Posts

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An important way to improve is to understand why you make the mistakes you do. To address this I suggest that you create your own tournament reports. Analyse your games in detail and single out the mistakes. You will probably single out five or six different types of mistake that are common for you, and this gives you an opportunity to direct your training. Jacob Aagaard, Excelling At Chess

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Instinct and inspiration can be trusted less in an endgame than at any other stage of the game. Technique is all-important here, and is the deciding factor. Eugene Znosko-Borovsky, How To Play Chess Endings

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Michael Adams told me that his results improved considerably when he conquered his 'walkabout' problem, and that lots of players let themselves down by wandering around. I suggested that stretching legs, going to the toilet, or getting refreshments were essential for some players, to which he replied that he used to think that too, but one day he realised that he was deceiving himself, and his main motivation for leaving the board was actually to alleviate boredom! Jonathan Rowson, The Seven Deadly Chess Sins

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As a general rule, it is not good policy to exchange in the early stages of a game the long-reaching bishop against the knight, whose power does not extend beyond a certain circle. Emanuel Lasker, Common Sense In Chess

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3.Nd2 [against the French] leads to a small but lasting advantage for White - and I stress lasting. Anatoly Karpov, My Best Games

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Before thinking of any particular move, examine all your possible moves that smite. And before making a move, examine all your opponent's possible smites in reply. Cecil Purdy, CJS Purdy's Fine Art Of Chess Annotation And Other Thoughts - Volume Two

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The more pieces that are exchanged, the more important activating the king becomes. James Howell, Essential Chess Endings