How to use the Thematic.

Some excellent questions have been raised by the participants that have signed up so let me address some of them here.

Remember the whole purpose of the Thematic is to help you to bring back the spirit of enquiry and learning and not to win. That will come later k? Another strong point of the Thematic is that I encourage peer sharing during the training tournament. I have found that peer sharing is one of the best ways to accelerate learning.

So this is how you use the Thematic.

For the French player.

You may currently be playing Winawer, Advance, Tarrasch, Exchange Variation or Classical as your strongest weapon. That is fine. However for the Thematic, I encourage you to try out the other treatments. So if you are a Winawer player say, try out the exchange variation, the classical. Why? Your French can only become stronger the more territories you know about your opening. This will help you achieve a more complete understanding. Know this; ultimately you are playing chess, not a line. Do you remember what Sun Tsu said about territories?

For the non French player.

You are learning French not because you are considering French as one of your primary weapons. You are coming to the Thematic to learn what French can teach you about the control of squares. After the Thematic you may or may not want to consider French as a side weapon for certain opponents but that will be up to you. After 10 games you will have a better inclination whether you want to do that or not.

So try out as many variations from the materials given as is comfortable before you come to the training event. But do not stress yourself out. Learning is best achieved when you have "fun" while doing it. :)

All my best for Malaysian chess.

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