Was Capablanca a chess machine?
03.05.2004 The legendary third World Champion certainly had the reputation, but as Dennis Monokroussos shows in his audio lecture on Playchess.com that the Cuban was a fantastic player with great technique, but he was indeed human; fallible as we are – if less so. Dennis looks at fundamental endings and the errors made by Capa and his opponents. More...
Dennis Monokroussos writes: Jose Raoul Capablanca had a reputation for being
a “chess machine.” Further, the most celebrated aspect of his greatness,
at least nowadays, is the technical prowess he exhibited, especially in the
endgame. It’s true he was a fantastic player with great technique, but
a machine he was not. In today’s lesson, we’ll take a look at several
of his endings and see that he was indeed human; fallible as we are –
if less so. There are at least three lessons we will draw from this week’s
presentation. First, the myth of the Chess Machine was just that: a myth. We
should admire the great players past and present, but not to the point of blind
adulation. Second, these games are yet another reminder of the need to be alert
and informed about even the “simplest” of positions. Finally and
of the most immediate importance, the endings we’ll look at are fundamental
ones, and the errors made by Capa and his opponents are ones we should know
how to avoid. So whether you’re coming for the Schadenfreude or to improve
your endgames, there’s something to enjoy!
Dennis
Monokroussos is 37, lives in South Bend, IN (the site of the University
of Notre Dame), and is writing a Ph.D. dissertation in philosophy (in the philosophy
of mind) while adjuncting at the University.
He is fairly inactive as a player right now, spending most of his non-philosophy
time being a husband and teaching chess. At one time he was one of the strongest
juniors in the U.S., but quit for about eight years starting in his early 20s.
His highest rating was 2434 USCF, but he has now fallen to the low-mid 2300s
– "too much blitz, too little tournament chess", he says.
Dennis has been working as a chess teacher for seven years now, giving lessons
to adults and kids both in person and on the internet, worked for a number
of years for New York’s Chess In The Schools program, where
he was one of the coaches of the 1997-8 US K-8 championship team from the Bronx,
and was very active in working with many of CITS’s most talented juniors.
When Dennis Monokroussos presents a game, there are usually two main areas
of focus: the opening-to-middlegame transition and the key moments of the middlegame
(or endgame, when applicable). With respect to the latter, he attempts to present
some serious analysis culled from his best sources (both text and database),
which he has checked with his own efforts and then double-checked with his
chess software.
Dennis Monokroussos' Radio
ChessBase lectures begin on Mondays at 9 p.m. EDT, which translates
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time zones can be found below. You can use Fritz
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