From the January 2002 interview with Jan Timmerman:
Q. How many hours a week do you spend analysing your correspondence games?
A. It is difficult to answer that question, of course. By estimation, I analyse on an average 2/3 hours
a day. Of course there are days with no analysis at all, but when the situation demands it, and the time is available, I can
analyse 4/5/6 hours a day.
Q. What can you tell our readers about your methods of opening preparation and analysis? Do computers
play much role in this?
A. My opening preparation before the start of the tournament is not very systematic. In fact at first, during
the development of the games, I compare the actual positions with previously played games in databases, and search further
for published theory as far as it is relevant to the actual games.
In my experience, in CC games opponents usually choose different variations from what one would expect on
the basis of information about them in databases (which are generally a couple of years old).
Computers play a role in the opening-research to find out what has been played in the past, and thereafter
I try to find new ideas. But I do not use a chess-program to search for the moves for me. I am constantly looking for a principal
running thread to give “structure” to a game.
The difference between CC-players is not made any more by tactical opportunities, but by “seducing”
the adversary into a, for him, wrong (positional) “train” from which there is no escape anymore. Of course you
can use a chess-program for control on tactical mistakes.
I think that a opponent who relies only on the choice of a computer, and does not start from his own “natural”
resources, will very quickly reach his chess-heights with no room for improvement.
Q. How do you see the impact of powerful chess computers on correspondence chess? Is it changing
the way you play the game?
A. I answered you already above in this matter (see your question above about the role of the computer in
analysis). I think that mankind is still capable to surpass the computer in finding the good moves. Especially in CC-chess,
where human beings can prevent the mistakes committed due to time-pressure committed in the OTB play, with its more and more
faster speed of play.
For fun, I have walked through all my 608 moves in WC-15 with a chess-program after the finish of the WC,
and the result of this investigation was that in more than 50% of cases the computer gave other moves than I have played!
It is not changing my way to play the CC-game, because I still want to try my own ideas, for better or for
worse.
