Secrets of a Grandpatzer: How to Beat Most People and Computers at Chess

Secrets of a Grandpatzer is the outstanding work by world renowned psychiatrist Kenneth Mark Colby. Mr Colby began this project by trying to help himself become a better player and to raise his United States Chess Federation rating. Drawing from many different sources,such as the late USCF Senior Master Ken Smith,Colby put together a book that is designed to help a low rated player with a United States Chess Federation rating of 1799 and below, which is sometimes called a Patzer,raise their skill level and USCF rating to 1800 to 2200 which would be a Grand Patzer. Colby covers all aspects of chess including the Opening,Middlegame,and Endgame which can be played against computers and even the mental ego game. He recommends that you play like a computer since a computer doesn't care who or what it plays since it is just the position on the board that counts. Colby recommends playing openings that have similar middle games despite whether you are playing on the white or black side. By playing over hundreds of master games in this system you get a feel for the positions on the board. This is a time saver if you are playing the faster time controls they have today. In the Middle Game section, I would add the internet site Chessgames.com as a source of master games. The Endgame section is priceless by showing you which endgames to study.