1. Kuala Lumpur
    Joined
    28 Dec '05
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    28 Dec '05 13:481 edit
    Hi everyone,

    I am a beginner to chess and I have read some beginner books and know some advance basics. I am told that reading tactics would be the next step and just keep doing tactical problems. From Jeremy Silman's recommendation books on Tactics in HTRYC he listed Winning Chess Tactics and The Art of Chess Combination. So which one should I get?

    For Winning Chess Tactics, I would have to order it from Amazon.com and it is way more expensive compared to the other because then I would have to pay International Shipping too. I can get The Art of Chess Combination for a very cheap price in the local bookshop not to mention there is a wait of 2 weeks from Amazon for WCT. The question is, is The Art of Chess Combination just as good or is WCT more worth the wait?

    I plan to also get 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations after reading a book on tactics as they contain many puzzles and I wish to memorize these positions in my head.

    What do you think?
  2. back in business
    Joined
    25 Aug '04
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    28 Dec '05 14:14
    Originally posted by stanloh

    I plan to also get 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations after reading a book on tactics as they contain many puzzles and I wish to memorize these positions in my head.
    waste of money.

    http://www.braillechess.net/epd.pl?%25253F
  3. Kuala Lumpur
    Joined
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    28 Dec '05 15:07
    Wow a great site indeed. The thing is, the website doesn't categorize it into its respective categories and the answer doesn't seem to tell what happens next, it just give a one move solution and thats it.

    Perhaps the book would be more informative?
  4. back in business
    Joined
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    28 Dec '05 16:17
    yeah well of course a good book is much more informative. personally, I like the fact that puzzles arent categorized and can be randomly selected. but best part is using it does not cost anything...
  5. Hinesville, GA
    Joined
    17 Aug '05
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    12481
    28 Dec '05 19:04
    Originally posted by stanloh
    Hi everyone,

    I am a beginner to chess and I have read some beginner books and know some advance basics. I am told that reading tactics would be the next step and just keep doing tactical problems. From Jeremy Silman's recommendation books on Tactics in HTRYC he listed Winning Chess Tactics and The Art of Chess Combination. So which one should I get?

    F ...[text shortened]... contain many puzzles and I wish to memorize these positions in my head.

    What do you think?
    Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player by GM Lev Alburt and GM Sam Palatnik. Lev Alburt is a World Class CHess coach for all levels. If you want to get into deep tactical combinations six moves and beyond, try out Killer Chess Tactics by Skamkovich (I think that's how you spell it; he's truly an old genius though), Keres and some other Grandmasters who compiled the text. Then, there's 1001 Combinations blah blah blah... If you're going to do the de la Maza trip, then go for that as well.
  6. Edmonton, Alberta
    Joined
    25 Nov '04
    Moves
    2101
    28 Dec '05 22:29
    I read winning chess tactics and its really good. Theres only 200 problems though. It very good for learning tactics but you should get another book or find puzzles online to practise some more after you are done reading the book and doing the 200 puzzles.
  7. Joined
    21 Sep '05
    Moves
    3051
    29 Dec '05 03:04
    Another good tactics book is Pandolfini's "Chess Target Practice." It has 200 problems, with complete explanation for solving each one. It's the first tactics book I have tackled, and it is really helping me see tactical possibilities.

    Another good tactics website is http://chess.emrald.net/index.php
  8. Standard memberRanulf
    FIDE Ranked Holstein
    Cow Town, USA
    Joined
    14 Aug '04
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    1745
    29 Dec '05 06:05
    Hi...it all depends on your level of tactics skill. The highest recommendation I can give is for the
    Seirawan and Silman "Winning Chess Tactics." It's a good, basic book, but Seirawan is an expert
    not only at chess but at teaching and he explains things much better than the average author.
    The nice thing about it, is that you go through it and are tested over the tactics you've learned at
    the end of every chapter. At the end of the book, Seirawan presents you with three sets of tactical
    problems, easy, medium, and hard. You have to solve them and score at a certain level for Yasser
    to say that you're ready to go on. After that, you should look into the Polgar book on chess. It's
    mammoth, but you'll never be for want of a chess problem. Go through the first 450 problems over
    and over until you can do them with relative ease. After that, more advanced study is required and
    you should get better recommendations. There's a good article on studying tactics on www.chessville.com.

    Hope this helps!

    p.s. The 1001 problems are public domain and can also be downloaded from chessville.com.

    Ranulf
  9. Kuala Lumpur
    Joined
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    29 Dec '05 08:39
    Thanks for the great suggestions, I will defenitly try and check those books out.

    Nobody read The Art of Chess Combination before? Bummer.
  10. Joined
    27 Mar '05
    Moves
    88
    29 Dec '05 11:25
    you can check this site out as well

    http://www.entertainmentjourney.com/index1.htm
  11. Standard memberwormwood
    If Theres Hell Below
    We're All Gonna Go!
    Joined
    10 Sep '05
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    10228
    29 Dec '05 12:02
    Originally posted by Ranulf
    ... Seirawan is an expert
    not only at chess but at teaching and he explains things much better than the average author....
    I just watched seirawan's pro chess dvd, and althought I had read and liked his 'winning chess openins', it still blew me away how good a teacher he really is. It's very rare to come by such pedagogic skills, at least in academic world.

    I also hear the bain book 'chess tactics for students' is good for beginners, but haven't read it myself.
  12. Kuala Lumpur
    Joined
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    467
    01 Jan '06 14:24
    One question, after studying tons of tactics and I become lets say, 1500-1600, can I even win games? I mean, I may know how to get the upper hand when it comes to material but in the end of the day, I don't know how to transform that material advantage into a win. Should I maybe lightly touch on some checkmate endgame situation books for example "Winning Chess Endings" by Seirawan or perhaps I should do lots of checkmate puzzles?

    What do you think?
  13. back in business
    Joined
    25 Aug '04
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    1264
    01 Jan '06 16:24
    Originally posted by stanloh
    One question, after studying tons of tactics and I become lets say, 1500-1600, can I even win games? I mean, I may know how to get the upper hand when it comes to material but in the end of the day, I don't know how to transform that material advantage into a win. Should I maybe lightly touch on some checkmate endgame situation books for example "Winning Che ...[text shortened]... Endings" by Seirawan or perhaps I should do lots of checkmate puzzles?

    What do you think?
    first of all, you should just play and analyze games and worry later.
  14. Canukistan
    Joined
    04 May '04
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    6457
    01 Jan '06 16:53
    There are different kinds of books on chess tactics but I notice they all sort of get lumped together. A book like "Winning Chess Tactics" is a great first book on tactics because it explains the tactics to you. Most of the tactical problems it includes are there to further illustrate the motifs being discussed and to ensure you understand them. There are other excellent books of this type, but WCT is the one I'm familiar with and I can certainly recommend it. Books that are more or less purely devoted to chess problems are a good next step, but here again there are differences. They may be devoted to anything from elementary tactics to chess brain twisters. It is a mistake to think that doing the most difficult problems is the best approach. Before choosing a book of chess puzzles I recommend reading Dan Heisman's Chess Cafe article "A Different Approach to Studying Tactics" http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman04.pdf

    My final thought: I find that going through a book of chess puzzles, especially as Heisman and others recommend, is best done along side other books you may be reading. Don't put off learning other aspects of the game until you have completed tactical study, and don't stop going through a few puzzles every day just because you are reading a book devoted to some other aspect of the game.
  15. Kuala Lumpur
    Joined
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    467
    01 Jan '06 21:20
    I will do that, my question is how do I analyze games? Do I need some sort of program? I have the new Deep Fritz GM Deluxe but I hardly use it.
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