Prep

ON the flight to Albania I had a fascinating conversation with England manager Nigel Povah, who is an international master of 43 years' standing.

He told me he normally spends five hours on preparation for a game, reckoning he keeps himself fit enough that this is not tiring.

Later, I was walking in Durrës with another quite-strong senior, who told me he often spends around two hours.

Impressive stuff?

Well, discussing the same matter over a drink in the hotel bar, Richard McMichael (2116) confessed his preparation usually takes around 10 minutes, and consists of looking to see which lines his opponent plays, and whether there is anything he would like to avoid, or would be particularly keen to face.

Grandmaster Nigel Davies, who also played in the world team seniors in Durrës, has gone on record stating he no longer does preparation, as he finds it tiring, preferring to do nothing before a round, apart from going for a short walk, and maybe a little light reading.

I tend to follow the McMichael Method, combined with a large does of Davies-style Do-Nothing.

Image by uxwing

As with many ideas in chess that are not directly related to moves on the board, which method is best is subjective, and hard to prove one way or another.