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Variations and subvariant tree's
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 Variations and subvariant tree'sNow what the heck am I writing about now?Subvariant?There isn't even a word in the dictionary like that,so what's this nonsense about now TA,you may be asking?Tree's? Yes,I want you to climb some trees,monkey!Here's a banana!Yes,and scratch your armpits! All dumb jokes aside,there is chess lingo out there that you won't find in Websters,so already your thinking the wrong thing. Since I am speaking to club members(and spy's outside of my club) from all levels of ratings,this thread may or may not be for you.On some rating levels,you should not even be studying opening,variations,tree's and more.But I am just a guide,not some God like mega mentor/instructor that will finely tune my brain knowledge to you with Mozart music playing in the background!Got it now?That is why I hate those critics in the other clubs!!!!To those critics,I say...eat some Comet cleanser and wash it down with Drano commode solution!Ha ha! Hey,sounds like a joke,but maybe i'm serious? Now,on to the mini lesson!I'll try and make this a bit brief,so your not too bored in reading 30 pages of theory...like I heard someone say something about in another club!!!!No club member is going to sit there reading 30 pages of anything!Ridiculous.You would be bored to death. Once you have decided to study openings,do it one at a time and then break down that opening into one variation at a time and then into what is called subvariant lines(or tree lines). Now how do I do that,your asking?Well,that is a good question.It can be done through various opening book software you can buy(and I can recommend later) or a good paperback book or two from Shamash's recommendation or mine.For this plan of study,I am NOT recommending some kind of opening book study from any GK database,because it does not contain what is called..."footnotes"(very important)from a senior master or GM when you come across some of the variations and tree lines. Since i'm from the "old school",i'm going to start recommending an old but good book that you can purchase through Amazon or other online book stores used or new.Hey sometimes used is good because it contains a few extra pen mark notations and underlining in them that may become very useful!Ahhh...didn't think of that,did you? MCO-15(copyright 2008) by Nick de firmian(3 time US chess champion)is an oldie but a goody! No,its not cutting edge and totally up to date and yes,you will find an error in it(like many other chess books)from time to time(where are those critics?)...but it is a good and cheap way to get a good idea of what the heck i'm writing about & starting point to learn. Whats good about books over software are that they make a quick organized reference guide with symbols,footnote comments,a chapter guide and more that can,in my opinion be checked much faster than trying to flip through a plastic disk of knowledge.And I have always believed that a paperback book leaves a better subconscious "imprint"in your brain than staring at a two dimensional lit up computer screen.Plus,unless you have all of that info backed up or your computer crashes,and/or you lose that disc....your going to lose that info.A handy book that I can quickly reach to my right and pick off the shelve,is all I need! So,now lets imagine you have this MCO-15(or maybe you do already?)If so,excellent. So now what?Well,my recommendations will branch off at this point depending upon your rating level.It has been suggested by GM's to study closed openings and the variations first and then move on to open variations and the tree's associated with those types of openings.(I have a post on open/vs closed if you are not sure what i'm writing about.) Well,putting that aside,go to an opening that you have played before...example,The English Opening.Or maybe you have not played it before,does not matter.You want to learn,so be it. Now,under the English,you have a number of"variations" like......The Four Knights Variation,The Bremen System,Closed Variation,Symmetrical Var.,Ultra Symm.,Hedgehog Defense and a few others. Pick one variation in that book!Example....The Four Knights Variation.Now in MCO-15,it gives a nice paragraph or two condensed chat about that variation.That may peak your interest or not.If not,then try another variation and its explanation.So now,lets say you want to "explore"the 4 Knights in much more detail.In the same book it tells you that this variations move examples(in algebraic) are listed in columns 1 thru 12..Following me in the book now,by chance?Nice! Now,go to those columns and you will see 12 separate games of the 4 Knights including "different"variations from both moves 3 and 4.Now alongside some of those moves you will see a little tiny alphabet letter like a,b,c,ect ect.THOSE LETTERS REPRESENT THE "SUBVARIANT TREE LINES WITHIN THE 4 KNIGHTS VARIATION.So then,what you can do later on is go down to the bottom of that page and read up on those footnotes and how the variation UNFOLDED in some master or GM game played from some past (usually major)chess tournament or world championship.Its all in that book with nice(but brief)explanations of the 4 Knights Var,the variations and the subvariant lines.Note that in that book the games also contain +,- and other symbols like that sideways infinity symbol(like a sideways 8)that represent that the game is open to further research,murky,unclear...but statistically equal for the most part. So without getting into 30, pages of opening study....Ha,ha!That is about it for now,until you check out what the heck i'm writing about here! But now,how do you go about studying all this stuff? Ahhhhhhh...now that is a golden question! Well,here is another fork in the road we come to! Train as you see most comfortable!With another opponent(unrated),at your club or do what I have done for decades....use a chess program on you computer or a tabletop chess machine(recommended) to play through many of the variations and tree lines shown in that book.So you tried 7.b4....hmmmm,that seems weak,but lets see where it goes to.....nah...don't like it!Now back the piece up and reset the position from move # 7.Now try 7.a4(example).Hmmmmmm...that's better,i'm going to investigate that subvariant line to move 20 and see where it leads!!!Maybe i'll follow the book recommendation,maybe not?Lets see how the computer program responds on move 8.If I fail,I can simply reset the move and start over!(Now I recommend that the strength of your program is low/medium,but not in blunder state. I have been doing that kind of self training on my Tasc R-30 since 1995!An excellent full sized wooden board with a nice wooden control module.The computer scolded me many times as i went through dozens of variations and subvariant lines UNTIL I FOUND THE BEST AND STRONGEST LINES THAT SUITED MY ABILITIES AND INSIGHT INTO THE GAME AND MADE ME PLAY TOP NOTCH AGAINST MY COMPUTER! But the key is to then INCREASE the strength level of your software or tabletop computer over the months as your abilities get also stronger!So,in essence,you ARE playing an opponent when you are playing Shredder,Rybka,Houdini or the Tasc or Mach 3 tabletop computer in your possession. Hope this bit of my rambling has helped a bit!Hey,all in one page! TA |
