Answers.Body: <p>Best trainer I've ever seen for tactics: <a href="http://chessok.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&amp;cPath=7_26_29&amp;products_id=312">CT-ART</a>. Full stop. It's relatively cheap ($20US, give or take) and walks you through thousands of tactical positions, showing you all sorts of techniques, and relentlessly drilling you in them. I'm a Mac user, and I keep parallels around mainly for this program.</p>
  
  <p>To start out with it, I'd put it in test mode for 15 positions or so. If you get lost trying to figure it out, step over to practice, or even theory for a while, but you'll get the max benefit from it with test, because then it just shows you the position, tells you who is to move, and the rest is up to you; no hints until you make mistakes.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2012-10-20T18:42:58.810Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-10-20T18:42:58.810Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Arlen
Answers.Body: <p>At your level, you should be thinking in terms of combinations, or <em>chains</em> of moves. Beginners learn the basics, pins, forks and skewers, but you are a bit past that. Instead, you might be thinking in terms of preparatory moves that set up these tactics. That takes a bit more doing, but is a mark of advanced play.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-09-25T20:31:15.300Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-09-26T15:10:40.727Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2012-09-26T15:10:40.727Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Tom Au
Answers.Body: <p>In addition to the above answers I would recommend using <code>Computer Chess Programs</code> for improving tactics. While playing with humans you sometimes get a false <code>high</code> when an incomplete attack results in success (usually in the form of material gained). A decent computer program will rarely fall for immature tactics, thus providing a strong incentive to be thorough with your attack preparations.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-12-16T07:29:31.463Z
Answers.Text: -1 Psyochologically, the `false' high of winning games is the reward that motivates players to enjoy the activity.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Cyriac Antony
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Answers.CreationDate: 2012-10-15T00:22:49.830Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-10-15T00:22:49.830Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Shashank Sawant
Answers.Body: <p>Try <a href="http://www.chess.com/" rel="nofollow">Here</a> and just do the daily tactics. you are only allowed 3 a day for a free account but if you upgrade your account you have unlimited. You could also invest in a tactics book.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2014-03-07T19:57:35.400Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-03-07T19:57:35.400Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: WebSpartan
Answers.Body: <p>Calculation is often improved by practicing more and more, and analyzing your thought process. This helps understand the decision making process you use to come up with a solution. Together with chunks, or knowledge about patterns, a player would become better at his calculation. 
  In order to train this skill, one might either use chess books like Anthology of Chess combinations, or free chess tactics trainers like <a href="http://www.chessity.com" rel="nofollow">Chessity</a>, which is quite fun to solve. </p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2015-01-12T17:18:07.327Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-01-12T17:18:07.327Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Arun J
Answers.Body: <p>Bondarevsky, in the good old classic "Combinations in the middle game" recommends building a catalog of combinations classifying them for topic, resultant attack, motives, etc. He also recommends studying games of heavy tactical content.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-03-07T02:56:25.607Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-03-07T02:56:25.607Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Fernando Gonzalez Sanchez
Answers.Body: <p>I had your rating.  I read "Think Like A Grandmaster" by Kotov and practiced the techniques for 6 months.  I played in a few tournaments and I skipped the expert class gaining 250 rating points and became a master but that was a long a time ago in the 70s.  I don't know if it would work today.</p>
  
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Answers.CreationDate: 2017-02-02T21:35:19.280Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2017-02-02T21:35:19.280Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: ToddM
Answers.Body: <p>All of the suggested can improve your tactics skills. Anything that makes you think hard about chess positions (particularly sharp and complex ones) will. I would add "perfecting the way you calculate variations", i.e. making sure that your calculation is as effective as possible. This was well described in some book, I think it was "Think like a grandmaster" by Kotov. Two points though:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>Chess is not only tactics, the strategy, "feeling" for positions, is equally important. And one should always come with the other. In fact they make each other better.</p></li>
  <li><p>Judging from your Elo, you are a hobby player. Getting better may need hard work which does not always agree with the word "hobby", so pick the method that you enjoy and keep in mind that everyone has limits.</p></li>
  </ol>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-01-13T02:31:34.420Z
Answers.Text: In one of Mark Dvoretsky's books, he responds to Kotov. He makes the good point that Kotov's technique of selecting candidate moves then analyzing each one doesn't work too well in practice: when you find an idea during analysis of one branch, sometimes that idea affects other branches or even indicates a new candidate move. (Even one of Kotov's examples in that chapter misses the best move because he never picked it as candidate!)
Answers.UserDisplayName: M.M
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-01-13T02:39:46.347Z
Answers.Text: The book is still a valuable read (for best results also read Dvoretsky's books!)
Answers.UserDisplayName: M.M
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-09-25T16:24:27.237Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-09-25T16:24:27.237Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: comodoro
Body: <p>I have been playing chess for a long time, and I have been around <code>1850-1900 ELO</code> for quite some time. I have always wondered which are the <strong><em>best ways to improve the tactics</em></strong>. </p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Does playing more and more games improve chess tactics?</li>
  <li>Playing limited games but slow games?</li>
  <li>Practicing board positions with sites such as <a href="http://www.chesstempo.com">chesstempo</a>?</li>
  <li>Analyzing others' and self games</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>Please feel free suggest any point that I have not covered.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-10-09T16:48:33.613Z
Comments.Text: http://chess.emrald.net/ gives you unlimited tactics practice.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Raydot
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2012-09-22T23:11:03.887Z
Comments.Text: The title and the body of your question are not the same. In your title you are asking for "Best ways", which I interpret as top of the list ways to improve tactics. But in the body of your post you are asking for "the best way", which is different. Can you clarify your question?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Akavall
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2014-03-07T02:57:19.183Z
Comments.Text: There still some open questions here, for example
  a) How to make the most of the combinations you weren't able to solve (the ones you have to look to the solution, and then say aha!)?
  b) Even if you were able to solve, how do you train yourself to be able to create the conditions to make a similar combination in a real game? For example Spielmann on Alekhine said: "I can comprehend Alekhine's combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances from and how he infuses such life into the very opening - that is beyond me."
  (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Alekhine).
Comments.UserDisplayName: Fernando Gonzalez Sanchez
Tags: <learning><tactics><training><calculation><best-practice>
Title: Best ways for improving "tactics"
ThreadText: # Best ways for improving "tactics"
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2012-09-22)
  
  I have been playing chess for a long time, and I have been around `1850-1900 ELO` for quite some time. I have always wondered which are the ***best ways to improve the tactics***.
  
  * Does playing more and more games improve chess tactics?
  * Playing limited games but slow games?
  * Practicing board positions with sites such as [chesstempo](http://www.chesstempo.com)?
  * Analyzing others' and self games
  
  Please feel free suggest any point that I have not covered.
  
  **Tags:** learning, tactics, training, calculation, best-practice
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: The title and the body of your question are not the same. In your title you are asking for "Best ways", which I interpret as top of the list ways to improve tactics. But in the body of your post you are asking for "the best way", which is different. Can you clarify your question?  
  > **username_3**: There still some open questions here, for example a) How to make the most of the combinations you weren't able to solve (the ones you have to look to the solution, and then say aha!)? b) Even if you were able to solve, how do you train yourself to be able to create the conditions to make a similar combination in a real game? For example Spielmann on Alekhine said: "I can comprehend Alekhine's combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances from and how he infuses such life into the very opening - that is beyond me." (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Alekhine).  
  > **username_1**: http://chess.emrald.net/ gives you unlimited tactics practice.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 8 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_11 on 2012-09-25. Score: 15 | Accepted answer
  
  All of the suggested can improve your tactics skills. Anything that makes you think hard about chess positions (particularly sharp and complex ones) will. I would add "perfecting the way you calculate variations", i.e. making sure that your calculation is as effective as possible. This was well described in some book, I think it was "Think like a grandmaster" by Kotov. Two points though:
  
  1. Chess is not only tactics, the strategy, "feeling" for positions, is equally important. And one should always come with the other. In fact they make each other better.
  2. Judging from your Elo, you are a hobby player. Getting better may need hard work which does not always agree with the word "hobby", so pick the method that you enjoy and keep in mind that everyone has limits.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_12**: In one of Mark Dvoretsky's books, he responds to Kotov. He makes the good point that Kotov's technique of selecting candidate moves then analyzing each one doesn't work too well in practice: when you find an idea during analysis of one branch, sometimes that idea affects other branches or even indicates a new candidate move. (Even one of Kotov's examples in that chapter misses the best move because he never picked it as candidate!)  
  > **username_12**: The book is still a valuable read (for best results also read Dvoretsky's books!)  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2012-10-20. Score: 6
  
  Best trainer I've ever seen for tactics: [CT-ART](http://chessok.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_26_29&products_id=312). Full stop. It's relatively cheap ($20US, give or take) and walks you through thousands of tactical positions, showing you all sorts of techniques, and relentlessly drilling you in them. I'm a Mac user, and I keep parallels around mainly for this program.
  
  To start out with it, I'd put it in test mode for 15 positions or so. If you get lost trying to figure it out, step over to practice, or even theory for a while, but you'll get the max benefit from it with test, because then it just shows you the position, tells you who is to move, and the rest is up to you; no hints until you make mistakes.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2012-09-25. Score: 5
  
  At your level, you should be thinking in terms of combinations, or *chains* of moves. Beginners learn the basics, pins, forks and skewers, but you are a bit past that. Instead, you might be thinking in terms of preparatory moves that set up these tactics. That takes a bit more doing, but is a mark of advanced play.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_6 on 2012-10-15. Score: 2
  
  In addition to the above answers I would recommend using `Computer Chess Programs` for improving tactics. While playing with humans you sometimes get a false `high` when an incomplete attack results in success (usually in the form of material gained). A decent computer program will rarely fall for immature tactics, thus providing a strong incentive to be thorough with your attack preparations.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_7**: -1 Psyochologically, the `false' high of winning games is the reward that motivates players to enjoy the activity.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_8 on 2014-03-07. Score: 0
  
  Try [Here](http://www.chess.com/) and just do the daily tactics. you are only allowed 3 a day for a free account but if you upgrade your account you have unlimited. You could also invest in a tactics book.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_9 on 2015-01-12. Score: 0
  
  Calculation is often improved by practicing more and more, and analyzing your thought process. This helps understand the decision making process you use to come up with a solution. Together with chunks, or knowledge about patterns, a player would become better at his calculation.
  In order to train this skill, one might either use chess books like Anthology of Chess combinations, or free chess tactics trainers like [Chessity](http://www.chessity.com), which is quite fun to solve.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2014-03-07. Score: 0
  
  Bondarevsky, in the good old classic "Combinations in the middle game" recommends building a catalog of combinations classifying them for topic, resultant attack, motives, etc. He also recommends studying games of heavy tactical content.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_10 on 2017-02-02. Score: 0
  
  I had your rating. I read "Think Like A Grandmaster" by Kotov and practiced the techniques for 6 months. I played in a few tournaments and I skipped the expert class gaining 250 rating points and became a master but that was a long a time ago in the 70s. I don't know if it would work today.
  
  
  ---
  
  