Chess Tactics Software Buyer's Guide

Ask almost any strong chess player (not just Larry Evans) for advice on how a beginning to intermediate chess player can improve and most of them will tell you the same thing: study chess tactics. Successful chess plays depends a lot on pattern recognition - seeing a position and recognizing it as being similar to one you've seen before - and solving tactical chess puzzles is a great way to strengthen your pattern recognition skills. And being able to identify and use tactical motifs (pins, forks, x-ray attacks, promotions, etc.) is what separates the proverbial "men from the boys" in competitive chess. Learning and studying chess tactics is key in becoming a successful chess player.

Chess Tactics For Beginners

You have to learn to crawl before you can walk, and a good way to do this is by solving tactical problems. The best starting point is Tactics - From Basics to Brilliance, Vol. 1. That is what you need to become a really good player fast. Using his innovative approach to teaching tactics, FM Valeri Lilov provides a comprehensive review of the most important tactical themes. Indeed, Tactical motifs and themes are among the core concepts and techniques explained in the present DVD. FM Valeri Lilov demonstrates through spectacular masterpieces, leaving lasting impression in the viewer's mind. FM Valeri Lilov goes beyond teaching plain theory and will show you his most effective tactical techniques to enable you to master the magical world of chess combinations!

Chess Tactics For Intermediates 

Tactics in chess is the art of combat command. When tactics dominate, then concrete action is required immediately in order to put a plan into practice or to grab an opportunity. However, in complicated positions and with determined resistance basic tactics are often insufficient and intuition, imagination and precision are necessary. The Magic of Chess Tactics DVD helps to develop these qualities, and to that end offers a multitude of highly interesting, thoroughly analyzed examples as well as detailed explanations and exercises. Special focus is given to those positions which are beyond a quick solution, putting concentration and calculating power to the test. This chess DVD also contains much instructive material and chess training courses.

In the Power of Tactics Rustam Kasimdzhanov explains tactics in the most amazingly simple way. In his opinion there are only three elements which are really important and which therefore decide most games: "pins", "double attacks" and "back rank weaknesses". The 2004 FIDE World Champion explains these three elements by starting from simple model positions and going on to examine progressively more complicated examples. One important factor in his explanations is always how to spot the underlying patterns in practical play and then bring them into existence. This is because it is rare to be able to execute tactical blows immediately - the correct preparatory moves have to be played first. The motifs he is dealing with occur so often in practice that Kasimdzhanov had absolutely no problem in finding sufficient up-to-date material.

Chess Tactics For Advanced Players 

Chess Tactics - From Basics to Brilliance, Vol. 3. Here we go again: do you want to improve your chess fast right now? In this more advanced DVD on tactics, FM Valeri Lilov relies on his innovative approach to teaching tactics and ventures into the more complex tactical themes that arise on the board when a fleeting combination of certain motifs and patterns happens to be lurking in the position. Obviously, it's not easy to spot these evanescent moments in a hurried and tense tournament game, but Valeri is here to open your eyes and help you spot these gems in your position right away!

Chess Tactics - From Basics to Brilliance, Vol. 4 Open games are well known to lead to sharp positions. Whenever there is a sharp position, we have many tactical opportunities as well! In this 4th Volume of his Tactics series, FM Valeri Lilov focuses on tactics found in the open games. Some of the basic questions this DVD seeks to answer are how tactics arise in open games and what you can do to avoid falling prey to early tactics after 1.e4 e5. In his instructive themed lectures, the author also takes the time to explain a number of tactical methods and techniques you can use to exploit your opponent's mistakes, the ones most commonly seen in the open games. For this purpose, the FIDE master has carefully selected many instructive games and positions played in openings like the King's Gambit, the Vienna Game, and the Two Knights Defense among many others. While open games abound in tactics, we never know who will see them first and thus gain a decisive advantage! So why not use Lilov's step-bystep approach to creating and finding powerful tactics in your own games by fearlessly placing your pieces in sharp positions? You are on the way to your next magnificent win!

You can check the Chess Middlegame Training page for a look at the chess tactics software available from ChessCentral.

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