Tactics Books

This tactics book by FIDE Senior Trainer Grandmaster Jakov Geller teaches the reader how to create mate threats and execute them using a mixture of combination techniques, as well as how to deploy all key defensive techniques to combat mate threats. Unlike most tactics books, the text provides readers with a detailed explanation of all elements of a mating combination, both individually and when combined with others. This knowledge enables the reader to identify tactical opportunities in their game and execute them or defend against them with confidence.

This book contains 1,000 carefully selected examples, of which 924 are exercises for the reader to solve. They begin with simple one-move illustrations of the concepts and then go on to more complex tests, with many featuring combinations of 5-6 moves and sometimes more. The book is split into 28 chapters, the majority of which focus on defending against mate threats. Nine defensive techniques are given their own chapters. With every new defensive technique studied, the combinations in subsequent chapters become increasingly diverse. The difficulty level of exercises in each chapter hence gradually increases.

This work is a direct sequel to the book 1500 Forced Mates published by the author with Elk and Ruby in 2021 and is intended for a wide audience of chess improvers.

The best place to start your tactics training is in the endgame! Chess is 99% tactics – and if you want to win more games, nothing works better than training tactics. Win a piece or find a mate. That will get you results.

Since most of the pieces have left the board, endgame tactics have the clarity that enables you to grasp all basics concepts quickly and comprehensively. In the endgame, you can focus on what is important without any distractions by a couple of random pawns and pieces.

In 1001 Chess Endgame Exercises for Beginners, IM Thomas Willemze does two things at once. He explains all the basic concepts, and provides you with a huge amount of exercises for each theme and each chess piece. Willemze uses all his experience as a coach, and his familiarity with the famous Step Method, to carefully build up your chess knowledge step-by-step. He shows you the strength of all pieces, from the lonely pawn to the almighty queen. And he guides you from the basics to more complex tactics in a highly instructive puzzle rush.

Your second chess book

Solving puzzles is one of the most pleasant training exercises there are. This book of chess puzzles is intended for novice players who can already see simple mates and direct captures, but now wish to move up a level.

The book, containing 275 puzzles, begins with fairly simple tasks and ends with a set of puzzles that are somewhat more challenging.

All of the puzzles are provided with explanations to facilitate the understanding of what happened and the assimilation of tactical patterns.

Zenón Franco Ocampos was born in Asunción, Paraguay, on the 12th of May 1956. After living for many years in Buenos Aires, from the 1990s he has been based in Spain.

He was awarded the 2016 Isaac Boleslavsky Prize by the FIDE Trainers Commission in the ‘author’ section.

In 2016 the Honourable Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay awarded him the National Order of Community Merit, "in recognition of his invaluable and meritorious contribution to Paraguayan sport, with a long and successful sports career in this discipline..."

In 2001 he was named a “Beloved Son of the City of Asunción", by the Municipality of his home town and in 2001 he received the decoration "Honour to Sporting Merit" in 2001, granted by the National Sports Council of Paraguay.

Chess is 99% tactics. If this celebrated observation is true for the master, how much more so for beginners and casual players! If you want to win more games, nothing works better than training combinations.

There are two types of books on tactics, those that introduce the concepts followed by some examples, and workbooks that contain numerous exercises.

Chess masters and trainers Franco Masetti and Roberto Messa have done both: they explain the basic tactical ideas AND provide an enormous amount of exercises for each different theme. Masetti and Messa have created a great first tactics book. It teaches you how to:

• identify weak spots in the position of your opponent

• recognize patterns of combinations

• visualize tricks.

1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners can also be used as a course text book, because only the most didactically productive exercises have been used.

Who would be silly enough to resign a tournament game they were not losing? As Oops! I Resigned Again! shows, almost anyone – including some of the world’s best players!

Learn the stories behind the most embarrassing moment any chessplayer can suffer, while trying to outmatch the poor, unfortunate player who resigned. Indeed, this is the only chess puzzle book where you cannot do worse than the player in the game! Pit your wits against legends such as Kramnik, Nunn, Tarrasch and Timman, knowing that they failed the test and that you can, perhaps, do better.

Australian Grandmaster Ian Rogers has assembled 100 extraordinary positions in themed sets of 5 puzzles designed to both baffle and delight the solver, in a format which makes it easy to sneak a look at the answer!

With a foreword written by US Olympian Sam Shankland – baring his soul about his own silly resignation at a top level tournament – Oops! I Resigned Again! is a rare treat for chessplayers of all strengths, who after finishing the book will fervently hope never to have to say... Oops!

Goethe once wrote, “Everything is both simpler than we can imagine, and more complicated than we can conceive.” He could well have had chess endgames in mind. Endgames have fewer pieces on the board than middlegames but this does not necessarily make them “easier” to play or understand.

Tactical expertise is, understandably, generally associated with middlegame (and sometimes opening) positions. However, tactics are also crucial in endgames – a point that is sometimes overlooked. Even some quite simple looking pawn endgames can feature complex tactical ideas. Tactics in endgames also tend to be very different to middlegame tactics. As well as the familiar themes of pins, skewers and forks, endgames also feature unique concepts that rarely occur in middlegames such as pawn breakthroughs, manoeuvring for zugzwang and active use of the king as an aggressive unit.

In this book the highly experienced chess author and coach Cyrus Lakdawala guides the reader through the complexities of endgame tactical play. Lakdawala assembles positions that are most effective to improve tactical ability. Work your way through this book and you will undoubtedly see the results in your own games.

It is hard to understate the importance of tactic ability to overall chess proficiency. Of course other elements such as a knowledge of opening play and an understanding of strategy are also important. However, it is undoubtedly the case that 99% of games are won or lost because one player either spots or overlooks a tactic. Consider your own games and just imagine how much stronger you would be if you never overlooked a tactical idea.

The good news is that your tactical ability is not some genetically-acquired unalterable trait. Tactical ability can always be improved through the application of diligent practice. Tactical themes are repetitive. The same arrangements of pieces occur again and again and a continual study of the subtle interactions between the forces will inevitably lead to a greater sharpness in actual play.

In Tactical Training, experienced chess coach and prolific author Cyrus Lakdawala guides the reader through numerous tactical themes. Topics include:

– Checkmating patterns,

– The 32 major combinational concepts,

– Numerous positions ranked in terms of level of difficulty.

The final chapter focuses on a 2020 online match between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, currently the top two ranked players in blitz, the form of chess where tactics predominate.

The diverse set of tactical ideas involving two bishops in the finale will enable them to gain a deeper understanding of how the bishop pair combines.

The diverse set of tactical ideas involving two knights in the finale will enable them to gain a deeper understanding of how the knight pair combines.

In this follow-up to his acclaimed 1001 Chess Exercise for Club Players, FIDE Master Frank Erwich teaches you how to reach the next level of identifying weak spots in the position of your opponent, recognizing patterns of combinations, visualizing tricks and calculating effectively. Erwich repeats the themes of his previous book, focusing on exercises in which the key move is less obvious. He also introduces new, more sophisticated tactical weapons. They are geared towards the reality of the advanced club player (Elo 1800 – 2300): it is not enough to spot simple combinations, at this level you must be able to resist your reflexes and look deeper. In variations that look forcing you will always search for that deadly Zwischenzug. Quiet moves in general should be your new best friends. In short: an advanced club player should expect the unexpected. One of the celebrated elements of Erwich’s previous book, which is neglected in other books on tactics, is back: defence! You will also learn how to defend against tactics, as well as how to use tactical weapons when you are under heavy pressure. This is a complete and structured course, and not just a collection of freewheeling puzzles. Erwich starts every chapter with an instructive explanation of the tactical concept at hand and has carefully selected the most didactically productive exercises.

TACTICS TRAINER AVAILABLE! Working on chess tactics and checkmates will help you win more games. It develops your pattern recognition and your ‘board vision’ – your ability to capitalize on opportunities. This Workbook features a complete set of fundamental tactics, checkmate patterns, exercises, hints, and solutions. Peter Giannatos selected 738 exercises based on ten years of experience with thousands of pupils at the prize-winning Charlotte Chess Center. All problems are clean, without unnecessary fluff that detracts from their instructive value. The Workbook has ample room for writing down the solutions to the exercises. This is helpful for both students and coaches, who can assign homework from the book without having to worry about being unable to review the solutions. And writing down the correct chess moves will greatly accelerate your learning process. Everyone’s First Chess Workbook offers you a treasure trove of chess knowledge and more than enough lessons to keep you busy for a year!

2020 PUZZLE QUEST, selected and analysed by Ivan Ivanisevic: * Test your chess prowess and sharpen your tactical antenna, * 500 carefully selected exercises, * 5 levels of difficulty, * Practical training tool with detailed solutions. Study, practice and improve with our selection of tactical jewels!