A comprehensive guide to tactical ideas - learn how to win material and storm the enemy Position !

Once a player has learned how the pieces move, the next task is to put them to work - that is, to study tactics . For all players, from beginners to champions, tactical skill is the main component of chess ability. And this skill must be constantly practised and improved.

This book consists of 13 chapters with over 300 puzzles in total. All puzzles are taken from real games of 2016 with one exception. The two chapters dedicated to players feature examples from their whole career.

Every chapter has its own introduction and sometimes a typical position as an appetizer. The level of difficulty increases within the chapters but not strictly from chapter to chapter.

• Einmal eine eigene Partie mit einer spektakulären Opferkombination krönen - welcher Amateur möchte nicht zaubern können?! Wer sich beim achten Welt­meister Michail Tal Taktik-Ratschläge holt und diese am Schachbrett auch umsetzt, wird dieses Glücksgefühl garantiert erleben. Der lettische Magier war zwar nur ein Jahr im Besitz der Schachkrone, aber er bleibt für immer einer der leuchtendsten Sterne der Schachgeschichte.

1,111 Two-, Three- & Four-move Mates

Improve Your Checkmate Power!

This second volume in the Mastering Mate series provides readers with a serious challenge - 1,111 checkmates in two, three, four and more moves. By solving these problems, you will develop proficiency in all of the major checkmating patterns.

There is much more here than the simple presentation of positions to solve. Mastering Mates 2 includes a full range of checkmates from real-life middlegames and endgames.

Have there been times during a game when you have calculated a position for half an hour, only to find out that most of what you were thinking about was of little use? If you have not, maybe the only way to improve your calculation is to upgrade your processor. But if you are human, then this book will offer you practical advice and an effective training plan to think differently and make decisions far more efficiently.

In Calculation thinking methods such as Candidates, Combinations, Prophylaxis, Comparison, Elimination, Intermediate Moves, Imagination and Traps are explained to the reader, and ownership of them is offered through a carefully selected series of exercises.

“There is no shortcut to the grandmaster title, but there is a well-known route that many people have walked over the years. Jacob offers to guide you on part of this journey and I hope you will take him up on the offer.”

From the foreword by Boris Gelfand

Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard won the British Championship at his first and only attempt. He has received the Guardian, ECF and ChessCafe Book of the Year awards and the FIDE Senior Trainer title. His training material is used by amateurs and grandmasters alike. The Grandmaster Preparation series is aimed at ambitious players.

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.

Today’s young players have benefited greatly from working with chess computers. There is little doubt that advanced software and electronic training programs have significantly contributed to the rise of the standards of play.

But there is a negative side to this. Many young chess players see the computer as the ultimate response to nearly everything. They think that computer analysis is the best and the fastest way to find the truth in any position on the board.