Food for Thought

Issue No 24
4/5/2025

Sponsored by Chess.com

“I’ll never play chess with that guy again.”
Image copyright by EC comics

Prologue

The game was brutal.  Body parts were lost.  I’ll never forget the ride home from the club.
Okay, I’m done now.  Let’s just say that chess can be a tough battle.

How am I doing?
“I’m getting better all the time.” ~ liberally borrowed from the Beatles Sgt Pepper’s album.

& I’m having a great time studying the games of the Zurich Candidate’s tournament of 1953.  Of course, I try my best to keep up with the games I currently play on Chess.com

~ So how am I doing with my STP commitment?  I’m pleased as punch to announce that everything is going quite well.  I tend to study more than I train or play, but old habits die hard.  Currently, I’m spending four or five hours a day with my favorite passion.  One of my weaknesses is tactical oversights and blunders.  Take note, dear friends.  But I will be solving more puzzles online in the future.  So, prepare yourselves.  😉

 Soon I’ll be obtaining an upgrade to Chessbase18, and Fritz19.  I'm priming my pump.  And I'm getting ready for changes.  I'm talking about Big changes.  Well, yes, it's kind of like getting that first gym membership, and then actually going to the gym and working out.  The muscles are gonna be sore.  In my case, it's the grey cells.  So, I am hoping to see some really significant improvement from all this work I've been putting in through my STP sessions…  It’s gonna be fun.  And hopefully, my chess friends will see the benefits of staying with me and playing with me.

 I wonder how many of my chess-playing friends have never ever even touched wood?  Or plastic?  Or pressed the button on a chess clock?  Interesting thought.  Can you imagine never spending money on equipment, membership dues, entry fees, travel and hotel lodging expenses and an entire weekend or more, sitting in a crowded hotel room, playing a five-hour game?  Hey, with places online to go like Chess.com, this is entirely possible. 😊  What a conceptual amazement!

 "In life, one does not resign, or die in their sleep,
but wakes up and make a move on that chess board." ~Zedwaldo

Book Reviews

In this space I feature various chess books from my personal library and others that come to my attention through friends, or recommendations I get from magazines & advertisements that catch my eye, and naturally as I’m doing research for my blogs.

“Secrets of Chess” (a 5-volume series)
by Mark Dvoretsky and Artur Yuspov

[Insert graphic here]

I am currently pouring through the five-volume set of books.  They will take a lot of my allocated chess time for study.  (up to an hour or more each day).  But seriously, how could a chess-player only spend an hour a day with Cassia?  I mean, c’mon!

Yeah, it was a bit of cash outlay to get these books, but for ‘old-fashioned’ me, I got my fix for the season.  I hope my wife will forgive me.  That reminds me, I need to buy roses.  😉

OK, here are the details of what it takes to obtain this kind of stuff. You could just buy the books.  Or you can download the Kindle version to your iPad or even to your cell phone.  So, here's the cost breakdown: $150.00 (roughly @ Amazon.com.)  The Kindle versions… well, I didn’t find these volumes, but there are many others by Mark, only they’re about the same cost as the books.  It’s your choice.

 >> Of course, you could always get this info online for free.  Or get a beautiful Diamond Membership at Chess.com and take lessons, and all that stuff.  But, oh yeah, these books are exclusive, so you'll probably have to bite the bullet or just keep following my blog and I'll tell you all about what I'm learning.  Cool?



Resources

(1) https://www.chess.com/home
 (number one best so far)
(2) https://www.zedwaldo.com/take-action/chess
 (my other chess blog)
(3) https://theweekinchess.com/
 (weekly update with thousands of free game downloads available)
(4) https://new.uschess.org/
(all about chess in the good ‘ol USA)
(5) https://en.chessbase.com/
(a really great database program + the Fritz engine, but expensive: €199.90-€499.90)
(6) https://www.fide.com/
(all the official stuff in the world of chess)

CyaL8r
~GrizwoldZed