Remember Chess Digest?

I remember when I saw my first Chess Digest catalogue. It was like I had died and gone to chess heaven. There were so many wonderful books to study.

Ken Smith and John Hall gave advice too. They gave a recommended opening repertoire for beginners and advanced players. Their advice if I remember was, "Learn one opening as well as anyone in the world." Their other advice was that until someone was master, their first, middle, and last name should be tactics.

I did not follow their advice. I played all sorts of things, looking for easy wins and easy plans. And I did not spend too much time on tactics either. I did enjoy Pandolfini's sprightly little endgame monograph.

One of my old touchstones was John Hall's "Opening Systems for Competitive Chess Players" that recommended the Torre Attack as White, and Caro-Kann, Queen's Gambit Declined Tartakower system as Black. It is a good plan, and close to Jeremy Silman, and Cecil Purdy's advice.

I believe it was Temposchlucker who pointed out that at our level the opposition deviates from our studied opening around moves 6-10. I have found this to be true in online and club chess. I have yet to see if it will be true in a tournament.

Ken Smith 1930-1999

So it goes.