyone for their support, help, and friendships!
I can still remember beginning my journey into the world of chess and YouTube back in the summer of 2007. My son and I had just watched "Searching for Bobby Fischer" and his interest in the game helped to introduce me to all that chess has to offer. When I started playing, I began vlogging my chess experiences on YouTube. At the time I thought it would be a great way to meet people who shared my passion for the game, and have good discussions around what to focus on and how to improve. As a side benefit, making the decision to vlog about my chess pursuits on YouTube also turned out to be a great motivational factor for staying focused on what I was studying!
The decision to produce videos for YouTube, in retrospect, was the most beneficial decision I made when it came to my personal journey into the world of chess. The feedback and comments from subscribers has helped me greatly from day one, and still continues to do so in so many ways. More importantly, just getting to know many more people who share a great love for the game of chess has been very rewarding! I appreciate all the friendships that have resulted from getting to know many of you, and I want to sincerely thank everyone for the entire experience so far, and for the experiences yet to come!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
New Book: Chess Fundamentals (A Warning)
I purchased a book recently, Chess Fundamentals by Jose Capablanca (ISBN 1857440730) and I wanted to share the experience here because there was a little bit of a dance I had to take to find the best version of the book, and I want to pass what I found on to you just in case you are interested in buying it.
First of all, it's a highly recommended book, but the problem lies in the different versions available. What kind of problems, you ask? Well, before I buy any chess book I research it as much as possible. When I looked into the history and reviews of the various editions of this chess masterpiece, I found that the most recent version published in 2007 by Random House (with editing and updating by Nick De Firmian) was absolute garbage according to many reviews.
The most scathing review of the butchering of Capablanca's timeless chess classic can be found here and I highly recommend you take a look.
The edition I purchased was printed by Everyman Chess in 1994, and it simply updates Capablanca's work to Algebraic, and maintains his timeless views, lessons, and the games he wanted to use to highlight all of his points. So if you're looking to add this book to your collection, or if you bought the 2007 version which was modified almost beyond recognition, definitely grab the 1994 version to add to your library.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
The Poetics of the Chessboard
I haven't posted in a while -- too much work and, unfortunately, no time for chess! Last Thursday, I played my first game in ages -- a lucky OTB victory against a 1700 player. Since I won't have time to study openings, tactics or endgames in any depth, I decided to spend some time on visualization. As Kevin Spraggett observes in his Reflections (an excellent read, by the way): "Knowing the characteristics of the board is extremely important. Books spend too much time on the pieces, not realizing that much is missed by neglecting a closer study of the relationship of the board with each separate piece."
Yesterday, I started studying the chessboard more closely, trying to memorise the colour of each square, looking at diagonals, and so forth. Simple facts that may or may not be beneficial to my overall performance, but nonetheless fascinating: when you examine the chessboard, the squares become alive. After all, the pieces don't really care whether the squares are black or white. For them, they are merely a visual help. But for the squares themselves, their colour is their identity.
I have begun to spin a narrative about the squares so as to remember their characteristics, the white squares representing the forces of Good, the black squares the forces of Evil. Both are caught up in an eternal struggle for supremacy, even though deep down they both know that they are forever bound to their place. And each square has its own history to tell, about the pieces it harbours, about the battles it has participated in: e4, the shining hero, clashes with e5, his evil twin brother; behold the treacherous f2 square, the valiant c4 square, or the meek a2 square that feels a bit lost and isn't sure it wants to be on the board in the first place. I try to imbue each square with a personality as a guide to think about the complex and often ambivalent relationships they share amongst each other. It's a fresh and fun approach to chess to keep my mind on the game without having to study too hard. And who knows, perhaps it'll give my chess visualization skills a boost.
Yesterday, I started studying the chessboard more closely, trying to memorise the colour of each square, looking at diagonals, and so forth. Simple facts that may or may not be beneficial to my overall performance, but nonetheless fascinating: when you examine the chessboard, the squares become alive. After all, the pieces don't really care whether the squares are black or white. For them, they are merely a visual help. But for the squares themselves, their colour is their identity.
I have begun to spin a narrative about the squares so as to remember their characteristics, the white squares representing the forces of Good, the black squares the forces of Evil. Both are caught up in an eternal struggle for supremacy, even though deep down they both know that they are forever bound to their place. And each square has its own history to tell, about the pieces it harbours, about the battles it has participated in: e4, the shining hero, clashes with e5, his evil twin brother; behold the treacherous f2 square, the valiant c4 square, or the meek a2 square that feels a bit lost and isn't sure it wants to be on the board in the first place. I try to imbue each square with a personality as a guide to think about the complex and often ambivalent relationships they share amongst each other. It's a fresh and fun approach to chess to keep my mind on the game without having to study too hard. And who knows, perhaps it'll give my chess visualization skills a boost.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Looking for Contributers for the Blog
If you are passionate about chess and would like to share your thoughts and ideas here on the blog, send me an email to jrobichess@gmail.com ! You will get setup with the ability to post on the main page, and with the tools blogspot provides posting images and things of that nature is a snap!
So if you like to discuss openings, middle games, or end-games or just chess news, thoughts, and opinions, send an email to me at jrobichess@gmail.com and join the contributer team!
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