Müller, Engel & Rafiee: The Human Factor in Chess - The Testbook

Joachim Beyer Verlag

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Produktnummer: 10036-E

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Produktinformationen "Müller, Engel & Rafiee: The Human Factor in Chess - The Testbook"

Find out your Player Type

After the great success of the first book (The Human Factor in Chess) on the model of the four player types, this follow-up volume contains not only specific tasks and exercises but also general questions such as: Do you prefer to calculate concrete lines or do you make your decisions more intuitively? Do you have a good sense of harmony and coordination?

This approach is intended to enable the reader to assign himself to one of the player types and find out whether he belongs to the activists or rather to the pragmatists, theorists or reflectors. The result allows to draw conclusions in order to further expand the individual strengths or to develop a more universal playing style overall.

Because even if you usually win thanks to your strengths, it makes sense to work on your own weaknesses as well. Of course, if there is only one move in a position, you should be able to find it. Playstyles are especially important in positions where you have a great choice. However, they also play a role when you choose the type of position, which you should strive for based on your style.

Interestingly, a playstyle can also be imitated, which may even be the appropriate strategy against certain opponents. For example, certain characteristics stand out clearly in activists, and being able to adjust to them as an opponent is of course very valuable. A good example is Kramnik's win over activist Kasparov (at the London 2000 world championship match). Since Kramnik always managed to steer the game in the direction appropriate to his style, his big opponent never had the chance to demonstrate his own strengths in positions with attack and initiative.

While 'The Human Factor' was about a clear distinction of the four playing styles, this book aims to emphasize the universality of each player. After solving the tasks tailored to the four player types, it becomes clear how your own competencies are distributed. Accordingly, GM Vincent Keymer states in his foreword:

"Even if the further development of one's own player personality to a universal player who unites all player types may remain a utopia, it's still worth pursuing."

206 Seiten, kartoniert, Joachim Beyer Verlag

Review by Alexey Root in August 2023

Grandmaster (GM) Karsten Müller, GM Luis Engel, and FIDE Master Makan Rafiee are the authors of The Human Factor in Chess - The Testbook, subtitled „Find out your Player Type.“ Published in 2023 by JBV Books, it is a follow-up volume to 2020’s The Human Factor in Chess, subtitled „4 types of players with their strengths and weaknesses.“ GM Vincent Keymer wrote the forewords to both the 2020 and 2023 volumes. USCF Sales carries the 2023 book for $24.95.

The following review also appeared on SparkChess in July 2023. I write for SparkChess twice a month.

What is your Player Type?

Do you prefer to calculate concrete lines, or do you make your decisions more intuitively? Do you have a good sense of harmony and coordination? The Human Factor in Chess - The Testbook helps you discover your Player Type through tasks and exercises.

The four Player Types are Activist, Theorist, Reflector, and Pragmatic. According to The Human Factor in Chess - The Testbook, knowing your Player Type allows you „to draw conclusions in order to further expand the individual strengths or to develop a more universal playing style overall.“

Chess Problems

While I found excerpts from Keymer’s 2020 foreword online, I could not find sample pages online from the 2023 volume. Publisher JBV Books mailed a review copy of The Human Factor in Chess - The Testbook to me. Here is a link (two problems on page 13) of the first two chess problems from the first chapter about Activists.

Answers

For the first problem, on the left, I initially considered 17. c3, using my c-pawn to defend my d-pawn. Then my knight could leave that pawn’s defense and attack Black’s king. But then I found 17.Bxg6! I was influenced by the problem being in the „Activist“ chapter. I figured an active move was expected.

In my opinion, finding „How should White continue?“ in the first problem is harder than deciding, in the second problem at right in the photo above, if Nf5 is good or bad. After all, I have a 50% chance to guess correctly regarding the quality of Nf5. Yet designating Nf5 as a good move got me 2 AP (Activist Points) while finding 17.Bxg6 got me 1 AP.

I could not find the authors’ formula for how points are awarded. Nonetheless, I enjoyed earning points. Also, I learned from the authors’ explanations of why the correct answers were superior to other moves.

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