how do you get good at tactics?

do you solve a bunch of puzzles out of books? is there another less painstaking way to get good? it seems that just playing im not making much progress and i can only spot the easiest tactics in games most players can dodge. i have chessmaster 10 and did the tactical lessons. should i play the computer at a level of skill below mine and try to spot tactics and maybe just move up after a while? i dont know what to do.

chess.emrald.net . . . im on right now 🙂

http://chess.emrald.net

This site has tactics that you don't need a book for. I find these nicer than using a book.

I think practice helps most. It'll help you recognize the patterns faster and better.

Originally posted by jvanhine
chess.emrald.net . . . im on right now 🙂

You beat me to it! 😛

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
You beat me to it! 😛

cheer up, the silver medal isnt that bad 😉

Originally posted by jvanhine
cheer up, the silver medal isnt that bad 😉

There's no second place in chess 😵

i study alot because if i lose my daddy makes me go in the bad boy cage.

lol, yeah.. .especially when you roll with Clan 24683 😀

heres one i just played.. http://chess.emrald.net/psolution.php?
Pos=24452

edit: meant to quote pawn..

so the only way to get better is to solve puzzles? is there any other way ?

go over master games.

just play. I don't do any reading or puzzles. I just play and learn as I go.

Originally posted by Ramned
just play. I don't do any reading or puzzles. I just play and learn as I go.

Playing is definitely a critical part.

I have found that doing tactics has helped me within my games, but the games are the key. Tactics are useless if you're not actually playing games.

10 min games! 2500 of them sharpened my tactics

This improvement plan might give you a few ideas.

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf

Edit - Also this one is interesting -

http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman04.pdf

What not to do. We have a player in our club who came in and since he had no opponent at the moment took out some photocopy pages of chess diagrams of tactics. He sat there and moved the pieces around trying to find the combination that worked. When i walked over to see if i could solve it, he looked up and said, "i think i have it, but i'm working on the right order of moves." he took the e pawn with a bishop, then moved the pieces around, taking them off the board, replacing them, etc. I said, Who's going to let you do that during a game?"
"What do you mean?"
"You should sit on your hands and move the pieces around in your head. That's what you do during the game."
"But this combination is about eight moves deep."
"If it's too much for you now, the exercises are too hard." I told him, "Start with one or two movers and work your way up."
"But my teacher gave me these!"
I didn't ask him how much he was paying the teacher. I didn't tell him to get his own book of tactics puzzles, with some a lot simpler than the one he was doing. If he didn't pay his teacher, he could probably buy a bunch of puzzle books.