v_glorioso12
♡ 36 ( +1 | -1 ) my systemim thinking of buying the book my system... i know its supposed to be one of the best (if not THE best) chess books... but does anyone here have it? if so, and if u have an official chess federation rating, after reading this book, did you see any noticable improvement? and if you dont have an official chess federation rating, did you see any improvement on your gameknot rating? thanx
sy_or_bust
♡ 37 ( +1 | -1 ) Rating Points!?Come on, there are too many variables to ask that sort of question and expect it to apply to the improvement of your personal strengths and weaknesses.
If you study chess - if you study well - you're going to improve. My System is certainly a great start, understood in its own context. I'd urge you to consider Waton's "Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy: Advances Since Nimzowitsch" as well.
furryfunbundle
♡ 166 ( +1 | -1 ) Not really the point... ???What My System will provide is a structured understanding of core chess precepts. It taught me the foundation of what I now know about positional play. It helped me move away from sharp tactical openings (eg Latvian) to more positional options. My rating went down but my understanding went up!!
But, like any musical instrument, it is the practice and execution that underpins improvement. Not the reading of theory per se.
My honest advice is “not” to read it looking for improvement but to read it to extend your understanding : -)
That all said, I enjoyed it more than most other books I have read.
Some people cannot take to Nimzo's dry and somewhat arrogant writing style, but put that to the back of your mind and appreciate what it is that is being “said”, not so much how it is being “spoken”.
For me, I did enjoy his humour and would recommend the book to anyone with a desire to widen their understanding of chess.
Note also that Keene did a re-appraisal of this work a few years back to bring it into context with the modern game. Even more recently, Watson has amplified and modified the works of my system with innovative (radical??) thinking.
Go for it (but do so for the pleasure of mastering/understanding/learning rather than improving).
If you do take to it and you do enjoy it then I think your understanding of the game will change and with that so may your openings. It can be a slow process of exploring what you already know and fitting it into place what you are now in the process of knowing.
Net result, in the short term, may well not be the result you are hoping for - but - in the longer term (my opinion) you will be a better player.
hoss
♡ 30 ( +1 | -1 ) my system is a great book, and one of my favorites, hell yeah you should buy it. also, try the amature's mind by silman. i gained 100 points or so after reading those two back to back and at the time i was also watching pro chess volumes 1 and 2 at the time which is yasser seirawan's video chess lessons.
baseline
♡ 57 ( +1 | -1 ) It's a Great Book!I got it very early in my chess career and could hardly understand anything in it! After studing Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals, Morphy's Games of Chess by Sargent, Laskers Manual of Chess, Three Hundred Chess Games by Tarrash ( an old tattered version in German) I went back to My System and it started to make sense. Its interesting that he gives you all the same lessons in "Chess Praxis" his game collection in a form much easier to assimulate! Once you gotten this far you discover your chess journey has really just begun.