Winning Chess Tactics (Robertie, 1996)

The Winner's Guide To The Essentials Of Tactical Play

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Basic, but good, May 18, 2003
By cmpst52 "cmpst52" (Denton, NC United States)

After about 15 years off, I started playing chess again about three months ago. I did so badly -- I couldn't beat my PalmPilot at the easy level! -- I realized I needed help. Although unrated, I would probably clock in somewhere between 1000-1100 (According to the Chessmaster 9000, anyway. Take that as you will).

I've read two of Robertie's books, this one and "Winning Chess Openings." Both of them deserve the same review:

Although this is a very basic book, it's PERFECT for a beginner like me. He starts out with simple concepts and then builds up, and spends his time teaching the basic ideas, whereas other books emphasize material too advanced for a beginning player.

p.11 The basic idea of tactical chess is a simple one: Make moves that contain multiple threats, not just single threats. It's easy to respond to one threat. It's difficult (often impossible) to respond to two threats at once.

Learning tactical chess is learning how to pack multiple threats into single moves.

p.14 The above example illustrates the underlying idea behind all tactical play: Use your pieces to create multiple threats at once. When you learn to do that, it's as if you were able to make two moves at the same time - it gives you a tremendous advantage, one that your opponents won't be able to withstand.

p.29 A great habit to develop is the following: Look at all your pieces and trace out, in your mind's eye, their lines of movement.

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