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Chess Position Trainer

Submitted by EJCC on Sun, 20/12/2009 - 01:00

I've been introduced to this very helpful piece of free software by Jonathan Morgan. It allows you to enter a chess opening repertoire, have it displayed to you and then it will test you on it.  If you don't want to enter your own, then you can download plenty from the CPT site. 

I'm working up some repertoires of my own before I send them for download to the good folks at CPT, but if you would like to test it/comment on them, then that would be most welcome.  First, download the software from:

  • www.chesspositiontrainer.com
    • then download the repertoire from:
  • here
    • then unzip it into somewhere sensible.

    I'm trying to make the selection broad enough to include all the recommendations I make to different members of the junior club; just ignore or delete the bits that you aren't interested in.  I'll update it from time to time as I have more thoughts, or more comments.

    Basic recommended repertoire: juniorep.zip

    1. Italian Game for White
    		 Adam B, Theo
    2. White against half-open defences
    		 Adam B, Theo
    3. French Defence for Black Theo
    4. Tarrasch Defence for Black Theo
    Alternatives: juniorep2.zip

    5. Max Lange Attack (old school Italian)
    		 Adam B, Theo
    6. White opening with 1.d4 and 2.c4
    		 Joe
    7. Classical Defence to 1.e4 with 1...e5
    		 Adam B, Joe
    8. Classical Defence to 1.d4 with 1...d5
    		 Joe
    9. All-purpose system (CJS Purdy) with ...b6

    10. Stonewall Dutch

    If you can't get away from paper, try these books (difficulty goes up D - C - B - A...):

    • Walker - Chess Openings for Juniors (1,7,8) [D] or Levy/Keene - An opening repertoire for the attacking club player (1,2) [C]
    • McDonald - How to play against 1.e4 (3) [C]
    • McDonald - Starting out: Dutch Defence (10) [C]
    • Purdy - Action Chess (3,9) [C]
    • Aagaard & Lund - Defending 1.d4 (4) [B]
    • Baker - A startling chess opening repertoire (1,5) [B]
    • Emms - Open game as Black (7) [B]
    • Aagaard - Stonewall Dutch (10) [A]
    • Palliser - Play 1.d4! (6) [A]

    I can't find any book that thinks you should play the way I think you should play against the half-open defences (2), and I can't find anything very easy about the Tarrasch... Sorry.  Maybe some day I'll write something.

    Chess Quotes

    On advanced ideas:
    "After giving a student the basic mating patterns and strategies you must begin giving them advanced concepts. At first these ideas will not make sense, many players will have a vague idea of what you are talking about but nothing more. Even a fragmented understanding of these concepts will prove useful though, and eventually they will improve as these lessons are assimilated by repetition and example."
    — Jeremy SILMAN, The Amateur's Mind, 1995

     cf.:

    "We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development. ... (The "spiral curriculum") ... Is it not possible ... to introduce them to some of the major ... ideas earlier, in a spirit perhaps less exact and more intuitive?"