Chess Tactics for Kids

This is a great book that compliments "How to Beat Your Dad at Chess." It covers various chess tactics that come up or can be created to win material, gain positional advantages and impose checkmate. Overall, the book is highly readable with good diagrams and easy to follow text. It is thorough in covering important and commonly used tactics, but not overwhelming for new players. I think Chess Tactics for Kids is a misnomer in a sense since this book is appropriate for almost any adult and probably wouldn't be very useful to kids under 12 years old unless they have more than a casual interest in chess. However, younger kids could certainly grow into it as their interest peaks and they master more fundamental skills. I've been playing chess for years and got a lot out of this book. I think it's perfect for teenagers and highly recommend it to adults who have not read seriously on chess and are somewhat intimidated or bored by move-by-move type chess books. I also recommend it to younger kids with more advanced chess skills or who are serious doing their homework to improve their skills. I wish this book was available when I was learning to play chess. It would have saved me a lot of time learning things the hard way and wading through a lot of overly complicated move-by-move type books that I wasn't ready for.

This is Murray Chandler's follow up to his highly successful "How To Beat Your Dad At Chess". The book presents 50 common tactical ideas - pins, skewers, forks, stalemate and many more - each one explained and illustrated in a double page spread. Only themes which occur fairly commonly in practice are included, and there are six diagrams per double page. The explanations are in simple language, and each diagram is accompanied by a brief commentary pointing out the salient features of the position. The continuations are very short (usually only one or two moves) so they can be followed easily without the need for a board. Three or four examples are given of each tactical trick, with the aim of getting the reader to recognise certain patterns, and hopefully apply this newly acquired pattern recognition to his/her own games. To test how well the patterns have been absorbed there are 54 test positions for the reader to try. If the reader is unable to spot the continuation, a hint is given by way of a reference to the number of the tricky tactic that is being tested. So you can refresh your memory by looking back at the illustrated examples and then hopefully spot the same theme in the test position. All of the illustrative positions and test positions are taken from actual play (though there are no game references given), and there are no artificially composed positions. Although the book is aimed at children in the first instance, it could be used equally profitably by adult beginners who wish to sharpen up their tactical awareness. This review first appeared in the magazine En Passant.

If you are looking for a totally absolute complete course on tactics, my suggestion is to get this book and the "How to Beat your DAD at chess" book. Put together you get coverage of all tactics themes in a format that is fun and contains tons of instruction. Between them that is a total of 100 different tactics motifs, with over 700 diagrams overall to illustrate the ideas and provide test positions. A motif is an idea for a combination that can be used in lots of different situations, even if the position is different each time. The themes are shown in a fantastically clear way that is easy to understand, and I don't think it matters in which order you read the books. My experience was that the DAD book was extra fun because it covers attack against the king, and everyone loves playing sacrifices to give a forced checkmate. But I also found that "Chess Tactics for Kids" has lots of tactical ideas that I get to use nearly every game I play.A real incentive to learn all the positions.

If you are not already an experienced player, this neat little book will improve your game for sure. It's all about pattern recognition: spotting familiar clusters of pieces that alert strong players to the possibility of a combination. There are 50 different motifs covered, and all win material in one way or another. All strong players know and use these patterns frequently. Learning them is essential if you want to improve. Chandler's book is clearly intended for the lower level player (though not only juniors), but it is an intelligent read, and often fun. The author is a grandmaster, and you can be sure he knows what he is talking about. Layout is friendly and I like it that the book opens flat,a benefit of hardcover.

I think this is a great book with HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD AT CHESS, WINNING CHESS TOURNAMENTS FOR JUNIORS and ART OF THE CHECKMATE. These are all wonderful books that teach you how to be a winner!