–In chess there are two styles-good, that is: leading to a win, and bad, that is: leading to a loss. In every position a possible combination is concealed and every combination arises from the position. If after the opponent’s move a so-called positional player is not capable of calculating a possible winning combination 5-6 moves ahead, then he is not a positional player but simply a patzer... Mikhail Chigorin
Anyone who has ever spent any time in the chess blogosphere is familiar with the knights errant. The Knights Errant were (are?) a group of chess players who dedicated themselves to the so-called “circles,” and followed the Michael de la Mazza method of improvement. While de la Mazza’s book is not worth buying, (Jerry Silman pans it here,) it is remarkable in that he takes the following piece of advice -study tactics- and stretches it to 126 pages. While I have read only negative things about de la Mazza’s book on the internet from respected sources, his method cannot be discounted, since it basically emphasizes the importance of tactics. The idea is to start with 1000 problems, and complete them 7 times, faster and faster each time until on the 7th time you basically have them committed to memory and can complete all 1000 problems in a single day. And so, I am undertaking this challenge, in fact I plan on doing it multiple times with different sets of problems. I have attempted this before in the past- but this time I mean it. I’m hoping that my writing a blog post about it will commit me to carrying out the process. I will occasionally give you updates on my progress, and most importantly comment on whether I think the method is worthwhile. I have to say, 7 times seems a bit absurd with a single set of problems, but if that’s what it takes then I am going to give it a shot.
12 Responses to “Knights Errant, and the de la Mazza Method”
HUZZAH!!
The problem I had was that after I completed the circles and stopped doing them on a regualr basis, my tactical skills receded. I am back to doing the circles again ( in addition to positional game studies) but my lasted submission for the carnival shows some of the fruits of my labor as all my games were won by tactics.
Fantastic! I’m not alone in my quest. I plan on churning through several sets of problems. I’m also devoting every spare second to it so I’m blowing through the circles faster than someone with less free time would. I have definitely seen some improvement in my game already, and I’m hoping to get some concrete tournament results this spring.
Thrilled to have you on board Blunderprone- check back in and let me know how your training goes. Also, if you have any recommendations for good problem sets I am all ears.
HUZZAH!!
Yes I’ve heard of similar stories from other players. However, I think that you never fall back to where you started originally and that getting back into top form won’t take as much work as it did originally. Tactics tactics tactics. They are a skill that must be continually sharpened, unlike positional themes that you learn once. I guess the tricky stuff happens when they overlap.
I have to say that it is great to have you as a guest on our blog. I used to read both your blog and BDK’s back in the day when I was first starting out in chess. I had a few ‘breaks’ in chess, but it’s good to see you’re still writing and playing well. Congratulations on your Portsmouth Open win.
Dear Knight Errant Brooklyn64 division,
(This is a long comment…feel free to turn into a post if you want to elaborate with your experience or ideas)
My personal experience on doing the 7 circles from hell:
Like a moth to a flame, I stumbled on the Knights errant method, got the MDLM book…author of which was a member of my local chess club as well, and began the journey back in ought 6 if I recall. Initially my rating jumped from the 1300’s to the low 1600’s and I was like WOW! The problem was that I had a hard time seeing the tactics and having trained in 2D using CT-ART, my mind had a hard time converting to 3D OTB. The other problem was that once I stopped doing tactics I could tell my tactical acumen started to wane.
How I did them:
I used CT-ART almost exclusively as I liked the fact that there is no “time pressure”. The first time around, I did 7 concentric circles. What this means is that instead of doing it DE LA MAZA ( level 10 then level 20 etc… return to level 10 after level 90 seven times over) I chose to do each level 7 times before proceeding to the next level. The second time I did the 7 circles of hell, I focused only on the first 4 levels as this seemed to be the bulk of the problem levels I encountered. Today I am doing concentric circles with the following modifications: I do level 10 as many times it takes to hit 100%. ( 4 times this time around) and then the next level. I will not go past level 40 as I feel the upper levels are more a diminishing of returns factor.
Other tools I used:
I tried tactics servers but my personal preference falls back to CT-ART only because I don’t want the time pressure when I am working these problem sets. I use chess.com. Entry membership allows 25 problems a day. I have a premium membership so I can have more use of the learning tools and unlimited tactics puzzles per day…if I choose. These have a time component but they always work to just within my playing level. I use these on my smartphone through out the day in various waiting activities that life presents itself ( doc’s office, boring meeting at work, and of course sitting on the throne.)
Madman phase:
After I completed the first set of circles, I was like a teenage with too many hormones and not enough release. I thought I saw tactics in everything. I played like a caveman with my hair on fire. What this meant was I had inconsistent results. Against higher rated players I would have good games and play a lot more cautiously. Lower rated players gave me the most trouble as I was in berserker mode chasing ghosts.
Calming period:
Tactics and strategy go hand in hand. I created a void by not understanding strategy enough. A quote from Sun Tzu ( The Art of War) said “tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat”. This I embarked on a better understanding of strategy and fell in love with studying the history of the evolution of this game through games collections from various tournaments through several chess eras.
During this period, I was only doing tactics once in a while at chess.com. I was converting CT-Art into chessbase format so I could practice the problems in 3D but that was slow.
Today:
So here I am now, daily doing CT-ART De La Maza style and it fits like an old comfortable shoe. It’s like doing free throws in basketball. It’s zen like and I use it to practice thought process and emotional awareness. I focus on calming my mind, looking for the pattern, making sure I see what my opponent can do as well. I find the patterns are coming back to me so it explains why I can score better with fewer reps. I also find that since my OTB play focuses on strategy and positional merits first that I am able to see the patterns in 3D despite training in 2D. Case and point is the Qxg6 move in my most recent post. I “saw” the Bishop and rook mating net just like several of the level 10 problems.
Last words:
I had a chance to meet Dan Heisman last year at the WO. He spoke ill of CT-ART as the problems are not as likely to show up in the games of lower rated players. He advocates the John Bain book and others of simpler tactics for beginners. I have to agree since my CT-ART experience seemed to demonstrate that I didn’t know what I was doing when I first ran through them. Combined with strategy and other higher concepts in this game, I think these are very beneficial. Convekta offers Tactics for beginners and intermediate level players. I recommend this for new knights.
Ps: I’ll add you to my sidebar
PPs: I would like to host the March Chess carnival… what do I need to do?
That’s an extremely informative comment. I have never used CT-ART, as I have a mac, but I have heard good things. I do tactics on a few different servers online, but for my circles i’m fond of printed material because i can have it with me at all times. Even though I’m young, I’m old fashioned in that regard. I like the idea of having a set of problems or book that I can flip through and write in. I will make a list of good books for different levels and write a blog post about the knights, perhaps incorporating some of your comment too as it’s great. I didn’t consider myself a knight errant before, but thought I would give your method a shot- so I’m thrilled to be inducted into the club by you as I’m hoping it motivates me more.
In terms of hosting the next Carnival, I’m sure Blue Devil Knight would be thrilled to set that up for you. You can contact him through his blog at http://chessconfessions.blogspot.com/ or if you email me at admin@brooklyn64.com I will forward your message along to him. I’m happy you stepped up to host!- I hope we can keep this carnival going for a while and connect chess blogs that wouldn’t have found each other otherwise.
If you ever need motivation, do check out my Knights Errant Promotional video: http://blunderprone.blogspot.com/2008/05/rocky-errant-picture-show.html
I’ve used CT-Art and found the program to be a little out of date and lacking in a few departments. Websites like chesstempo.com do an amazing job of providing tactics from real games. If you pay the small monthly fee, in addition to feeling good about supporting chess, you also get a to browse their database and sort problems, among other things.
Mr. Lefthand
If you want my copy of Ct-Art, let me know. I might even let you borrow the pc laptop to use it on.
No thanks, as I said I prefer finite paperbacks to focus my circles on. Today I complete my first circle! Having said that- chesstempo is an amazing resource and if I had the spare cash I would get a premium membership just to support them. I do their tactics all the time when I’m bored and secretly i’m trying to break the 2000 mark on there. I touched 1900 the other day for the first time…
I might be drawing some attention to your post. Hope you don’t mind:
http://blunderprone.blogspot.com/2011/01/knights-errant-revival.html
Your post is awesome! I’m psyched that we are bringing the knights back. It’s funny because that wasn’t the intention of my post originally, but now I’m really excited to have some support in my quest for tactical precision through the circles method. I hope we can assemble an army!
LHS,
I’ll join you as well in your noble effort. Unsure if I up for full 7 circles but some tactical training is in order to improve my game.
Hi!
My way is a combination of 80% Tactics and 20% (basic) strategy.
Thats why I use the very old therefore boring software “Tasc Chess Tutor 2″ – but its great:
http://www.chesshouse.com/TASC_Chess_CD_2_Chess_Rules_Learn_to_Play_Chess_p/a216.htm
In the future the next step for me is CT-Art.
And after that the study”Chess Mentor” which you can find at chess.com
Regards