Revelation, or at least Minor Epiphanies

Taylor Kingston

The Amateur's Mind (2nd edition), by IM Jeremy Silman, 1999
Siles Press English Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 443 pp., $19.95

Among the hundreds of chess books I have read, a few, a very
special few, have provided an experience akin to religious
revelation, or if that is too strong a term, at least like a major
intellectual or technological discovery, such as that the earth orbits
the sun or that stone and metals can made into tools. Among
instructional books the prime example is probably Irving
Chernev's Logical Chess Move by Move. I remember chancing
upon it as a frustrated, fumbling teenage chess novice and being
happily amazed to learn that chess actually had underlying
principles I could learn and use. This process was aided by the
simplicity and clarity with which Chernev explained myriads of
previously mystifying master moves and maneuvers. Reading it
was like a having a blindfold removed, waking up from a confused
daze, or having a light turned on in a dark room (not to mention
having several hundred points added to my rating).    

Since that time, few instructive books have made a comparable
impression. I feel this is due less to my understanding of chess
being more advanced, and rather more to the fact that very few of
today's writers can convey chess ideas with the clarity, simplicity
and intelligence that Chernev brought to Logical Chess. One of
those few is Jeremy Silman. Though he has never been anywhere
near FIDE's top 20, IM Silman has quietly become perhaps the
best American writer of general instructive books aimed at the
great mass of players in the middle area of the bell curve. For
above-average players, his How to Reassess Your Chess is an
outstanding work. For anyone below that level, The Amateur's
Mind may be a latter-day Book of Revelation, or at least a set of
minor epiphanies that can add up to major chess improvement.

The book is derived from Silman's regular column in Chess Life
magazine. Lessons fall generally into two parts. The first is the
illustration of a particular strategic theme or tactical technique
from an exemplary game. Silman excels at finding or composing
examples appropriate to his chosen themes, and explaining the
principles they illustrate. An example is Rosenthal-Steinitz, Vienna
1873 (See Diagram)

Silman comments "This position is one of the first games where
someone demonstrated how to defeat Knights. Here Steinitz shows
us that if you take away all their advanced squares, the horses
become rather sickly creatures. 1...c5   Making the Knight move
away from the fine post on d4. 2 Nf3 b6   Defending the very
important c5-pawn. If this pawn were lost then the White Knight
could return to d4. 3 Ne5   Trying to find another home. 3...Qe6 4
Qf3 Ba6   Defending the a8-Rook and attacking White's Rook at
the same time. 5 Rfe1 f6   The poor Knight is deprived of yet
another square! 6 Ng4   The active 6 Nc6 Rde8 7 Bf2 Qd7 8 Rad1
Qc7 leaves the poor beast trapped. Black will eventually play
...Bb7 and snap it off. 6...h5   Forcing it to permanent inactivity on
the second rank." Silman continues for some moves, but this
sample is enough to show how clearly he explains strategic themes,
avoiding cluttering the narrative with tactical detail, except when
necessary as at move 6. Like Chernev, he makes sure the reader
knows what is happening, by giving a note after almost every
move. I might also point out that in choosing his illustrative games,
Silman, unlike some other writers reviewed here recently, avoids
over-used, clich‚d examples.

The illustrative games are followed by dialogues between student
and teacher. The student, usually someone rated between 1100 and
1700, is asked, before he ever considers any particular move, to
describe the imbalances in the position. By "imbalance" Silman
means any significant difference between the two sides: better
development, poor king safety, a flank pawn majority, control of
space, possession of open files, central dominance,
backward/isolated/doubled/hanging pawns, Bishops vs. Knights,
etc. Based on his evaluation of the imbalances, the student must
describe his general plan, and then explain his specific moves. The
student's ideas, sometimes valid but more often erroneous, are
presented mostly verbatim as recorded from actual tutoring
sessions, and contrasted with the master's more accurate insights.
We give a condensed (but still lengthy) illustrative example. (See
Diagram)

In this position Silman comments: "What's going on in this
seemingly boring position? The pawn structure is more or less
symmetrical, nobody can lay claim to any space advantage, all the
pieces are well-defended and neither King is in any trouble. Aside
from the fact that White's pieces are more aggressively posted
since they are trying to take control of d5 (while Black's Knights
are passively trying to defend that square) the one major imbalance
is [that] White has a Bishop and Knight [to Black's] two Knights.

"Due to the stated imbalances, White will use Steinitz's rule (to
make Knights ineffective by taking away their advanced support
points). He will do this by restricting the b6-Knight by b2-b3 (if
necessary) followed by a2-a4-a5 (kicking it from its perch on b6).
He will also place the Bishop on the flexible e3-square and move
his Queen to b5 where it eyes the pawns on b7 and e5. All these
thing may seem small in themselves, but together they add up to
unpleasant pressure on the Black position." The actual game
(Silman-Gross, American Open 1992) then proceeded 20 Be3
Rfd8 21 Qb5 Qe6 22 b3 h6 23 a4 Rxd1 24 Rxd1 Rc8 25 Rd3
Qc6? 26 Qxe5 Re8 27 Qd6 Nxe4 28 Qxc6 bxc6 29 a5 Nxc3 30
axb5 Nd5 31 bxa7, 1-0. Note how Silman's clear introductory
assessment of the position helps the reader see this as the unfolding
of a plan, and not just a series of unconnected moves. (See
Diagram)

Three amateur players then tackle the same position. Here are the
thoughts of a 1600 player, with Silman's comments (here
italicized): "1600: 'I like 1 Nd5. If he takes, I get a strong passed
pawn. I have to get my Bishop into play. So f2-f4 is a possibility
and if he takes I go Bxf4. However, my King would then be open. I
could also play Qb5 to support the d5-square and then Nd5. I could
also pin by Bg5 to control d5 more.' I told him he was not
breaking the position down into imbalances. Instead he is just
looking at a bunch of moves. 1 Bg5   1600: 'This also connects
my Rooks and develops my Bishop.' He never recognized his
Bishop for Knight advantage ... However he noticed the d5-square
and is trying ... to grab it." With "1600" playing and verbalizing as
White, and Silman playing Black and giving running commentary
(which we condense here), the game proceeds 1...Rfd8 2 Rxd8+
Rxd8   "1600: 'Now Rd1 ... allows me to continue my fight for
the d5-square.' Though he hasn't followed the best plan, he's still
sticking to a clear idea ... 3 Rd1 h6 4 Rxd8+ Qxd8 5 Bxf6 Qxf6 6
Nd5 Qd6 7 Qb5! Kf8 8 Nxb6   1600: 'This gives him doubled
pawns.' At the moment his Knight is superior ... so why should he
swap it ...? One must avoid dumping a plan for baubles lying on
the side of the road. 8...axb6 1600: 'Now I will trade Queens since
... my King is closer to the center.' It's clear the opposite is true. 9
Qd5?? Qxd5 10 exd5 Ke7 11 Kf3 f5 12 g4 g6  and White lost the
d-pawn and the game."

This process is repeated with many different positions and themes.
By examining both the correct lines of play, and the erroneous
ones developed by his amateur students, Silman demonstrates not
only correct methods of evaluation and analysis, but also
refutations of the kind of play the amateur is likely to see. He also
exposes common fallacies and mental errors that afflict so many
lower-rated players: planlessness, inconsistency, a fondness for
pointless one-move threats, wishful thinking, laziness, impatience,
fear of phantom threats, obliviousness to real threats, playing
reactively and defensively when aggressiveness is called for,
falling into self-fulfilling pessimism, etc. In this manner the reader
learns not only about objective factors on the board, but also about
subjective psychological mistakes he must avoid.     

Silman also excels at making clear the finer points of general
principles, the circumstances in which they do or do not apply. For
example, an isolated pawn on an open file is generally considered a
weakness, but Silman points out that in positions with most of the
minor pieces still on the board (See Diagram), 

the weakness is less serious and the pawn may actually increase
one's dynamic potential by supporting a Knight or threatening to
advance. Conversely, the weakness is most apparent with minor
pieces off the board but Rooks still on, as here (See Diagram),

where Black wins the pawn with 1...e5. Finally with Rooks gone
but Queens still present, the weakness is minimal or non-existent,
as in this position (See Diagram) 

where a draw is likely. The clarity with which Silman explains
these important refinements helps the student retain them in his
memory.

As is apparent from these examples, the book deals mostly with
middlegame themes:  Bishops vs. Knights, territory and space, the
center, pawn structure, material, initiative, etc. Each is examined at
length, with (I stress again, as it is one of the book's great virtues)
a harmonious and mutually reinforcing mix of general guidelines
and relevant specific examples. As when "RULE 7: With a closed
center, you know which wing to play on by noting the direction
your pawns point," is illustrated by this position (See Diagram) 

where Black must aim for kingside play with f7-f5, while White,
additionally observing Rule 7's corollary that "In general, you
want to push the pawn that stands next to your most advanced
pawn," will aim for c4-c5 and queenside play.

The endgame is touched on somewhat, e.g. in the chapter "Using
the Rooks", and there is one chapter on the opening, devoted not to
memorizing variations but to illustrating the idea that once an
imbalance is created in the opening, one's further development
must address that imbalance in some way. 

This is the second edition of The Amateur's Mind; the first was in
1995. The new version offers 171 more pages, due partly to an
improved layout but mostly to the addition of 112 pages of tests.
These are not the usual "White to play and win" combinational
kind of position. While sometimes, as here (See Diagram)

they call for immediate action (Do you see exactly what? It's
White to move.), at other times (See Diagram) 

Silman says "Don't bother looking for individual moves. Instead,
figure out what White's correct plan is." The tests and their
lengthy, informative answers would make a halfway decent book
by themselves.

As a writer Silman has a lively, pungent style that both keeps the
reader from being bored and helps him to remember key points by
presenting them in pithy prose (e.g. "If the enemy King is still in
the center and you have a lead in development, consider these
factors an invitation to rip the opponent's head off!"). Silman's
command of vocabulary and grammar is refreshingly superior to
many other writers reviewed here. I did notice some misuse of
apostrophes and hyphens, and once the term "supplication" was
used when it seemed clear "submission" was meant, but on the
whole Silman is much more competent, enjoyable to read, and
most importantly more effective in his writing, than most chess
authors practicing today. The book is well proofread, with two
exceptions: the capitalization of "White" and "Black" is
inconsistent (they should be lower case when used as adjectives,
capitalized when nouns), and for the chapter on Rooks the
headings say "Using the Rocks".   

The book finishes with a 17-page glossary explaining terms from
"active" and "advantage" to "wild" and "Zwischenzug", another
example of Silman's sensitivity to the needs of his target readers,
who would not necessarily know chess jargon. Weighing in at a
heavy 443 big pages (6" x 9" rather than the common 5¬" x 8«")
and a relatively light price of $19.95, the book is a good bargain. It
is also appealingly laid out and has a very handsome cover.

Negatives? Really, only one that seems potentially serious: the
book's pages are glued to the spine rather than sewn. In a book
requiring heavy use to reap its full benefit, this might eventually be
a problem. Perhaps adhesives today are better than they used to be;
one hopes so, or in time the pages may start falling out like they
have in some of my older paperbacks.

However, if you use The Amateur's Mind enough to cause that
kind of wear, and absorb its lessons, I can virtually guarantee you
enough chess improvement that you will not mind. This is one of
the best instructive books in print. I strongly recommend it to
anyone above novice and below, say, 1800, and frankly even many
experts (up to Elo 2199) would probably benefit from it. For
teaching essentials of strategy, planning, calculation, and mental
attitude it is unsurpassed by anything I have seen since Chernev.

(PS: In the next-to-last diagram above, White should play 1 c5!,
when if 1...e4 2 cxd6 Qxd6 (2...exd3? 3 dxc7 dxc2 4 cxb8(Q)
Rxb8 5 Bd2 and 6 Rac1 eventually wins a pawn for White) 3 Bc4+
Be6 4 Qb3 he has a promising position. If you missed this, it may
be an indication that you need Silman's book.)