So… there are many questions about the courses of Mr I.Smirnov and i understand that in regard of the price he ask to download his lessons, and in a certain extent, it‘s also true that the marketing-thing around his products are in my humble opinion… a little too much regarding his target audience J (I’m a marketeer)Ī few words about me to set the chess-background of my following comments… I’m a 1750 fide player, 1700 belgian national ELO, and play now in a club for 7 years. :)Įverything that has been written in this link ( ) is true at all. thanks to gm igor's courses.i dont know why many people hated him. while i was just a biggener who has been trained by a grandmaster!! haha. he trained on a chess club with an untitled player. but look!! he won because i gave him chances! haha. the reason is that i am not good in that opening. but i gave him a chance to take back his move. then the 4th i should have won because he did not saw the mate in 1!! haha. i won the first 2 games, then drew the third. i didnt do anything special but only applied what gm smirnov teaches. but after i have studied the course, we played last tuesday. that was before i studied gm smirnov's course gm secrets and positinal understanding. we lost to MT department, their board 1 player had trained on a chess club, that time he is strong chess player for me. Last time in our intramurals i was playing on board 3 against MT department. I agree with you that it is easy to watch a video lesson and listen to the master's explanation for each move but when you are yourself playing a game you are on your own and it is very difficult to select the correct plan and make the correct move. IMHO Smirnov is a better salesman than he is a chess teacher.
Or since money is tight nowadays you might prefer to watch the video lessons on YouTube, they are free and some of them are very good. Or you could pay $99 and become a member here and you will have access to a whole collection of video lessons. If you want to buy a dvd I suggest you look at Roman's Lab series. They do have good information but they are overpriced and will not make you a gm unless you have a lot of talent to begin with. So which is it?Įverything seems so clear when I watch a chess video like Smirnov's or read a chapter from Silman, but then when I'm sitting behind the board and it's up to me to find a good move, it's not so clear. In one video he presented the rule, "To take is a mistake," while in another he recommended trading pieces to challenge your opponent to find a good strategy instead of whipping up tactics. So even GMs play like club players? How did they become grandmasters? Which sounds good, of course, but I couldn't help but notice that most of the samples showing poor play were from games between grandmasters. Smirnov emphasizes a solid strategic understanding of chess over tactical tricks, constant attacks, and opening knowledge. I might pay $100 for the lot but not a $1000. Whether it's worth $50-$150 a pop is another question. I just watched several of Smirnov's YouTubes and I'd say he's got some worthwhile material. n moreover it is good he didnt discuss his preparation cuz it was ONLY against THAT opponent.
n anyways he after some moves shows what he had prepared as fas as i remember it was about a wrong exchange that his opponent would eventually make. What is meant by preparation is suppose you know someone is going to fall for the fools mate (or whatever it is called) wouldnt you play it? although even the best computer might not show that move!!!!!!! Maybe if you are a beginner you will benefit but honestly I don't think so. Then he showed a game where he played Be3 and said he played it because of preparation?! Excuse me!! If something is best then wouldn't you play that?! Ok so he said he played it because of preparation but he never mentioned what exactly he had prepared. For example in the sicilian he said Bg5 was the most active place for the bishop and therefore the best. He talked about finding the best moves based on their activity.