Guys, I discovered a strategy course better than ICS but same idea

The course name is: Basic Principles of Chess Strategy by Alexey Bartashnikov
LOL no, I'm not getting paid or anything. I had this in my collection of twelve gorillion billion trillion digital chess stuff.

I felt increasingly disappointed with the ICS course; The exercises are to me not rewarding and a second thing I noticed recently, especially for month 7, is that the author often does not explain the nature of things. For example in month 7, pawn phalanxes are explained. But first of all the author uses his own type of phalanxes, so it seems, but doesn't explain their nature the way he sees them. Tells you what to do with it, more or less and shows example games. And I'm not even sure the best example games are selected.

So I searched in my own collection for stuff about phalanxes and stumbled upon this course. Well, this course doesn't have a topic on this subject, but explains everything else simply better. The chosen games are also better, albeit fewer in numbers (3 to 4 per subject). But that's a good thing. Quality of quantity. No need to hang with one subject for a long time. He also covers a few more things, such as one more type of center (Fixated Center). On top of that, Hanging Pawns is also a type of center!

The good thing is that after three days it became far clearer to why the specific order of learning things. For example, first study isolated pawn, then backward pawn, then the d-isolani and only then the hanging pawns (a double c-d file isolani if you will).  That's because hanging pawns combine these three subjects!

Everything makes more sense now and the course has everything in the right order. I have part 1, 2 and 3, which also covers strategy for endgames.

The need for something like ICS I feel is indeed justified I feel, but something better exists with a slightly faster pace too. But as always, don't just "learn" but make the topics part of your natural thinking process. So repeat chapters, but it's far more doable I feel.

When I looked at my files I also find the same course! I don't remember when I got it, but it must be many years ago. And as much of my chess materiel, I have not read or studied it!  

"I felt increasingly disappointed with the ICS course; The exercises are to me not rewarding"
I feel much the same way. But I continue, and hopefully some of the exercises are in the long run good for me.

But as usually, it's hard work and there are no shortcuts.

MSiipola wrote:...it's hard work and there are no shortcuts.

The very definition of studying chess.