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Chess Combination Handbook: 1000 Tactical Exercises for Serious Tournament Training
Ready to get better at chess? Ready to put in some effort? Or do you just need to stay sharp before the next tournament? Here are 1000 positions for you to solve. These problems are a bit harder than many popular tactics books being produced now. Most are several moves long, although there are many 1-movers to keep you alert. There is no categorization (eg. "pins", "skewers", "queen sac", etc.). Each position comes at you in random fashion, so you don't know what to look for.
What do the best players in history say about solving tactical exercises?
"Just as the pianist practices the most complicated pieces to improve the technique of his fingers, so too a grandmaster must keep his vision in trim by daily analysis of positions with sharp possibilities, and this applies whether he prefers such positions in his play or not. So we conclude that whatever your inclinations you must have combinational vision and keep it in regular trim by practicing analysis of positions which have sharp or forcing possibilities." - Alexander Kotov in "Play Like A Grandmaster"
"Tactics involve calculations that can tax the human brain, but when you boil them down, they are actually the simplest part of chess and are almost trivial compared to strategy." - Garry Kasparov
"It is ... impossible to keep one's excellence in a little glass casket, like a jewel, to take it out whenever wanted. On the contrary, it can only be conserved by continuous and good practice." - Adolph Anderssen
"Analysis is a glittering opportunity for training: it is just here that capacity for work, perseverence and stamina are cultivated, and these qualities are, in truth, as necessary to a chess player as a marathon runner." - Lev Polugaevsky
"Chess mastery essentially consists of analyzing chess positions accurately." - Mikhail Botvinnik
"It is a profound mistake to imagine that the art of combination depends only on natural talent, and that it cannot be learned. Every player knows that all (or almost all) combinations arise from a recollection of familiar elements." - Richard Reti
".. we conclude that study and hard work will enable anyone interested in the subject to develop his eye for combinations." - Alexander Kotov
- Every solution is brought to a quiescent position where the win or draw is fairly obvious. If you find other solutions or disagree with the evaluation, play things out against a chess engine. If you find you were correct, it means you are getting better!
- for longer wins or draws, the main line is generally the one which prolongs the game as much as possible or which loses the least amount of material. In many cases the main idea of the initial tactical sequence is given only in a variation.
- for one or two move wins, any obvious move or recapture is usually given in order to demonstrate the main idea.
- Some of the solutions are rather lengthy and many give a number of embedded variations. Well, this is what serious tournament chess is all about! If you are unable to envision the board through these lines using just the diagram, by all means you should set up the positions and play through the solutions on a board. Try to burn the pattern into your head before moving to the next problem. The best players are so good in part because they practice their tactics regularly and have seen thousands of combinational patterns. Remember, using your Kindle you are able to establish Bookmarks. So if any problems are ones you'd like to "remember" and play over again, set a bookmark!
- To simulate tournament conditions, the diagrams are given from the point of view of the side to move.
Each position can be a win or a draw, you have to decide whether the position is favorable or on the edge of losing, in which case you need to look for the saving moves.
This book is made for Kindle. If you size the font properly, you should be able to view each diagram and then "page down" to view the diagram with the solution.
