Learn Chess Tactics: Discover the Secrets of How to Win Chess Games

Rating:
Summary: Tactics explained perfectly by the good Doctor
Review: Grandmaster John Nunn aims his fine books at the level of an intelligent adult, and by that I mean anyone in their teens (kids are pretty mature these days). Here the world champion chess problem solver turns his logical mind to tactics, and his many fans will not be disappointed. The are 14 chapters, starting with the usual themes - fork, discovered attack, pin, skewer. He progresses to deflection, trapped piece, removing the guard, and so on, including frequent graded exercises to test the reader has digested the various ideas.
The content is first class, and the material is beautifully presented, with crisp typesetting and a large format book size for easy reading. Even better, this is a relatively simple book (by Nunn standards) - nothing like his John Nunn Chess Puzzle Torture book, which contained some of the toughest problems on the planet.

Rating:
Summary: Not a beginners tactics book
Review: This is not a beginners book to learn chess tactics. There are only a few easy examples and test diagrams, the greater part are too difficult for beginners.
The only real beginners tactics book I know, which contains hundreds of exercises gradually increasing in difficulty, is MANUAL OF CHESS COMBINATIONS, Part 1, by Sergei Ivashchenko (ELO 900-1500). This book is available in CD form at Amazon under the title "Chess Tactics for Beginners "
Even CT Art is too difficult for beginners.



Rating:
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: This is one of the best books on tactics. What makes it such a standout is a very good collection of excercises all of which come from recent GM games. The difficulty of excercises varies nicely starting from very simple one-move ones and all the way up to hard core combinations with a couple of subtle moves in the main line. Players of all levels of strength should benefit from this book.