Step Methods - Chess Forums

dante14233

Sep 25, 2019

0

#1

Hello there. As a self-learner, I would like to know if the "stappenmethode" books suit me (or not): if so, which books would you recommend? Just "learning chess steps" or "manual for trainers" as well? I feel like this method is clearly aimed at teaching chess rather than self-learning.

If they are not suited for self study, so what else? Yusupov's course? I know it's harder but still

Thx

MGT88

Sep 25, 2019

0

#2

I am a self-study as well. I have the Steps and Yusupov; the majority of the work in the Steps is self-studying via workbook exercises; alot of the material in the manuals is about how to teach children the material, but there is some useful material in there for self-learners (also, manual 6 is intended for self-learners, not trainers). I purchased the entire Step set (including Chess Tutors) from New in Chess at a nice bundle discount. Let me know if you have any other questions etc. (you can DM me as well).

brother7

Sep 25, 2019

0

#3

I highly recommend the Steps method, especially at your level. I first started using Steps as a teaching tool for elementary kids but I was so impressed with the presentation of the material that I decided to use it for my own self improvement. I purchased all of the teacher manuals + all of the workbooks (workbook, plus, extra, mix and thinking ahead (where available)).

To me, the real improvement comes from doing the exercises. And I recommend doing ALL of the exercises from ALL of the workbooks. That means for each Step, you'll be doing 2000-2500 exercises. With that much repetition, one cannot help but to improve one's chess play!

dante14233

Sep 25, 2019

0

#4

brother7 ha scritto:

I highly recommend the Steps method, especially at your level. I first started using Steps as a teaching tool for elementary kids but I was so impressed with the presentation of the material that I decided to use it for my own self improvement. I purchased all of the teacher manuals + all of the workbooks (workbook, plus, extra, mix and thinking ahead (where available)).

To me, the real improvement comes from doing the exercises. And I recommend doing ALL of the exercises from ALL of the workbooks. That means for each Step, you'll be doing 2000-2500 exercises. With that much repetition, one cannot help but to improve one's chess play!

That's kind of my thoughts exactly. I was thinking about purchasing workbooks and "plus" workbooks because manuals for trainers look aimed to teachers only..

dante14233

Sep 25, 2019

0

#5

MGT88 ha scritto:

I am a self-study as well. I have the Steps and Yusupov; the majority of the work in the Steps is self-studying via workbook exercises; alot of the material in the manuals is about how to teach children the material, but there is some useful material in there for self-learners (also, manual 6 is intended for self-learners, not trainers). I purchased the entire Step set (including Chess Tutors) from New in Chess at a nice bundle discount. Let me know if you have any other questions etc. (you can DM me as well).

Thanks man, you're very kind. I just would like to know if workbooks (and perhaps plus workbooks as well) could be enough for self-learning. I'm gonna try to make myself clearer: manuals have some some info but they are clearly aimed at chess teachers so I don't know if the juice is worth the squeeze.

P.S. How are you mixing Step books and Yusupov's course?

dannyhume

Sep 25, 2019

0

#6

CHESS STEPS WORKBOOKS (levels 1-6) and CHESS TUTOR CD’s (levels 1-3 only)...
Level 1: up to 800 rating USCF (or FIDE 700, generally they say to subtract 100 from USCF to get FIDE rating)
Level 2: up to 1400 rating
Level 3: up to 1600
Level 4: up to 1750
Level 5: up to 1900
Level 6: up to 2100

YUSUPOV SERIES:
Build, Boost, and Evolution books ...
Level 1 for each title = 1300-1500 FIDE (or 1400-1600 USCF)
Level 2 for each title = 1500-1800
Level 3 for each title = 1800-2100

Generally, the Yusupov workbooks, I think, are more difficult for a given rating than the Chess Steps Method in my experience. I have gone through chess steps levels 1-4 and found those problems much easier than the few level 1 Yusupov exercises I have tried.

Maybe this reflects the fact that a “typical” Yusupov “student” Is probably an individually instructed and talented chess prodigy whose “1300-1500” rating is really closer to 1700-1900, whereas the Chess Steps Method was meant for general classroom chess instruction (for the average idiot).

dante14233

Sep 25, 2019

0

#7

dannyhume ha scritto:

CHESS STEPS WORKBOOKS (levels 1-6) and CHESS TUTOR CD’s (levels 1-3 only)...
Level 1: up to 800 rating USCF (or FIDE 700, generally they say to subtract 100 from USCF to get FIDE rating)
Level 2: up to 1400 rating
Level 3: up to 1600
Level 4: up to 1750
Level 5: up to 1900
Level 6: up to 2100

YUSUPOV SERIES:
Build, Boost, and Evolution books ...
Level 1 for each title = 1300-1500 FIDE (or 1400-1600 USCF)
Level 2 for each title = 1500-1800
Level 3 for each title = 1800-2100

Generally, the Yusupov workbooks, I think, are more difficult for a given rating than the Chess Steps Method in my experience. I have gone through chess steps levels 1-4 and found those problems much easier than the few level 1 Yusupov exercises I have tried.

Maybe this reflects the fact that a “typical” Yusupov “student” Is probably an individually instructed and talented chess prodigy whose “1300-1500” rating is really closer to 1700-1900, whereas the Chess Steps Method was meant for general classroom chess instruction (for the average idiot).

Is that really the right way to study Yusupov's series? I read you should actually read orange books first, then blue books and finally the green ones :/

Asmo2k

Sep 25, 2019

0

#8

Yeah, Yusupov seems for quite strong and learned players. I see that as a goal.

Yasser Seirewan's winning chess series is really good. I've went from just learning the rules to about 1000 in 6 months, and I've only completed one book so far. I see that as getting me to a good intermediate level when completed, and have a view for the Yusupov stuff myself.

Steps method sounds really good though. Haven't looked into that thorough.

dannyhume

Sep 25, 2019

0

#9

Yes, dante14233 ...

Orange Yusupov books (FIDE 1300-1500) are:
1) Build Your Chess 1
2) Boost Your Chess 1
3) Chess Evolution 1
(Also, there is a Revision and Exam 1 that is also orange)

The green Yusupov books are the same titles but are level 2 (FIDE 1500-1800)

The blue Yusupov books (FIDE 1800-2100 ) are the same titles but level 3.

kindaspongey

Sep 25, 2019

0

#10

The Yusupov series of books seems to be pretty demanding, so I suggest that you look carefully at available samples and reviews before buying. If you do decide to go for it, you should probably know that the correct reading order is Build 1, Boost 1, Evolution 1, Exam 1, Build 2, Boost 2, Evolution 2, Build 3, Boost 3, Evolution 3.

Perhaps of interest:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/yusupov-and-the-older-lower-rated-player

kindaspongey

Sep 25, 2019

0

#11

Asmo2k wrote:

… Yasser Seirewan's winning chess series ...

http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf

kindaspongey

Sep 25, 2019

0

#12

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/2014/11/16/the-chess-steps/

dante14233

Sep 25, 2019

0

#13

Thank you very much.

SeniorPatzer

Sep 25, 2019

0

#14

Step by step.

MGT88

Sep 25, 2019

0

#15

dante14233 wrote:

MGT88 ha scritto:

I am a self-study as well. I have the Steps and Yusupov; the majority of the work in the Steps is self-studying via workbook exercises; alot of the material in the manuals is about how to teach children the material, but there is some useful material in there for self-learners (also, manual 6 is intended for self-learners, not trainers). I purchased the entire Step set (including Chess Tutors) from New in Chess at a nice bundle discount. Let me know if you have any other questions etc. (you can DM me as well).

Thanks man, you're very kind. I just would like to know if workbooks (and perhaps plus workbooks as well) could be enough for self-learning. I'm gonna try to make myself clearer: manuals have some some info but they are clearly aimed at chess teachers so I don't know if the juice is worth the squeeze.

P.S. How are you mixing Step books and Yusupov's course?

Here is what I'm doing:

>I have a very high tactics rating/ability from simply playing (and maybe naturally), decent endgame knowledge, basic positional understanding

>I studied a handful of books (e.g., "The Game of Chess", "Improve Your Endgame Play", etc.) before I decided to get organized last Christmas (I created a spreadsheet with a study plan etc.)

>At the moment, I am working through the Steps (I finished every book in Step 1/Step 2 and Chess Tutor 1/Chess Tutor 2), the "Winning Chess Series" (I finished three of these), and a few other other books (e.g., one on the endgame, one on the mid game)

>I will move on to the Yusupov series when I complete the above; I think I can complete the Yusupov series in a year (at which point, I will move onto more advanced material)

>The majority of the material in the Steps is tactics, which I'm already strong in, so I was hesitant to get it, but decided to just get it/get it done to cover my bases (you will find that no one book or series contains everything you need to study; unfortunately you need to buy alot of material (which will overlap) to cover everything. I wouldn't say I learned anything new with Step 1/2, but I've certainly reinforced my tactics knowledge by drilling through 1000's of exercises (they are very easy (like a few seconds (or less) per exercise); best to just sit there with the solutions in a PDF and hammer them out). If money/time is not an issue, I would just bite the bullet and get the whole course (which is what I did); if either are a concern, or you don't feel it will be worth to hammer tactics, maybe you can pick a selection of books from the Steps or just start at a more advanced Step. I can't really tell you which you to go with this, I can only lay out the information I just did; you will need to weigh it out for yourself. In regards to Step 1/2, I can say you probably don't need the manuals and all of the workbooks if you are looking to trim down on the book count; each workbook is different so you'll have to figure out which ones to cut (e.g., some of the workbooks have the actual lessons in them for the students, some workbooks are harder than others, etc.). I can also say that Chess Tutor 1/2 seem to cover everything Step 1/2 covers (the Tutors just have fewer exercises), which might be a good way to skip the books for Step 1/2 (and 3 if you do Chess Tutor 3). I think you can get the entire course from New in Chess for like $200 CAD...worst case scenario you sell them or give them to your kids or something haha. You are right though about the manuals, most of the information in them is about how to teach students (e.g., "sit all the children in a circle, use a whiteboard to demonstrate the position").