Jamin wrote:
My name is Jamin Gluckie. I am 22 years old
and I have been playing chess for the past
7 years, although I only started taking
the game seriously last year. Since that
time I have acquired a chess coach, and
have began playing in as many chess tournaments
as my schedule allows. I currently have
a CFC rating of about 1750, and with my
coach's help I have built a comprehensive
opening repertoire based on 1.d4 and the
main line continuations after that. I have
spent some time analyzing my own games
(especially the ones I lose) and I have
come to the conclusion that it is not my
positional understanding or knowledge of
the openings/endgames of chess that is
holding me back, but rather my tactical
prowess. In a recent article on your website
you mentioned meeting a man who had a similar problem to mine, and
you designed a tactical training program
to address this issue. Personally, I am
unsure how to study tactics in a way that
lets me retain the common motifs, and I
was hoping for some input on this matter.
For example, you mentioned a 2-year training
program, but other sources recommend doing
1 hour of problems per day, or even the "seven circles" solution
which lasts about four months.
I am not sure how easy this question will be for you to answer, especially
without seeing some of my games, but any general advice you can offer is
greatly appreciated. If you are unable to answer this question without seeing
my games or my style of play I am willing to provide you with whatever you
require, as well as pay you for your time.
Silman Replies:
Tactical fine-tuning never ends, and you'll
even find grandmasters taking quick looks at “play
and win” problems just to keep themselves sharp.
When I mentioned giving a student a two-year
plan, this was due to the limited time he could
give to chess study (he is a very busy guy).
In other words, every program must be fashioned
around the available time and natural speed of
comprehension that each student possesses.
In the De la Maza “seven circles” plan, he calls
for enormous hours to be spent every day. That
is absolutely great IF you have the time and
inclination to devote your life to tactical improvement.
But if you wish to merge tactical study with
looks at openings, strategy, and over the board
experience (heaven forbid that I even bring up
a job or family obligations!), then a realistic
approach is to pick five to ten tactical books
and read each one slowly/seriously. If that takes
two years, fine. If you can do it in four months,
all the more power to you (just don't write me
and ask for help with the rent!). Personally,
I feel that half an hour spent on tactical study
every day is a solid number, and will certainly
pay dividends in the long run.
Picking books to help you in your quest for
tactical improvement is also individualistic,
since your playing strength will dictate what
books are or are not useful. Here's a simple
guide – many other books can readily be added
to this extremely limited list:
BEGINNER TACTICS:
CHESS: 5334 PROBLEMS, COMBINATIONS, and GAMES
By
Laszlo Polgar
This book starts with mates in one and, around
page one million, moves on to mate in twos. The
progression continues until you master these
basic mates or die of old age.
In other words, it's a very useful (though not
very exciting) book that can be read without
a board, but that will require time to go through.
WINNING CHESS TACTICS
By Yasser Seirawan
This book breaks down tactical ideas into their
component parts and introduces a bit of science
and pattern recognition into the student's mind.
My recommendation on how to read these books:
Jump into the Polgar book and look through ALL
the mates in one. Then put it aside and read
the Seirawan book. Afterwards, go back to the
Polgar book and solve all the mate in twos.
TOURNAMENT LEVEL TACTICS (1200 to 1799):
THE ART OF ATTACK IN CHESS
By Vladimir Vukovic
A classic that will help you in all areas of
attack and combination.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHESS MIDDLEGAMES
By Chess Informator
1,817 positions to solve.
THE ART OF SACRIFICE IN CHESS
By Rudolf Spielmann
An old classic that offers a fun way to see
tactics in action.
I recommend you read the rest of the Polgar
book at this stage, and if you aren't completely
sick of chess by that time, move on to the Spielmann
book, tossing in problems from the Encyclopedia
whenever a spare moment presents itself.
ADVANCED TACTICS:
THINK LIKE A GRANDMASTER
By Kotov
If you have decided that you need strong master
level calculation skills, then this book might
help (and it's fun to read in any case).
SECRETS OF CHESS TACTICS
By Mark Dvoretsky
All books by this guy are good, and this one
will give you a lot to think about.
As I've said before, there are dozens of excellent
books and computer programs out there on tactics.
But it takes more than owning them to improve
your game, it takes commitment and effort.
