Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-23 |
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| Saturday, 16 October 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The rules are simple - send us your questions and see them featured in the weekly Q&A column! Q1: Hi! I've got a friend who has a five years old child, and his kid likes chess. So, my question is ... Can you recommend me some books to learning chess for a five years old kid? A1: Few kids are so disciplined and persistent as to study chess books at 5. They prefer to play against real opponents and solve computer chess puzzles. Therefore, I would recommend signing up for something like chesskid.com and use modern chess software before offering him books. Q2: Do people like you really build up those classic trees of analysis (like Kotov suggests)? A2: While Kotov did a good job trying to offer a scientific menthod of approaching this process, his recommendations have certain flaws. GM Nunn, for instance, mentions some of them in "Secrets of practical chess". That's why I don't know a single person who applies Kotov's suggestions as they are. Q3: I want to know the correct plan of rook plus bishop vs rook, whether drawn or won for the stronger side. A3: While most positions of this type are drawn, some aren't (e.g. Cochrane'a and Philidor's positions). Even GMs occasionally fail to defend correctly if in time trouble and feeling nervous. You will have to either read about it in a book (e.g. Dvoretzky's Endgame Manual), or watch videos (Chess.com has two of them - from both the weaker and stronger sides). Q4: Describe the type of tournament that we could host in the United States to attract top chess talent. What do you think the prize money offered and other conditions would have to be to attract international personalities like yourself. A4: It depends on whether you are talking about a large open (like Aeroflot or Moscow Open) or a super tournament. Generally, it involves spending at least $200k on prize money; offer conditions (cover travel expenses and hotel) to top players. The organizational expenses depend a lot on your connections. If you have a place which would like to host the event for free, that's one thing. If you have to rent a building, hire lots of assistants, etc., you may need a lot of extra cash. One more idea: you mentioned "attracting international personalities like yourself". My opinion is that while there are many super tournaments for men, there are hardly any events of this level for women! That is strange since female players have a great marketing potential; also, their fees are substantially lower (2-4 times). Therefore, if you are an organizer in the States who wants to make something good for chess and become famous, why don't you hold a female event? ;-) Q5: Ms.Pogonina I'm having trouble playing against the Stonewall setup from white (I've lost some horrible games!). I've heard that it has been refuted but I don't know the line. Can you please help me? :( A5: The Stonewall setup for White is solid and not that easy to beat. The Stonewall Opening for Black is more risky (that's why it's not employed that often at top level). However, grandmasters still play it, and you can't expect to learn a simple line to beat them! There is lots of theory... Q6: Are top chess players obliged to learn English by FIDE? A6: No, but it definetely helps since one has to travel a lot, communicate with people from all over the world and so on. Q7: What was the last book you've read about? A7: Time management. Life is rather hectic these days, I am travelling all the time... Related articles: Your quetions answered by Natalia Pogonina-22 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-21 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-20 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-19 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-18 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-17 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-16 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-15 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-14 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-13 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-12 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-11 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-10 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-9 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-8 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-7 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-6 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-5 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-4 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-3 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-2 Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina 
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