MARK RUBERY CHESS
Like most things in life to reach the next level you have to put in the required amount of work, and in chess the most important area is to critically examine your own games.
How does one improve at chess? While at the 1984 Olympiad in Thessalonika former SA Open Champion, Mark Levitt, once asked Boris Spassky that very question whilst the former world champion was on his way to play tennis. I do not recall exactly what the great man said but Mark certainly improved from then on!
This is the recurring theme of all the following authorities:
A critical approach to one’s games in essential. Once you become happy with your chess, you’re finished. Some people think it’s tough to analyse the games you lost. For me it felt even worse to have played what seemed like a great game only to discover some huge mistakes in the analysis! – Alex Yermolinsky (American GM)
Much though some of the world would like to believe that chess talent is a divine gift - lazy English school of thought - or the result of great education and training - Soviet school of superiority - it is clear that the simple hard work approach does work. – Tony Miles (English GM) Many weaker students make the same mistake dozens, if not hundreds of times even though they know it is a mistake because they are either too stubborn to admit to themselves they are wrong or not willing to pay the price (in work or ego) to make the adjustment. – Dan Heisman (Chess Coach)
Every missed opportunity to play better - even in a drawn game, or a difficult game to win - is your loss. That is why it is necessary for you to return again and again to study your oversights, regardless of how the game turned out. – Garry Kasparov (World Champion)
It is vital to check one’s analyses thoroughly, including those that have already been published. To broaden one’s chess outlook it is useful to study the available game-collections of the leading chess players. To improve one’s accuracy of calculation, one should solve endgame studies and analyse games abounding in tactical ideas. – Mikhail Botvinnik (World Champion)
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN
Castle, take en passant, promote pawns to minor pieces whenever you can. It helps to create the impression that you have a deep knowledge. – Al Horowitz