the B Formula (General)

by Southpaw , Saturday, April 30, 2005, 02:06 (7295 days ago) @ Naughty Knight

A few thoughts -

I too had a few problems with the download - and my thanks to the team for their help there. I think the "how not to play the opening" is meant to be the parts of the 'quiz' where you're required to find a strong reply for the opposing side. Likewise the How Good Is Your Chess bit seems to be incorporated in the quiz too. I also looked around to see if I was missing something in the download. The sales blurb does seem to be a touch misleading on that score. But I too cannot find the "100 game database", so that would indeed appear to be genuinely missing. There are well over 100 games on both openings in the Fritz database, but that's hardly the point.

I'm just not too sure about the viabilities of the openings given. They just seem to be a bit too eccentric for my tastes - particularly the Sokolsky - and a touch limited. I'd have preferred a repertoire more along the lines of the repertoire books on such as the Colle, Modern Defence etc. "Why not just buy those books then?" you might say - well I have, but it was the idea of learning openings interactively that appealed. I realise though that space considerations may have rendered such an endeavour unrealistic.

But the material given is well presented and the format is good. If you don't mind playing such slightly eccentric openings consistently , it may well be what you're looking for.

? A couple of things about the B-formula, I bought it a couple of weeks ago
? and it does do what it says on the tin - its quick easy and efficent to
? learn, so top marks there. I wonder if anything has been added to a 'new
? version', as there are a few things on the 'sales pitch' which didn't
? appear on my download, such as:
?
? ---------------------------------------------------------
?
? Warning
? I will also show how not to play the opening in question. Forewarned is
? forearmed!
?
? Training
? Finally I will present a series of training games in How Good is Your
? Chess format, where you will be invited to guess the next move at
? virtually every stage, thus learning more about the nuts and bolts of each
? opening in question.
?
? ----------------------------------------------------------
?
? There was also talk on the E-book of a 100 game database on each opening
? with games for private study.
?
?
? I am wondering if these features are going to appear at a later edition?
?
? Cheers!
?
? NK
?
? p.s. Although I agree with one of the post who says tactics and planning
? are more important than opening prep, nevertheless, most players agree
? they need some sort of opening repertoire (whatever their standard), and
? the B-formula more than fills that gap.