Chess Mentor has been a great help to me
Was your gamed helped at all
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Of course Chess Mentor helps. There is no magical solution to getting better at chess though and CM is no exception. If you think going through a course once or twice is going to teach you the material, then of course you will be dissapointed. Yes, I do think CM is more efficient than books at teaching chess, but you still have to do the work. I'll admit to not being the brightest bulb on the tree, but I've done some of those lessons over 20 times and I'm still actively reviewing. Like most things in life, what you get out of it depends on the effort that you put into it.
Jan 9, 2012
0
#44
You don't need a National Master to go over your games with you. A much stronger player will be plenty good.
So true. At my first OTB tournament, I roomed with a player that's probably 300-500 USCF points higher than me, and who's studied the game much more seriously. We went over all of our games from that day in prep for the next day, and it was very helpful to me, showing me a different sort of board vision and giving some good tips on what to look for.
One of my games the next day was against a player of about his strength, and I got a lot of positive comments from superior players observing my game (only slightly soured by my opponent later showing me how I missed going into the endgame in a much stronger position...)
I ended the weekend feeling much stronger and with a much clearer idea of what I should improve upon (nice) and how to get there (very nice).
baddogno wrote:
Of course Chess Mentor helps. There is no magical solution to getting better at chess though and CM is no exception. If you think going through a course once or twice is going to teach you the material, then of course you will be dissapointed. Yes, I do think CM is more efficient than books at teaching chess, but you still have to do the work. I'll admit to not being the brightest bulb on the tree, but I've done some of those lessons over 20 times and I'm still actively reviewing. Like most things in life, what you get out of it depends on the effort that you put into it.
The one BIG advantage chess mentor has over anything else is that it tells you why EVERY move is good or bad.
UnratedGamesOnly wrote:
The one BIG advantage chess mentor has over anything else is that it tells you why EVERY move is good or bad.
Yup, that's a great feature. The only thing I find mildly annoying is that sometimes the text says that you played a good moove, showing firm positional understanding, just that there's something even better there - and then the counter below is chopping some 30 percent off your score ...
Bubatz wrote:
UnratedGamesOnly wrote:
The one BIG advantage chess mentor has over anything else is that it tells you why EVERY move is good or bad.
Yup, that's a great feature. The only thing I find mildly annoying is that sometimes the text says that you played a good moove, showing firm positional understanding, just that there's something even better there - and then the counter below is chopping some 30 percent off your score ...
While true, dont get caught up in the score.
Jan 9, 2012
0
#48
woodshover wrote:
Musikamole wrote:
woodshover wrote:
The only way it's helped me is to see I was wasting my time with this game.
No one has wasted more time trying to improve at chess than me. For every hour of productive study, I take a ten hour detour to nowhere town.
You and I are about equal in Live Chess playing strength. I suggest that we play two games at 15 10 or longer (unrated is just fine), each of us with a chance at playing White, followed by self annotations without using chess engines, explaining the reasons behind ALL of our moves. After e-mailing the great chess genius waffllemaster a delighful desert, I'm sure he will be most happy to take a look at our annotations, and fix the thoughts that are beyond dumb.
Example: "I've come to realize that many mistakes for any level stem from having these bad tapes stuck on repeat in our heads... In this game your bad tape was that diagonal for your bishop :)" - waffllemaster
That comment alone will improve my chess performance by 50 points, since I make far too many moves with my brain set to autopilot. After pondering the bad tape comment all day, Waffllemaster opened my eyes to the fact that my play is far too rigid. Light squared bishops are always good on c4, targeting f7, right?
On a serious note: After reading waffllemaster's comments of my self annotated game (Stuck Bishop), I could tell that he understands chess a hundred times more than me. You don't need a National Master to go over your games with you. A much stronger player will be plenty good.
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-analysis/please-analyze-game-with-stuck-bishop?lc=1#last_comment
You can send me a challenge after six pm central time if you want, but not on Monday.
Excellent. Since this is Monday, I'll look for you on Tuesday.
Jan 9, 2012
0
#49
trysts wrote:
Arctor wrote:
^ I like the cut of your jib
Woodshover, you could learn a lot from Musikamole's attitude
Musikamole is waaay too pleasant, cheerful, and optimistic for chess. Woodshover has that dark hopelessness of a champion
I will be challenging Woodshover tomorrow, with the idea of having Waffllemaster wrestle the dumb chess thoughts from our brains, for which I feel quite optimistic.
Going along with your theory, should I prepare by watching depressing movies? What is THE most depressing movie of all times? I wonder.
Musikamole wrote:
trysts wrote:
Arctor wrote:
^ I like the cut of your jib
Woodshover, you could learn a lot from Musikamole's attitude
Musikamole is waaay too pleasant, cheerful, and optimistic for chess. Woodshover has that dark hopelessness of a champion
I will be challenging Woodshover tomorrow, with the idea of having Waffllemaster wrestle the dumb chess thoughts from our brains, for which I feel quite optimistic.
Going along with your theory, should I prepare by watching depressing movies? What is THE most depressing movie of all times? I wonder.
Musikamole wrote:
Going along with your theory, should I prepare by watching depressing movies? What is THE most depressing movie of all times? I wonder.
Requiem for a Dream, according to Google.
Jan 9, 2012
0
#52
Requiem for a Dream and The Color Purple are neck and neck if you ask me.
oinquarki wrote:
Musikamole wrote:
Going along with your theory, should I prepare by watching depressing movies? What is THE most depressing movie of all times? I wonder.
Requiem for a Dream, according to Google.
I was just thinking about that one as a good candidate.
Jan 9, 2012
0
#54
Frances is a good one. The biography of actress Frances Farmer and her lobotomy. Icky.
AfafBouardi wrote:
Requiem for a Dream and The Color Purple are neck and neck if you ask me.
I found The Color Purple so harrowing that I made a resolution to never watch it again. I felt like I'd been put through an emotional mangle, once in a lifetime is plenty.
How about the very old one called "On the Beach"?
Yeah, that one was pretty glum.
trysts wrote:
Musikamole is waaay too pleasant, cheerful, and optimistic for chess. Woodshover has that dark hopelessness of a champion
Heehee!
AfafBouardi wrote:
Omigosh the pirates are seriously all over chess.com forums. What's with the pirates!
"Hi, I just got here from Greenland! Glad to meet ya..."
The only way it's helped me is to see I was wasting my time with this game.
No one has wasted more time trying to improve at chess than me. For every hour of productive study, I take a ten hour detour to nowhere town.
You and I are about equal in Live Chess playing strength. I suggest that we play two games at 15 10 or longer (unrated is just fine), each of us with a chance at playing White, followed by self annotations without using chess engines, explaining the reasons behind ALL of our moves. After e-mailing the great chess genius waffllemaster a delighful desert, I'm sure he will be most happy to take a look at our annotations, and fix the thoughts that are beyond dumb.
Example: "I've come to realize that many mistakes for any level stem from having these bad tapes stuck on repeat in our heads... In this game your bad tape was that diagonal for your bishop :)" - waffllemaster
That comment alone will improve my chess performance by 50 points, since I make far too many moves with my brain set to autopilot. After pondering the bad tape comment all day, Waffllemaster opened my eyes to the fact that my play is far too rigid. Light squared bishops are always good on c4, targeting f7, right?
On a serious note: After reading waffllemaster's comments of my self annotated game (Stuck Bishop), I could tell that he understands chess a hundred times more than me. You don't need a National Master to go over your games with you. A much stronger player will be plenty good.
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-analysis/please-analyze-game-with-stuck-bishop?lc=1#last_comment
You can send me a challenge after six pm central time if you want, but not on Monday.