In
GM-RAM: Essential Grandmaster Knowledge (2000), Rashid Ziyatdinov offers his version of the legendary 300 positions that a player must know to become a strong chess player. I have written about this book on several prior occasions, especially "
Hitting the Books" (March 2015); "
The Training Standard" (January 2015); "
To Know a Position" (December 2014); "
Morphy's Fingerprints" (December 2014); "
Fingerprints" (April 2010); and my initial review of the book, "
GM-RAM: Essential Knowledge" (February 2010).
Ziyatdinov leaves 47 of the 300 to the reader. I am tentatively and slowly adding critical positions from my study in search of 47 that matter to me. I have so far added:
Alekhine -- Levenfish 1912
White to move
 |
| After 14...Qxb2 |
Carlsen -- Tomashevsky 2016
White to move
 |
| After 12...Ng6 |
Byrne -- Fischer 1956
Black to move
 |
| After 11.Bg5 |
How are you defining "critical," James? I feel like you mean essential or crucial, but I'll leave it to you to explain.
ReplyDeleteWell, each of these three positions are after the most important error by the loser of the game. Critical, in this sense, could mean the turning point in the game.
DeleteIn truth, though, I have not given much thought to these definitions.
Follow-up question: What are the requisite characteristics of a position to be sufficiently relevant to a compilation of this sort?
ReplyDeleteI can say that for the third one in this post, the diagram position allows me to reconstruct the entire game, at least while this game is fresh.
DeleteI think for most of the positions in GM-RAM, the player to move has a clear advantage, but that realizing this advantage may require creative and vigorous play. I am looking for positions that have enough substance that the answer is not immediately obvious when the game in question has been forgotten.
Ah, that sort of makes some sense as to why a specific list could be important. If those positions are loaded with ideas that are firmly planted into the subconscious, if we have them memorized. I guess the question remains as to whether such positions of major importance exist and whether these are those positions.
DeleteThe bulk of Ziyatdinov's positions are endgames, but I've spent more time with the middlegame portions of his book.
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