> Silman, Jeremy. _The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery_. Siles Press, 1999. # The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery - Silman's system of training revolves around dynamic and static differences, a.k.a. imbalances, that exist in every board position. - List of imbalances: - Minor pieces (bishop v. knights) - Pawn structure - Space - Material - Files and Squares - Development - Initiative ## The Battle Between Bishops and Knight 1. Bishops and Knights are both worth three points. 2. Bishops are best in open positions where pawns don't block their diagonals. 3. Bishops are very strong in endgames where both sides have passed pawns that are dashing to their respective queen squares. 4. The term "bad Bishop" means that your Bishop is situated on the same color as your center pawns. If you have a bad Bishop, you want to: 1. Trade it for a piece of equal value. 2. Get the pawns off the color of your Bishop. 3. Get the Bishop outside the pawn chain. It will still be bad, but it will be active. 5. A Bishop's weakness is that is it stuck on one color for the whole game. 6. Knights love closed positions with locked pawns. 7. Knights usually stand better in the center of the board. 8. Since Knights are short-range pieces, they need to have secure, advanced homes (a.k.a. support points) to be effective.