I have a new goal. I am going to become a Grandpatzer. You read that correctly; it's not a typo. As you probably know, Grandpatzer is not an official title, and the term is actually not very established at all. But there is a very entertaining and enlightening book by the title Secrets of a Grandpatzer by Kenneth Mark Colby. When I saw it, I fell for it directly and bought it without hesitation. If you are as enticed by this book as I was, please read on for my full review.
The book was first released in 1979. My copy is a reprint from 2011 with a foreword by Michael Stewart, who explains that he raised his rating from 1990 to 2308 by following the advice in the book. So there is probably something to be learned here.
The book is divided into five sections: (1) Introduction, (2), How to study, (3) How to play, (4) How to play against other types of players and (5) Computer chess. So when I first picked up the book and read the table of contents, I expected that the final section would be completely outdated and irrelevant. But I was wrong. The entire book is highly entertaining and written by a man with a great ability to separate the essentials from nonsense. Even the section on computer chess is very relevant, except from the simple fact that you shouldn't expect to beat many computer programs today.
According to Colby there are about 130 patterns that you need to know in order to reach the ranks of a Grandpatzer. These include some basic endgames, such as blockading, creating passed pawns and battle of minor pieces (hello mr. Silman).
Colby also argues that you should know your openings. Play a limited number of openings, e.g. one system with white and the King's Indian or Modern with black. Much like Dan Heisman, Colby recommends that you should learn your openings at least one move deeper for each game (when you review it). He also recommends that you go through master games, but only the ones that feature your openings. Study the games and try to guess the next move for the side that you usually play and compare your ideas to the choices of the master(s). Finally, you should learn the endgames that your openings tend to lead to. This approach is basically what is recommended by JJ Lang on the Perpetual Chess podcast (Have a listen!).
Of course, you also need to work on your tactics. However, Colby doesn't give much details here. But he does provide a simplified thinking process that he calls the 'Grandpatzer 3-step', which is basically checking for tactics, choosing a move and visualizing it. Then you check for tactics again in the new position and repeat the steps until you reach a 'quiescent' position.
One thing that I really like about this book is that it is written by someone who has a full-time job outside of chess - just like most of us. He truly understands that time is a limited resource, so his advice is geared towards making the most of the little time you have. Therefore, refreshingly, he challenges much of the study advice that you may see from top-level Grandmasters. The principles that apply to masters are not necessarily relevant for the aspiring Grandpatzer. If your goal is to become a Grandmaster it's a different story. I think Colby summarizes this nicely in the following quote (p. 47).
What can you expect from this book?
Kenneth Mark Colby (1920-2001) was a professor in psychiatry and an amateur chess player. In the introduction of the book, he describes how he 'floundered around' as a 1600-patzer for several years before deciding to do something about it. He did something about it, and achieved a 1800+ rating within a year. This book describes the his 'secret' method so that you and I can do the same.The book was first released in 1979. My copy is a reprint from 2011 with a foreword by Michael Stewart, who explains that he raised his rating from 1990 to 2308 by following the advice in the book. So there is probably something to be learned here.
The book is divided into five sections: (1) Introduction, (2), How to study, (3) How to play, (4) How to play against other types of players and (5) Computer chess. So when I first picked up the book and read the table of contents, I expected that the final section would be completely outdated and irrelevant. But I was wrong. The entire book is highly entertaining and written by a man with a great ability to separate the essentials from nonsense. Even the section on computer chess is very relevant, except from the simple fact that you shouldn't expect to beat many computer programs today.
According to Colby there are about 130 patterns that you need to know in order to reach the ranks of a Grandpatzer. These include some basic endgames, such as blockading, creating passed pawns and battle of minor pieces (hello mr. Silman).
Colby also argues that you should know your openings. Play a limited number of openings, e.g. one system with white and the King's Indian or Modern with black. Much like Dan Heisman, Colby recommends that you should learn your openings at least one move deeper for each game (when you review it). He also recommends that you go through master games, but only the ones that feature your openings. Study the games and try to guess the next move for the side that you usually play and compare your ideas to the choices of the master(s). Finally, you should learn the endgames that your openings tend to lead to. This approach is basically what is recommended by JJ Lang on the Perpetual Chess podcast (Have a listen!).
Of course, you also need to work on your tactics. However, Colby doesn't give much details here. But he does provide a simplified thinking process that he calls the 'Grandpatzer 3-step', which is basically checking for tactics, choosing a move and visualizing it. Then you check for tactics again in the new position and repeat the steps until you reach a 'quiescent' position.
One thing that I really like about this book is that it is written by someone who has a full-time job outside of chess - just like most of us. He truly understands that time is a limited resource, so his advice is geared towards making the most of the little time you have. Therefore, refreshingly, he challenges much of the study advice that you may see from top-level Grandmasters. The principles that apply to masters are not necessarily relevant for the aspiring Grandpatzer. If your goal is to become a Grandmaster it's a different story. I think Colby summarizes this nicely in the following quote (p. 47).
Well-meaning master annotations can be infelicitous for the non-master player. It does little good to mechanically play through master games move by move while reading off the annotations. It does not rub off on you. Often the most puzzling parts of the game are not commented on at all.Someone who has a full-time job and perhaps also a few kids simply does not have the luxury of spending entire days delving into the intricacies of the Grünfeld or to play through all the games from the My Great Predecessors series (however great they may be). We're on a tight time budget. The struggle is real. This book provides some comfort in that area. Aaaah!
Who should read this book?
Secrets of a Grandpatzer is an inspiring little book. It is a fun and easy read, and has a lot of practical tips for how to reach the highest heights of patzerdom. I would say the target audience is in the 1400-1800 rating range. However, the book is clearly written with an adult audience in mind. That doesn't mean it cannot be read by kids, but the language and some references may be a bit off key for the younger readers. I really enjoyed it, and recommend that you check it out.About this book
| Author: | Kenneth Mark Colby |
| Title: | Secrets of a Grandpatzer |
| Type of book: | Chess improvement |
| Level: | Intermediate |
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