Greenpawn and I have praised this book many times.
I say go for it.
Play through these games, and you will see hundreds of different tactical ideas.
You can also learn how to seize your chance when the opportunity presents itself.
(No one wins a miniature by playing passively or on defense.)
I still read it by myself and also go over with all my chessplaying friends (of various levels).
Great book.
Often wondered if just looking at tactical postions and asking the
student to find the shot is really doing any good.
How do we get these positions, what has happened to reach this?
Here you see you how a better developed side switches into action.
(probably more beneficial than solving the actual puzzle itself).
How a small slip some 6 or 7 moves earlier has allowed one
side to set himself up for combo.
My only gripe with this book is no opening index,
Though this really is a good thing, tactics and traps can come
from any opening and some 'dull' openings can produce fireworks.
Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and ordered it, especially since my subscription to Monthly Chess Instructor was refunded, had some extra money around. I've recently started to see the importance of jumping out early in a lot of my games, starting a journal/log really helped with that, and when Greenpawn posted 200 miniatures a while back I got some good stuff from playing through those. Hopefully it will keep panning out for me.
P
That's true.
It's good learning watching how players punish slack play in every opening
and you will soon see some of the tactical ideas appearing in your games.
I use to know a site were you could get the games but no notes.
(Infact Chernev's notes are very light, just amusing intro's and a comment
here and there.)
Like Paul I often grab the book at random and skip through a few games.
The plan being to play over a few catoons before hitting the hay.
Often a bad idea as I'm still there 2 hours later pulling some game
to pieces especially of I see a counter trap.
Every Black win can be produced by White a tempo down I try to
created the game with a White win losing a tempo.
Or experiment with daftness.
A basic example.