mclure@SRI-UNIX@sri-unix (07/13/82)
Somebody once remarked that tactics are 99% of chess. For the amateur, tactics are the soul of the game and improvement comes rapidly with increasing one's tactical ability. Here are a couple methods I use for sharpening my tactical sense, intended for the amateurs on this mailing list. Play over a page or two a day from the Informant Middlegame combinations book produced by the Yugoslavs. It is expensive ($22) but definitely the best collection of combinations I've seen. Study each position for a few minutes and try to work out the combination. Too bad the book is so poorly produced. Pick a player like Morphy, Tal, Capablanca, etc. (one with a clear style), get all of his published games you can lay your hands on, and study a few games a day. The way to study involves guessing his next move. Don't spend more than 15 or 20 seconds on any single move, and play the entire game through a couple times before going to the next. Try to do several hundred games at least. Try to force wildly tactical attacks against the enemy king in your own games, even if it involves sacrificing. Most amateurs can't handle such positions. Remember that swindles often win or draw ostensibly lost games. Here's a July 4 non-speed game of mine against a version of Greenblatt's Machack. I know very little book as I'm sure it is easy to guess from the opening. Machack's pruning of move lists is disasterous. 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Bc4 Ne4 4 Ne5 d5 5 Qf3 f6 6 Qh5 g6 7 Ng6 hg 8 Qh8 dc 9 o-o Nc6 10 Re1 Qd4 11 Re3 Ne5 12 f3 Nd2 13 Bd2 Qb2 14 Qf6 Bd6 15 Bc3 Qc1 16 Kf2 Qc2 17 Nd2 b5 18 Re1 Qa2 19 Re5 Be6 20 Re6 Kd7 21 Re7 Kc6 22 Ra1 Qc2 23 Ra6 Kb7 24 Qd6 Rc8 25 Qc6 Kb8 26 Qc5 Qd2 27 Bd2 Rd8 28 Qc7 Ka8 29 Ra7 1-0