So you get recommendation of some good chess book. For example "Secrets of Practical Chess" by Nunn which
@Sarg0n recently recommended as an eye-opener. You purchase a book in a paper format and it arrives in your mail box.
Then what? How do you go through it? Do you just lay on the couch and read it like any other book, taking some time now and then to visualize and think about the position? Or do you sit over the table with real board and pieces, setting the positions on the board and moving the pieces around as you go through the text?
I would like to hear your personal habits and ways of doing this.
P.S. I realize lots of people don't read chess books and use some software or online resource to improve their chess. Obviously, this is the question for those who still read paper chess books.
I have been studying Comprehensive Chess Endings by pergamon russian chess series.
Real board and pieces. Moving pieces while following through the text.
It depends, of course. As a 1600 you may generally want to set up a board or enter the moves in a chess software. It is unlikely that you can visualize enough of the lines in order to understand what is going on.
When a book gives a lot of general advice or is about strategy and evaluation more than concrete lines you can also read without board. Collecting ideas and criteria may well be possible this way, but even those should be practiced and experienced on a (2D or 3D) board in addition to that, otherwise there may be a disconnect between ("blabla") ideas and practice.
Another aspect: Of course you can try to use a book without any board in order to practice your visualisation and calculation. But on a lower level it will probably be more useful to do so once you have worked everything through at least once .
I prefer to go over games on a real chessboard. It helps my focus compared to computer screen. If I have questions, I write them down, try to answer them, and if I can't, I look with an engine.
with the yusupov course if i see answer straight away i do it from the book if not i set board up. Always set board up for going through games
The best way to read chess books is with 2 boards: one for the main line and one for variations. It can be one real set and one pocket set.
Do folks cover up the moves before seeing them (playing them out), or do you just play through the games (and the side variations) as you go through the games?
Also, given that these GM games are classical games with about 5 hours a game (roughly), is it perfectly fine to go through a game in 10-20 minutes?
I use ChessBase, you find the games and variations often there.
If you are weaker than the players of the game you study, then you should spend more time understanding the game than they used playing it. One game per evening should suffice.
Covering up the moves is a good idea.
I used to train youngsters with a chess book, giving them a board, a clock and a scoresheet and giving them the winning side of a book game, while I played the moves of the losing side. When they did play another move I briefly commented and then reverted their move to the book move.
