After switching to OTB chess months ago I committed to spending at least 45 min. per day on tactics exercises. The first few months were pretty boring:
1. Set up the position
2. Write down the answer
3. Get it right - move on. Get it wrong, play over the correct sequence of moves 4 times.
4. Go on to the next exercise.
5. 6 days a week
The first 2 months yielded little in the way of improvement, and then - - It did! Repetition of the previously incorrect answers allowed my mediocre brain to remember tactical lessons that I would normally have forgotten. My rating has improved 175+ points in the last 6 months and am now defeating opponents at my chess club and OTB events that have routinely defeated me.
The tactics grind can be pretty boring at times, but it gets a lot more interesting when see your progress and start winning! 🙂
@mchill
it has been proven solving tactical positions work and you are correct there
is no quick fix. You must persevere and 'suddenly' things fall into place.
You start to spot faces in the crowd. (pattern recognition)
I do a few a day (true) I have two puzzles books by my bed and I make an
effort to do every one in CHESS magazine. The first 12 are pretty easy but
after that comes the toughies. And I'm always on the look out for a blog puzzle.
Every puzzle I have ever posted I have solved.
The best book of puzzles? All of them. They all do a job and worthwhile.
But if I must give an answer - I'll go for two.
I cut my teeth on 1001 Winning Chess Combinations by Reinfeld and can
honestly say I've gone through it twice.. My copy is battered, scribbled on
under the diagrams and falling to bits.
The other 'Chess Combinations' by Kurt Richter edited by Golz and Keres.
Excellent and a number of the games you get the opening moves and play into
the critical position whichI find better than setting up the position from a diagram.
@greenpawn34 saidThe best book of puzzles? All of them.
@mchill
it has been proven solving tactical positions work and you are correct there
is no quick fix. You must persevere and 'suddenly' things fall into place.
You start to spot faces in the crowd. (pattern recognition)
I do a few a day (true) I have two puzzles books by my bed and I make an
effort to do every one in CHESS magazine. The first 12 are pretty easy ...[text shortened]... nd play into
the critical position whichI find better than setting up the position from a diagram.
Agreed. I started on Chess Tactics for Champions by Susan Polgar and am now about 80% through The Woodpecker Method by Smith and Tikkanen. Being consistent with one's efforts is more important than the book title.
@greenpawn34 saidI used to try the puzzles in the study section on here.
@mchill
it has been proven solving tactical positions work and you are correct there
is no quick fix. You must persevere and 'suddenly' things fall into place.
You start to spot faces in the crowd. (pattern recognition)
I do a few a day (true) I have two puzzles books by my bed and I make an
effort to do every one in CHESS magazine. The first 12 are pretty easy ...[text shortened]... nd play into
the critical position whichI find better than setting up the position from a diagram.
I can't do that anymore because I have the same problem as with your blogs,The board is too big to fit my chromebook screen
@RooksandHooks saidYou can'r I'm afraid.
@venda
you can reduce the size buddy ?
On the games you can by using the slider,but on the blogs and puzzles it doesn't have any effect.
Russ knows about it.
@RooksandHooks saidWe have a desktop thanks.If I was desperate I could use it.As I have said to Russ,it's not that important.I believe it's the same for phone users.I'm surprised others haven't mentioned it.
@venda
you dont have a desktop for the mean time ?? get cheap ones off fbook market place ;-)
@RooksandHooks saidI don't think this is a big issue.
if we love the game so much, its not really a big deal, i wouldn't stop on the basis of a screen lol
Venda is clear that he is happy with how he has set it up to suit himself.
We must celebrate that you and Venda have so much in common like chess and more want to talk about it in the forums.
It is a good thing.
It means we are human.
It is our last stand before AI takes over.
The book that first helped me a great deal is "Combination Challenge!" by Lou Hays. It's a book of just chess diagrams, which tell you whose move it is, and you have to solve each puzzle. There may be several moves to solve a puzzle. You are not to use a chessboard, but you solve each puzzle right from the book. In all, there are more than 1100 puzzles taken from master games, and you are not to spend more than 5 minutes on each one. Work on no more than 20 per day every day, or even less, and it will take about 2 months to go through the book. Then you set it aside for a month, and do the entire book all over again, just like you did the first time, but this time work on as many as you can per day. But you must work on this every day. After all that, you will begin seeing all sorts of recognizable patterns and combinations in your games.
@mchill
Congrats on reaching that moment where it becomes apparent that the daily training really has been worthwhile! 🙂
(I've had a similar experience in an unrelated area recently.)
Also, since you play OTB, I think you have the right idea to do tactics on the board, instead of just looking at a screen.
This topic had me imagining an electronic board that would move the pieces into the next puzzle position using magnets -- but that might be mechanically impossible or the cost would be out of reach for most.
@Arkturos saidAlso, since you play OTB, I think you have the right idea to do tactics on the board, instead of just looking at a screen.
@mchill
Congrats on reaching that moment where it becomes apparent that the daily training really has been worthwhile! 🙂
(I've had a similar experience in an unrelated area recently.)
Also, since you play OTB, I think you have the right idea to do tactics on the board, instead of just looking at a screen.
This topic had me imagining an electronic board that woul ...[text shortened]... ing magnets -- but that might be mechanically impossible or the cost would be out of reach for most.
Thank You. It seems like a pretty old-world technique in our cyberspace age, but for some reason, I tend to remember the lessons longer when I have to pick up the pieces and move them, as opposed to a few mouse clicks.
This topic had me imagining an electronic board that would move the pieces into the next puzzle position using magnets -- but that might be mechanically impossible or the cost would be out of reach for most.There are boards that will automatically moves the pieces (although I don't know if they can be configured to automatically set up puzzle positions). The prices seem to be consistently around $700 usd.
They also claim to be AI powered, so they might decide to overthrow humanity and rise up and revolt in the middle of a chess puzzle. Which could make solving the puzzle a bit challenging.