Rating: 
Summary: good for what it's intended to do, but a terrible edition
Review: This book is good for what it is: a no frills, down to business, intermediate to advanced book on chess tactics. It isn't the most fun chess book to read (though I find it much less of a slog than some of the reviewers do), but then again if you're serious enough about improving your game to buy this book you no doubt realize that not everything you need to do to so will be fun.
My main complaint is that this edition of the book is terrible. I am not referring to the fact that the descriptive notation hasn't been replaced with algebraic, which isn't so bad, but to the book's shortcomings as a physical object; this book was made on the cheap and it shows. It literally stinks (that reek of bargain basement ink and paper), the diagrams are blurry and sometimes splotchy, and worst of all the binding is bad- mine started to come apart almost as soon as I opened it. I'm tempted to give it two stars but I won't. I'd say it's a three and a half to four for content and a two for the edition.
Rating:
Summary: good for what it's intended to do, but a terrible edition
Review: This book is good for what it is: a no frills, down to business, intermediate to advanced book on chess tactics. It isn't the most fun chess book to read (though I find it much less of a slog than some of the reviewers do), but then again if you're serious enough about improving your game to buy this book you no doubt realize that not everything you need to do to so will be fun.
My main complaint is that this edition of the book is terrible. I am not referring to the fact that the descriptive notation hasn't been replaced with algebraic, which isn't so bad, but to the book's shortcomings as a physical object; this book was made on the cheap and it shows. It literally stinks (that reek of bargain basement ink and paper), the diagrams are blurry and sometimes splotchy, and worst of all the binding is bad- mine started to come apart almost as soon as I opened it. I'm tempted to give it two stars but I won't. I'd say it's a three and a half to four for content and a two for the edition.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book to learn tactics from!
Review: This book sets up tactical positions for you to study and try and solve. The are broken down by theme. Just going over these problems with greatly improve your game. The only drawback to the book is that is not in Algebraic notation.
Rating: 
Summary: You Can Find Better
Review: This is a classic, but with all the options out there, you can find a better book with less errors that are computer checked for accuracy. However, if you insist on having these puzzles, you can get them for free at Chess Central under downloads and tactical exercises. By downloading a small program called, chessbase light (also for free) you can study these problems in a fun and convenient way on the screen of your computer. The built-in Fritz allows you to try alternative ideas and will also help in spotting the errors in the problems so you can correct them or avoid the puzzle.
Rating:
Summary: One Thousand and One Winning Chess Sacrifices by Reinfeld et
Review: This is a wonderful book on the dynamics of chess strategy.
The author acknowledges that chess is a game for the young.
Skill peaks at about the mid-thirties and then declines.
There are detailed explanations of strategies to protect the
king and queen, as well as schemes aimed at wearing down
an opponent. This work is excellent for an intermediate chess
player.
Rating:
Summary: Right on the money.
Review: This is the best chess book I have ever read. No bull, just page after page of diagrams to solve. Everyone knows that tactics are the soul of chess, and this and it's companion 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate are the best ways to sharpen tactical eye. After a while you will intuitively know what the right first move is and on top of it all it's extremely fun. I wouldn't recommend this to total beginners however, I would recommend getting Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics first.
Rating:
Summary: Fast way to improve your chess
Review: This old classic is the best inexpensive tactics workbook available. It's intended for players who already have knowledge of basic tactical motifs and want to improve their combinational skills. By working through these exercises you will improve your ability to recognize positions where a tactical blow is available, and will be able to calculate the tactics quicker and more accurately than before. In other words, you will become a much stronger player. There are newer and more refined tactics workbooks in algebraic notation (Maxim Blokh's The Art of Combination is the best I have seen), but Reinfeld's book is still a bargain. This inexpensive book is a tremendous tool for improving your chess strength. You can throw this little paperback into your briefcase or backpack and take advantage of the idle moments in your day to hone your tactical skills. Don't let the descriptive notation deter you. It's not as concise as algebraic notation, but you can quickly adapt to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for beginners/showing its age?
Review: Two observations to add to all the well-deserved glowing reviews: 1) This book isn't for beginners. John Bain's Chess Tactics for Students, (perhaps) Lou Hays Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors, or Convekta's CD Chess Tactics for Beginners are better choices. At first you want to learn the basic tactical motifs: e.g., how to use a pin to win a piece, usually the pinned piece. The Reinfeld problems are usually more complicated; many of the problems in the "pin" section require a couple of other manouvers in addition to the pin, such as clearing a line to set up a pin, or to use a pin to keep a critical line unblocked. 2. This is the main tactics book available, but it seems time for it to be replaced by a new, widely-available book with problems checked by computer analysis. (Are you listening, Gambit Press?) As another reviewer has noted, many of the answers don't bear out computer analysis. In defense of Reinfeld, most alternatives the computer finds are better but are still lost positions. However, the inaccuracies are a bit annoying and a new book of computer-checked combos would be a welcome addition. (Or perhaps more widely distributed editions of Maxim Blokh, Sergey Ivashcenko and other Russian trainers. These guys' books are the source material for Convekta's training CD's CT-ART and Chess Tactics for Beginners.)
Rating:
Summary: Unlimited fun
Review: When I was just being to play chess, My cousin and I spent the whole summer with this book (1976). Once you pick it up, it is very hard to put it down. Excellent fun for the beginning and intermediate chess player. I run a chess club at work and I'm ordering this book in hope that they get as much enjoyment as I did from it. I still find number 999 very useful.
Rating:
Summary: Very good tactics book
Review: When most chess players begin they are overwhelmed by the vast amounts of chess theory and knowledge that exist. Often they ask an experienced player what they should begin with. 99% will answer that a beginner or even intermediate player should devote themselves to tactics primarily. The next logical question is how does one study and improve one's tactical ability? While there is no simple answer to this, i belive that this book is the best a person is going to find (Winning Chess by irving chernev and reinfeld is even better as a precursor to this book). By going over the exercises in this book numerous times, the basic tactical patterns become ingrained in your memory. Your calculating ability will also improve as you begin to see more and more moves ahead.
To specifically disect this book let my point out what i think is good about it and what is bad.
Bad:
1. There are some problems which are just downright wrong. but they are few and far between and dont detract that much from the value of the book.
2. Some problems are not really good problems for a beginner to intermediatte. These are often problems from famous games which reinfeld felt were necessary to include based on their historical context rather than their instructive merit. However the vast majorority of the problems are right at or near the target level of this book in terms of difficulty.
3. Terrible construction. My book fell apart and now all the pages are seperated. But for the price you can always buy a new one. And even if it is in pieces just read on page at a time. Thats what i do.
To some who criticize the book for dividing the problems by theme, they are mistaken. This is by far the best way to introduce tactics to the beginner. Its all about pattern recogniztion. When teaching math to a child you do not give them subtraction, addition, multiplication, and division altogether. You first show them seperately. The same thing goes with tactics. Before you seperate you should be first be comfortable with each individually. Their are definate patterns to be seen in each of the tactical motifs and the best way to ingrain these patterns is to give one problem after another on them. (besides towards the end their are combined problems anyway in the chapters like King Hunt, Attacking the Castled King etc.).
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