Sunday, May 6, 2012

INTRODUCTION I


INTRODUCTION I


I was extremely nervous when I began to write this, my first book, until I realised
that it actually had absolutely nothing to do with me. The fact is that this book is
about two very specific sets of people: Grandmasters, without whose co-operation
and words of wisdom this would be a very short book and, secondly, you — the
players. You are the people who follow Grandmaster games and aspire, if not to
play like them, certainly to play better chess.
This book has demanded lengthy research, using many different sources. In this
technological age the Internet now presents us with an amazing wealth of informa‑
don and I've spent hours (when I should have been looking at facts and numbers)
reading through reams of endlessly entertaining and well-observed chess literature.
Here, for example, is one rather poignant excerpt that I felt 1 should share with you:
The Post Mortem: Many players specialise in this. Mary's the time I've swaggered into the
congress mom set aside.* this sort of thing with a defeated opponent (obviously 1 win all the time),
only. fir said opponent to demonstrate conclusively how unbelievably lucky I was. How they missed
fourteen wins in the first six moves alone, and how I managed to make a decent move on occasion
only through a combination of blind luck and Faustian chicanery.
The Over-the-Shoulder Comment: You know who you am. These people pass by your Post
Mortem, glance fleetingly at the board and then say something like 'Why didn't you do this? That
wins the Queen' or 'Oh, you missed a mate in Jive Mere.' Aare Even if these suggestions are
right, you an implying that in the past few seconds you have seen more deeply into the game than I
have, despite sweating over it, for four rotten hours, and finless your name begins with K and ends in
V that is not the case!...'— Mark Blackmore.
I have certainly gone through these emotions, as I suspect a large number of you
will have, but back to my research,
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