Rizzitano presents lessons from his own experiences that will be most relevant to club and tournament players. He shows how by analyzing their own games, players can gain a greater understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and he explains they can shape their approach to chess to make the most of their abilities. Major topics include: Developing a reliable and coherent opening repertoire; The importance of understanding opening theory rather than simply memorizing it; Theoretical novelties: finding your own, and facing the opponent’s; Opening selection depending upon the nature of the game and event; Risk management and ‘playing for a win’; Competing successfully against higher-rated opposition; Accumulating small advantages: a safe method when the opponent plays for a draw; The power of the initiative: lighting a fire and keeping it burning.
About the Author
James Rizzitano is a strong international master who dominated chess in the New England region during a 14-year period from 1976 to 1989 – he won 157 out of 336 events in which he competed. His career highlights include victories over Alburt, Benjamin, Benko, Christiansen, Dlugy, I.Gurevich, and Wolff, and exciting draws with de Firmian, Larsen, Speelman, and the legendary former world champion Tal.
Reviews
“Overall, I found this book to fill a nice spot in chess literature. There are very few US players who have written a biography and given insight into what it takes to succeed in our tournaments. The games reinforce the instructional themes and vice versa. There is a lot of interesting material here and the reader will benefit from having an inside look. I recommend this book to tournament players seeking to improve.” — Lou Mercuri, Chess Horizons
“At first I wondered whether I loved the book because I know many of the players and I understood the tensions of New England chess. But far more than just the games (and their high quality) are the lessons that Rizzitano imparts. Never go to bed until you understand why you lost is perhaps the single best advice anyone could offer. Here you will find an insatiable desire to win, a thirst for the initiative, but throughout, a subjective commitment to careful chess.” — Jon Edwards, ChessCafe.com
“IM Rizzitano’s Understanding Your Chess succeeds both as an instructional work and as a game collection. I particularly enjoyed the vignette about his battles with National Master John Curdo, the measuring stick for New England players for several decades. Highly Recommended.” — John Donaldson