Tactical Training: Lakdawala

Enda en bok for å trene sjakktaktikk, gjennom 33 tematiske kapitler alle med litt forklaring og grunnleggende eksempler i starten og temmelig delikate og krevende stillinger etterhvert, delvis også fra elegante sjakkstudier.

En stor og ganske spennende bok for framgang i sjakk, med bra forklaringer i Lakdawalas som vanlig muntre stil. Mest for spillere fra cirka 1400 og godt oppover.

Forlagets egen omtale:

It is hard to understate the importance of tactic ability to overall chess proficiency. Of course other elements such as a knowledge of opening play and an understanding of strategy are also important. However, it is undoubtedly the case that 99% of games are won or lost because one player either spots or overlooks a tactic. Consider your own games and just imagine how much stronger you would be if you never overlooked a tactical idea.

The good news is that your tactical ability is not some genetically-acquired unalterable trait. Tactical ability can always be improved through the application of diligent practice. Tactical themes are repetitive. The same arrangements of pieces occur again and again and a continual study of the subtle interactions between the forces will inevitably lead to a greater sharpness in actual play.

In Tactical Training, experienced chess coach and prolific author Cyrus Lakdawala guides the reader through numerous tactical themes. Topics include:

• Checkmating patterns.
• The 32 major combinational concepts.
• Numerous positions ranked in terms of level of difficulty.

The final chapter focuses on a 2020 online match between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, currently the top two ranked players in blitz, the form of chess where tactics predominate.

Fra forfatterens forord:

Unlike my book on composed works, Rewire Your Chess Brain, in this book I label both the theme and difficulty level of the problem. For example: You are in the Double Attack chapter and it says “Level 3” which means you know to look for a double attack. Level 3 is a problem an 1800-rated player should solve without breaking too much of a sweat.

Level 1 is kind of a no-brainer problem which should be solved in seconds. Level 2 is a basic tactical theme. Level 3 has been described. Level 4 gets steeply more difficult and even a 2000-rated player may have trouble solving it. Levels 4.5 to 5 means that even a 2400-rated player may sweat to solve it.