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The paradox about opening databases
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 The paradox about opening databasesFirst of all,I am writing to a broad spectrum of players who's chess abilities and ratings vastly differ.So,I cannot accurately define the needs of "all"at one time.In the earlier stages of chess learning it is wise to stay away from opening databases and concentrate on the why and how a move is being made by your opponent or you.Simply moving from a database of moves does not explain the reasons behind that move...the theory of development,piece values,center control,file openings,dark and light square dominance and a thousand other things!So just making moves from a database is actually "hollow"without the comprehension of what is behind those moves. On the other hand,players like myself and others who do understand a greater level of theory will need additional tools to enhance their deeper studies of openings and opening variations.And some "tools"are much better than others.GK opening database vs Hiarcs or Houdini opening bases,for example,and the latter being better.Better usually means longer,deeper subvariant tree lines,improved search patterns,%,rating,number of moves made and the rating of the player vs the position....all in the better books.GK's book cannot compare at all.Nor can other books compare to other books in the aftermarket scene. So,my club members who are south of say,1500 in rating may read up on all these advanced facts about opening databases as a curiosity but you have much more work to do before even considering using a good database.For example,studying endgame positions through puzzles and more are a 1000 times better than trying to first use a database! But now comes the true paradox..... Bobby Fischer once mentioned in a few of his famous quotes,(and I am not quoting word for word here)....that chess is being ruined by the newcomers to the board who simply move on memorized lines and databases.He went on to say that chess is no longer being played from the insight,wisdom and imagination of one's self play,but simply a thoughtless memorization of the moves of others.This is why Fischer invented the Random 960!!!! I tend to agree with Fisher on his wisdom here.But reality must set in as well!Bobby chess era and the new era of chess is vastly different.And chess databases and memorization of those databases for OTB play and even corresp chess are simply here to stay for good or bad.So we players must learn to live with it.Today,this is why you see more and more very young masters,SM's and even GM's.A 13 year old kid today can become a strong SM or GM which back in Bobby's day was extremely rare or nonexistent.Memorization of strong databases do play a key role in those teens becoming champions of chess.And today's kids that have quick access to these database tools and trained themselves could very conceivably defeat some of the "famous GM's"that existed in Fischer's era or before.That is of course,never to be proven because we do not have time machines,but it is kind of obvious,relative to the new generation of achievements,ratings and more. So opening databases are a paradox and a mixed blessing of more modern times.But they can be a kind of tainting and a curse as well in the chess arena,depending upon your agreements or disagreements with the thoughts of Bobby Fischer and others.Some consider long database strings as thoughtless wisdom being used as a cold,soulless ways to defeat your opponents since it is moves not really coming from the players own brain and heart.Sometimes,this does prevent many players from exploring and experimenting with more obscure play or finding new horizons in fresh lines,through feared losses....moving outside the realm of the better move database lines.But deeper wisdom tells us that losing is gaining wisdom and other pathways can be used to refute the weaker move with additional study,all part of the wisdom of deeper learning. So yes,opening databases are a blessing to the higher rated players,but may still close the doors in a psychological way to playing chess from their own gut and enjoying chess the way it was meant to be played from the dawn of time to about the early part of last century.Some opening databases in a Ruy Lopez for example go 50-60 moves!So you could conceivably play till near the endgame without giving it much thought on GK!Or in OTB,you could be excellent in memorization and simply move according to the best lines generated in Hiarcs or some polyglot opening book! Playing like this is legal,of course.But when you think about it,the spirit of chess in these examples of modern day usage seem to be evaporating.And this is what Fisher was trying to express to the world.Another reason Fischer began to hate chess in some forms. It can be a necessary evil today or a good blessing.Depends! And that,my friends,is the "paradox"! And in a sense,this is why I look at some of the lesser rated and "innocent" players on GK or early learners at the Marshall Club and kind of say to myself....these are the real hero's of chess..the ones who use their own imagination and heart to move,not by using a long string of moves that have been spawned from a faceless and sometimes nameless player(s)in some large statistical cold database 50 moves deep. Regards, TA |
