Chess is 99% tactics. This is a truism that is often repeated. I don't know if it's correct, or if it even makes sense to discuss the validity of the claim. But anyway you slice it, tactics are important. If you don't know your basic tactics, you'll get shredded on the board.
A while back, I decided that I would brush up on my basic tactics. This was based partly on recommendations from various sources, and partly on inspiration from people within the Twitter chess community (shout out to all #chesspunks out there!).
I don't think there is anything directly wrong with my tactical abilities, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ensure that I had a solid tactical Foundation before pursuing my more advanced studies. So I designed a training program for drilling basic tactics, drawing on a number of different books. Thus, I thought I would write another multi-book review, with focus on basic tactics books.
In this review I take on the following titles:
Chess tactics for students is a very basic chess book. This is a good choice if you are more or less new to the game. The book has 14 chapters. The first 13 cover basic tactics (pins, back rank combinations, Knight forks, double attacks, discovered checks, double checks, discovered attacks, skewers, double threats, promoting pawns, removing the guard, perpetual check, zugzwang and stalemate) and chapter 14 contains mixed puzzles.
One thing that is unique (?) about this book is the presentation of the puzzles (see image below). In addition to the diagrams, each puzzle is accompanied by a hint ("To Do"), a partially presented move sequence and an instruction ("How") which *almost* gives the solution. This means, that the puzzles can be solved at various levels of difficulty.
Bobby Fischer teaches chess has a similar approach as Bain's book. Some time ago, I read a review in which someone said that the title should be changed to "Bobby Fischer teaches checkmate", which is actually a good point. The book begins with a presentation of the the rules and very basics of the game (including how the pieces move). This is followed by six chapters - all dedicated to the art of checkmate. The first chapter presents the elements of checkmate, in which the reader is given various ways to mate (and some ways to escape mate). The second and third chapters focus on back-rank mates and various defenses. The fourth chapter is dedicated to mate by deflecting defensive pieces. The fifth chapter presents variations in which mate is delivered by capturing pawns in front of the king. The sixth and final chapter is a recap of all the different variations, in which the readers can test their new found abilities to checkmate the opponent. The book contains 275 positions to solve, all accompanied by a question, for instance "can White checkmate?". Similar to Bain's book, this gives the reader the opportunity to vary the level of difficulty, albeit to a lesser degree than above.
Continuing on the theme of checkmates, Chris Ward has written the book Starting out: Chess tactics and checkmates. Being a part of the "starting out" series is in itself an indication that this is a good book. Much like Bobby Fischer's book, this one also begins with a presentation of the rules and how the pieces move. But we move quite quickly to topics such as checkmate, stalemate, sacrifices and various tactical themes (forks, pins, skewers, discovered checks, double checks). After this introduction, the second chapter presents different flavors of checkmate. Chapter three is difficult to summarize. The title "more practical lessons" is an indication that the author found this equally difficult. Anyway, it presents a number of tactical applications. Chapter four follows along a similar line, and discusses deflection, forks and various ways to attack the castled king (paging dr. Vukovic). The fifth chapter is entirely dedicated to puzzles. Dig in and apply what you have learned.
Power chess for kids is not a book to be underestimated. In a previous post, I explained that you should not be fooled by a book title that contains the words "for kids". What Charles Hertan has done here is not only for kids. Yes, it is a basic chess book, but as a medium-level patzer, I still found some useful things in this book. Much like Jeff Coakley does in his books, Hertan uses different characters to help reinforce the points he is trying to make in the book. The chess computer Zort, chess dinosaur, power chess kid and chess professor all contribute with questions and comments. For instance the chess kid asks "what is a power move?" and the professor replies that "a power move is a winning tactic that requires thinking ahead 1.5 moves", and they go on to discuss why that is an awesome thing. The first chapter is dedicated to the 3 ply power moves. This is followed by a chapter on forks (ch 2), pins (ch 3), skewers (ch 4) and interference (ch 5). Each chapter contains a number of examples that are discussed by the characters in the book, followed by some exercises.
The fifth and final book in this review is the one that inspired the title of this post: Back to basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman. If you have not already realized, I have become a fan of Heisman's publications. I find his approach to chess books very appealing, since he writes for the intermediate level chess players such as you and me. This is a slightly more advanced book than the others in this review, but still at a basic level. This book skips the part about chess rules and how the pieces move and gets right to the point of tactics and why they are important. The book has five chapters that cover various tactical themes (counting, trapped pieces, pins, skewers, double attacks, forks, removal of the guard, discoveries etc.), checkmates, defensive tactics and tactics in the opening. Each of these chapters has a "theoretical" (descriptive) section and a series of problems. Following these is a chapter entirely devoted to problems. And finally, there is a chapter on "the seeds of tactical destruction" (see my review of Tune your chess tactics antenna for details) to help you identify tactical opportunities in your games.
A while back, I decided that I would brush up on my basic tactics. This was based partly on recommendations from various sources, and partly on inspiration from people within the Twitter chess community (shout out to all #chesspunks out there!).
I don't think there is anything directly wrong with my tactical abilities, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ensure that I had a solid tactical Foundation before pursuing my more advanced studies. So I designed a training program for drilling basic tactics, drawing on a number of different books. Thus, I thought I would write another multi-book review, with focus on basic tactics books.
In this review I take on the following titles:
- Chess tactics for students by John Bain
- Bobby Fischer teaches chess by Bobby Fischer
- Starting out: Chess tactics and checkmates by Chris Ward
- Power chess for kids by Charles Hertan
- Back to basics by Dan Heisman
What can you expect from these books?
All the books in this review follow a quite standard recipe for tactics books. All of them have a short introduction followed by a series of chapters structured by theme (basic checkmates, pins, forks, skewers, discovered attacks, removing the guard etc.). The chosen tactical themes vary somewhat, but the overall structure is very similar between the five books.Chess tactics for students is a very basic chess book. This is a good choice if you are more or less new to the game. The book has 14 chapters. The first 13 cover basic tactics (pins, back rank combinations, Knight forks, double attacks, discovered checks, double checks, discovered attacks, skewers, double threats, promoting pawns, removing the guard, perpetual check, zugzwang and stalemate) and chapter 14 contains mixed puzzles.
One thing that is unique (?) about this book is the presentation of the puzzles (see image below). In addition to the diagrams, each puzzle is accompanied by a hint ("To Do"), a partially presented move sequence and an instruction ("How") which *almost* gives the solution. This means, that the puzzles can be solved at various levels of difficulty.
| Level 1: Look at the solution, and use the puzzles as instruction Level 2: Check the hint, move sequence and instruction before solving Level 3: Look at the hint and move sequence before solving Level 4: Check the hint before solving Level 5: Solve without help |  |
Bobby Fischer teaches chess has a similar approach as Bain's book. Some time ago, I read a review in which someone said that the title should be changed to "Bobby Fischer teaches checkmate", which is actually a good point. The book begins with a presentation of the the rules and very basics of the game (including how the pieces move). This is followed by six chapters - all dedicated to the art of checkmate. The first chapter presents the elements of checkmate, in which the reader is given various ways to mate (and some ways to escape mate). The second and third chapters focus on back-rank mates and various defenses. The fourth chapter is dedicated to mate by deflecting defensive pieces. The fifth chapter presents variations in which mate is delivered by capturing pawns in front of the king. The sixth and final chapter is a recap of all the different variations, in which the readers can test their new found abilities to checkmate the opponent. The book contains 275 positions to solve, all accompanied by a question, for instance "can White checkmate?". Similar to Bain's book, this gives the reader the opportunity to vary the level of difficulty, albeit to a lesser degree than above.
Continuing on the theme of checkmates, Chris Ward has written the book Starting out: Chess tactics and checkmates. Being a part of the "starting out" series is in itself an indication that this is a good book. Much like Bobby Fischer's book, this one also begins with a presentation of the rules and how the pieces move. But we move quite quickly to topics such as checkmate, stalemate, sacrifices and various tactical themes (forks, pins, skewers, discovered checks, double checks). After this introduction, the second chapter presents different flavors of checkmate. Chapter three is difficult to summarize. The title "more practical lessons" is an indication that the author found this equally difficult. Anyway, it presents a number of tactical applications. Chapter four follows along a similar line, and discusses deflection, forks and various ways to attack the castled king (paging dr. Vukovic). The fifth chapter is entirely dedicated to puzzles. Dig in and apply what you have learned.
Power chess for kids is not a book to be underestimated. In a previous post, I explained that you should not be fooled by a book title that contains the words "for kids". What Charles Hertan has done here is not only for kids. Yes, it is a basic chess book, but as a medium-level patzer, I still found some useful things in this book. Much like Jeff Coakley does in his books, Hertan uses different characters to help reinforce the points he is trying to make in the book. The chess computer Zort, chess dinosaur, power chess kid and chess professor all contribute with questions and comments. For instance the chess kid asks "what is a power move?" and the professor replies that "a power move is a winning tactic that requires thinking ahead 1.5 moves", and they go on to discuss why that is an awesome thing. The first chapter is dedicated to the 3 ply power moves. This is followed by a chapter on forks (ch 2), pins (ch 3), skewers (ch 4) and interference (ch 5). Each chapter contains a number of examples that are discussed by the characters in the book, followed by some exercises.
The fifth and final book in this review is the one that inspired the title of this post: Back to basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman. If you have not already realized, I have become a fan of Heisman's publications. I find his approach to chess books very appealing, since he writes for the intermediate level chess players such as you and me. This is a slightly more advanced book than the others in this review, but still at a basic level. This book skips the part about chess rules and how the pieces move and gets right to the point of tactics and why they are important. The book has five chapters that cover various tactical themes (counting, trapped pieces, pins, skewers, double attacks, forks, removal of the guard, discoveries etc.), checkmates, defensive tactics and tactics in the opening. Each of these chapters has a "theoretical" (descriptive) section and a series of problems. Following these is a chapter entirely devoted to problems. And finally, there is a chapter on "the seeds of tactical destruction" (see my review of Tune your chess tactics antenna for details) to help you identify tactical opportunities in your games.
Who should read these books?
As you may have realized from my descriptions above, most of these books are aimed at beginners. If you are entirely new to the game, or have just learned the very basics, I suggest you pick up any of the four first books in this review. My favorite is Chess tactics for students, followed by Starting out: Chess tactics and checkmates, Power chess for kids and Bobby Fischer teaches chess, in that order. For slighly more advanced players, Back to basics: Tactics is an excellent choice. I also recommend all of these books for intermediate players who want to use the "woodpecker method" to drill basic tactics. Collect all the diagrams/puzzles and try to solve them as quickly and accurate as possible.
About these books
| Authors and titles: | John Bain, Chess tactics for students Bobby Fischer, Bobby Fischer teaches chess Chris Ward, Starting out: Chess tactics and checkmates Charles Hertan, Power chess for kids Dan Heisman, Back to basics: Tactics |
| Type of book: | Tactics |
| Level: | Beginner |
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