¿Qué es más importante, la estrategia o la táctica?

Trasteando por la red encontré por casualidad el siguiente artículo aqui. El artículo es una traducción del inglés y se puede encontrar el original en la página de Convekta, creadores del popular, sobre todo en paises eslavos, Chess Assistant. Podeis descargarlo de aquí aunque lo añadí al final de este post.
El entrenamiento parece muy interesante y más que recomendable. De hecho llevo tiempo detrás de mis compañeros para que me secunden con algo similar a esto. Cómo nadie me hace caso voy a empezar hoy día 6 de octubre con este entrenamiento a modo de experimento y dentro de un mes ya os contaré que tal me fue (si es que consigo acabarlo). Si alguien se anima que avise y ya cotejamos los resultados.

"La combinación es el alma del Ajedrez", Alexander Alekhine (1935)

"El ajedrez es táctica al 90%" R. Teichmann

Hay una paradoja en el ajedrez, que todos hemos sufrido más de una vez:

"No es suficiente realizar cuarenta buenos movimientos para ganar una partida, aunque un mal movimiento suele servir para perderla".

La entrenadora rusa recomienda a sus alumnos del T.V. Petrosian Chess Club de Moscú un entrenamiento diario y sistematizado en táctica utilizando el programa comercial CT-ART, desarrollado por el GM ICCF Maxim Blokh.


Los consejos que ofrece son los siguientes:

1. Las sesiones de aprendizaje tienen lugar cada día, exceptuando los día de torneos.

2. Está de acuerdo con Pavel Lobach, un conocido entrenador ruso, en que "la resolución diaria de combinaciones tiene que llegar a ser una de las rutinas de un jugador de ajedrez, lo mismo que la alimentación y el sueño"

3. La duración de estas sesiones debe ser de al menos 60 minutos. En la primera sesión, se forman grupos de trabajo con los alumnos en función de su ELO. Si el jugador no tiene ELO, lleva a cabo una prueba de evaluación de su ELO. De ese modo, se establece un nivel aproximado para cada alumno, y se pueden preparar paquetes de tareas para el trabajo individual adecuados para su nivel inicial, uno para cada semana del período de dos años de preparación para obtener el nivel de MI.

Durante un mes, con 28 sesiones de entrenamiento, sus alumnos resolvieron 244 posiciones para jugadores con ELO 2000 y superior en dos modos - test y práctica.

La resolución de esas posiciones se realizaba en la sesiones en el club y en casa.

En los dos meses siguientes, resolvieron 352 posiciones más (ELO 2000 y superior) en los modos test y práctica. Al recopilar los paquetes de entrenamiento, es necesario insistir en que el trabajo es definido de modo individual y puede variar dependiendo de la velocidad de resolución. La complejidad de una posición de test debe corresponder al nivel del alumno. A lo largo de 80 días, sus alumnos habían resuelto 596 posiciones de gran complejidad.

Lógicamente, el entrenador no tiene que asistir a todas las sesiones de trabajo, pudiendo controlar y dirigir el entrenamiento en sesiones semanales.

4. El famoso entrenador Mark Dvoretsky considera que la capacidad táctica de un jugador incluye dos componentes principales - la visión combinativa y la técnica de cálculo. En su opinión, para desarrollar la imaginación ajedrecistica, cada uno debe resolver problemas encontrando la idea táctica correcta (y no calculándola). Para hacer esto, en programa CT-ART tiene una sección denominada Motivos Combinativos. Cuando los alumnos comenzaban a resolver posiciones desde la sección Motivos Combinativos, el número de respuestas correctas se incrementó de manera importante, debido a que muchos de ellos ya habían sido resueltos previamente. Naturalmente, y para facilitar la variedad en el entrenamiento, había sutiles diferencias entre las posiciones (cambiando el bando que debía mover, y/o los flancos y colores de la piezas). Se dedicó un mes completo a resolver posiciones desde la sección Motivos Combinatorios.

5. Posteriormente, se comenzó a entrenar la capacidad de cálculo, utilizando el modo Tarea, en sus 9 niveles de complejidad.

Es importante recordar la "regla de oro" del cálculo de variantes: en cualquier posición, se deben comprobar primero los jaques, después las capturas y ver si funcionan o no, y sólo entonces calcular variantes. Nosotros denominábamos a esto "jaques, capturas, amenazas". En este periodo se estudiaron más de 600 nuevas posiciones. La resolución de las nuevas posiciones y volver a las antiguas ocupa aproximadamente dos meses. La velocidad de resolución se incremento al menos en dos veces durante esta fase del entrenamiento.

6. Asimismo, se llevaba a cabo una prueba de control de manera regular (cada 6 meses), normalmente en modo Tarea y con un nivel de complejidad de 50 o más. Como los alumnos tenían la experiencia suficiente, la prueba de control se realizaba en el modo caótico del programa a lo largo de 4 horas de trabajo.

Al realizar las pruebas, los jugadores calculaban y registraban manualmente las variantes estudiadas para todos los movimientos candidatos. De ese modo, se conseguía un registro para el proceso de cálculo completo, que es de gran ayuda para el trabajo posterior con los alumnos.

7. Una vez que se han resuelto todos los problemas del programa, se dobla el número de posiciones que hay que resolved en cada hora.
Después del primer semestre, los errores graves son raros, y la calidad de los cálculos ha mejorado para permitir a los alumnos adquirir confianza en sus decisiones. Y todo eso utilizando el programa CT-ART.

What is more important, the strategy or the tactics?(experience of using the CT-ART 3.0 program)By Irina Mikhailova, WGM

In my previous article I conveyed my experience of implementing the authorized method of preparing young qualified chess players in the T.V. Petrosian Chess Club. Here I would like to dwell in detail on perfecting an important component of the chess game, the tactics.

When coming to the computer class, the kids would often ask me: "What is more important, the strategy or the tactics?" As it is well known, the strategy provides an answer to the question 'What to do?' and the tactics provides an answer to the question 'How to do it?' A chess player seeks answers to both these questions during the whole chess game.

The German GM R. Teichmann, being 'one of the most subtle positional players' according to J.-R. Capablanca's words, noticed once: "Chess consists of tactics for 90 per cent".

A well known paradox which has been proven in practice many times: 'It is not enough to make forty perfect moves to win a game, however a single bad one suffices for a defeat.'

After eight years of work in the computer class of the T.V. Petrosian Chess Club, I have accumulated some practical experience of teaching this most complex component of the chess game.

Since computers became available for pupils, the basic program for enhancing the sporting craftsmanship was defined to be CT-ART developed by GM M.Blokh. It still does not have a decent matching rival Currently a new version of the CT_ART program is available which includes more than 1200 main learning combinations to solve and about 1000 auxiliary combinations. It is the perfect piece of software to start improving anyone's tactical skills because the complexity of the tasks steadily grows from very easy right up to master level. We appreciated the 'move by move' basic principle of this program. It is especially appropriate because it provides a model of a real-time chess game although in practice has shown that the pupils sometimes fail to use it in the most efficient way. Perhaps, it is some peculiarity of the human psychic that prevents us from prolonged thinking when looking at the monitor. Very often the learning tasks are being solved 'by eye'. One should fight this tendency and work in the training sessions as intensely as if it was a real game! The ideas, concrete methods and combinations re-occur repeatedly - one should study them vigorously!
Methodical recommendations on using CT-ART 3.0

1. Learning sessions take place every day except the tournament days. I agree with Pavel Lobach, a known Russian trainer that "solving the combinations daily must become a regular part of a daily sporting routine for a chess player, the same as food and sleep are"; I always insist that my pupils followed this rule.

2. Duration of the session should be 60 minutes or more. On the first lesson, I formed a database of pupils with ELO rating. Those ones with no rating underwent an ELO-test. Thus, the approximate level of each pupil was established. In my group the ELO evaluations varied from 2000 to 2200. Then the packets of homework tasks were compiled for each pupil's starting playing level, one for each week of a 2-year preparation period to attempt to achieve an IM norm.
Here the approximate workload is given for the master candidates and the following became Ims: Gabrielian, Yevelev, and Kurenkov:
1st month of training
Week 1
Monday - CT-ART user basics
Tuesday - Chapter/Techniques Annihilation of defense test(ELO 2000 and higher) 13 positions
Wednesday - Chapter/Techniques Annihilation of defense, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 13 positions
Thursday - Chapter/Techniques Distraction, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 22 positions
Friday - Chapter/Techniques Distraction, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 22 positions
Saturday - Chapter/Techniques Annihilation of defense, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 21 positions
Sunday - Chapter/Techniques Annihilation of defense, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 26 positions

Week 2
Monday - Chapter/Techniques Distraction, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 20 positions
Tuesday - Chapter/Techniques Decoy, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 20 positions
Wednesday - Chapter/Techniques Annihilation of defense, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 26 positions, queenside
Thursday - Chapter/Techniques Decoy, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 20 positions
Friday - Chapter/Techniques Distraction, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 20 positions, Alternation of flanks
Saturday - Chapter/Techniques Decoy, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 20 positions
Sunday - Chapter/Techniques Decoy, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 30 positions

Week 3
Monday - Chapter/Techniques Decoy, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 30 new positions, Alternation of flanks
Tuesday - Chapter/Techniques Open attack, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 15 positions
Wednesday - Chapter/Techniques Open attack, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 15 new positions
Thursday - Chapter/Techniques Open attack, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 30 positions queenside
Friday - Chapter/Techniques Opening of a file, test of defense, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 14 positions
Saturday - Chapter/Techniques Opening of a file, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 15 positions
Sunday - Chapter/Techniques Opening of a file, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 29 positions

Week 4
Monday - Chapter/Techniques Space clearance test(ELO 2000 and higher) 23 positions
Tuesday - Chapter/Techniques Space clearance test(ELO 2000 and higher) 23 positions Black to move
Wednesday - Chapter/Techniques Opening of a file, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 29 positions, queenside
Thursday - Chapter/Techniques X-ray attack test(ELO 2000 and higher) 8 positions
Friday - Chapter/Techniques X-ray attack test(ELO 2000 and higher), 8 positions queenside
Saturday - Chapter/Techniques Space clearance, test(ELO 2000 and higher) 23 positions, White to move
Sunday - Chapter/Techniques Interception, test(ELO 2000 and higher), 13 positions

Notice: To increase the number of theme positions it is useful to select the options with change of the color move (black or white) and sides (King or Queen).

Thus, during a month (28 training sessions), the pupils solved 244 positions for players with ELO 2000 and above in two modes - test and practice mode. They solved these positions during their club sessions as well as at home.

During the following two months they solved 352 positions more (ELO 2000 and above) in both test and practice mode. When compiling the packets of training tests, it is necessary to remember that the workload is individually defined and may vary depending on the speed of solving; the complexity of a test position must correspond to a pupil's level. During roughly 80 days these pupils solved 596 positions of high complexity.

Naturally, a coach (me in this case!) may not attend all the sessions, controlling and directing the training process once a week instead.

3. A famous chess coach Mark Dvoretsky considers the tactical skill of a chess player to include two main components - the combinative vision and the calculating technique. In his opinion, in order to develop one's chess imagination one should solve tasks aimed at finding (not calculating out!) a correct tactical idea. Being a practitioner, I was very pleased to find such an important section as Combinational motifs in the CT-ART 3.0 program. When the players began to solve positions from the Combinational motifs section the number correctly solved increased sharply, this is because many of them had been solved previously. Naturally, to facilitate a variety in the training material there are subtle differences in the positions such as: changing who's turn to move or / and the flanks and colors of pieces.

One month was dedicated to solving positions from the Combinational motifs section.

4. Then we started training calculating ability using the Task mode in all 9 levels of complexity.

It is important to remember a 'golden' rule when calculating variations: in any position, you should first see if there are any checks, then any captures and if they work or not, - then calculate the threats. We call it 'checks - captures - threats'. During this period we studied over 600 new positions. The training package resembled the one from the first month of training. Solving new positions and recurring to the old ones took approximately 2 months. The speed of solving increased almost twofold in this phase.

5. A control test was regularly conducted,every six months, being performed in Task mode on a complexity level 50 and above.

Since my pupils were quite experienced, the control test was conducted in the chaotic mode. The control test took 4 hours.
Testing results on intermediate stages of training
CT-ART 3.0 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
Yevelev V. 2220 2433 60 75 85 90
Kurenkov N. 2210 2401 65 70 80 90
Gabrielian A. 2330 2447 75 80 90 95

(1)- Starting ELO
(2)- Resulting ELO
(3)- Stage I
(4)- stage II
(5)- stage III
(6)- stage IV

When performing the tests, the players calculated and manually recorded variations for all the candidate moves. Thus the entire process of calculation was recorded. This helped me greatly in my later work with these pupils.

6. After all the problems in the program had been done the number of positions solved per hour doubled.

Already after the first training stage (6 months), blunders became rare, the quality of calculation improved and the pupils acquired confidence in their decisions. Working with the CT-ART program brought perfect results for my pupils Vladimir Yevelev, Arthur Gabrielian and others, all now international masters.