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.
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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.
I'm curious to know what Povah does during those 5 hours. I'd struggle to think of what I'd do in that time, unless, maybe, I discovered my opponent played a line I knew nothing about and I wanted to prepare something new for it.
ReplyDeleteI find that, more often than not, preparation is a waste of time for the specific game because my opponent plays something I hadn't expected.
That is often my experience, but Edmar Mednis reckoned preparation is never a waste of time because what you learn may come in useful another time.
DeleteAgreed, which is why I said "for the specific game" in my comment.
DeleteI guess the bottom line is one should do the amount of prep that seems right, which will vary according to the individual and the circumstances.
DeleteIf you play mostly in league or weekend chess, there's little time to prepare for a specific opponent anyway, so the McMichael nethod is forced. Also there's probably only limited material available on your opponent. So you are restricted if Bkack to checking whether they are a d4 player or e4 player and if White what they prefer against 1. e4 or 1. d4.
ReplyDeleteYou might spot that they have a pet line or two. That gives the dilemma as to whether to take it on directly or dodge it.
Where preparation can be valuable is to look for early wrinkles in lines that you play all the time. That can be done irrespective of preparation for specific opponents.
RdC
This is all true. Sometimes, however, in league chess you can make an educated guess at whom you will be playing, even if you don't know the colours, and have days to prepare.
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