1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners: The Tactics Workbook that Explains the Basic Concepts, Too

Colofon

© 2018 New In Chess

Published by New In Chess, Alkmaar, The Netherlands

www.newinchess.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Translated from 1001 Esercizi per Principianti

Authors: Franco Masetti and Roberto Messa

This edition is published by arrangement with Le Due Torri – Chess Department Store – Italy – www.chess.it

Cover design: Volken Beck

Translation: Richard Jones

Production: Anton Schermer

Have you found an error in this book? Please send your remarks to editors@newinchess.com

We will collect all relevant corrections on the errata page of our website and implement them in a next edition.

ISBN/EAN: 978-90-5691-558-2

Introduction

Chess is 99% tactics!

If this celebrated observation is true for the master, how much more so for the beginner and club player.

By far and away, the quickest and most effective way to improve your chess performance is to increase your tactical skill so that at a glance you are able to see the typical mating patterns and material-winning tactical motifs that so often decide a game. There is no doubt that the best way to acquire good tactical vision is to do exercises that teach you to recognise the tactical building blocks that make up every combination. This book focuses on the crucial positions that every chess player must know. It cannot be stressed enough that a knowledge of strategy is of little use if you have not first mastered the fundamentals of tactics.

This book starts with hundreds of essential mating positions that train immediate visual recognition; first there are the easier mate in one or two move exercises; then there are exercises for various crucial tactical motifs that must be mastered by any aspiring chess player; these are followed by more demanding positions where these various motifs are often combined.

While the easier problems can be solved without a chess board, we suggest that for the more difficult ones you set up the positions on a board and try to find the solution as if you were playing a real game. You should therefore not touch or move the pieces before having made your decision, perhaps writing down the possible variations before you check the solutions at the back of the book.

The introductions to each chapter are particularly instructive. It is here that we explain the ideas behind crucial tactical motifs such as double attack, the pin and skewer, as well as pawn promotion, drawing techniques, etc.

This book is intended not only for personal use, but also as a course text book. We have thus consulted leading teachers and masters with extensive training experience working in chess academies and club courses so as to best identify the most productive positions and exercises to use.

Franco Masetti and Roberto Messa

Mate in one

White to move and mate in one

Exercise 1

White to move

The pin is mightier than the sword

Solution 1

Mate in 1

1.♖xa6#

Exercise 2

White to move

B and R make a winning team

Solution 2

Mate in 1

1.♗f6#

Exercise 3

White to move

N and R in partnership

Solution 3

Mate in 1

1.♖f7#

Exercise 4

White to move

Nice and simple

Solution 4

Mate in 1

1.♖h1#

Exercise 5

White to move

Another lethal pin

Solution 5

Mate in 1

1.♖a8#

Exercise 6

White to move

Also here

Solution 6

Mate in 1

1.♘b5#

Exercise 7

White to move

Only one of several checks is mate

Solution 7

Mate in 1

1.♗h5#

Exercise 8

White to move

Softly, softly

Solution 8

Mate in 1

1.e4#

Exercise 9

White to move

Pawn power

Solution 9

Mate in 1

1.f7#

Exercise 10

White to move

The bishop and knight team up

Solution 10

Mate in 1

1.♗f6#

Exercise 11

White to move

Less is more

Solution 11

Mate in 1

1.c8♘#

Exercise 12

White to move

Nothing fancy

Solution 12

Mate in 1

1.♕xa7#

Exercise 13

White to move

No en passant

Solution 13

Mate in 1

1.g4#

Exercise 14

White to move

Sacrificing the queen for mate

Solution 14

Mate in 1

1.♗xf7#

Exercise 15

White to move

Double check

Solution 15

Mate in 1

1.♘a6#

Exercise 16

White to move

One check is bad enough

Solution 16

Mate in 1

1.♗xd6#

Exercise 17

White to move

Her Majesty checkmates

Solution 17

Mate in 1

1.♕e7#

Anderssen-Staunton 1851

Exercise 18

White to move

A mate from the past

Solution 18

Mate in 1

1.♕e8#

Staunton-Anderssen 1851

Exercise 19

White to move

This is more recent

Solution 19

Mate in 1

1.♕f3#

Kovacic-Tasic 2006

Exercise 20

White to move

Three ways to mate

Solution 20

Mate in 1

1.♕h7#

Exercise 21

White to move

The historic Arabian mate

Solution 21

Mate in 1

1.♖d8#

Exercise 22

White to move

A mate by ... Anderssen

Solution 22

Mate in 1

1.♖e8#

Anderssen-Mayet 1855

Exercise 23

White to move

Two ways to mate

Solution 23

Mate in 1

1.g4#

1.♕e4# .

Exercise 24

White to move

Castle early, castle often

Solution 24

Mate in 1

1.♘f6#

Staunton-Brodie 1851

Exercise 25

White to move

An opening tactic

Solution 25

Mate in 1

1.♘d6#

Exercise 26

White to move

Power along the rank

Solution 26

Mate in 1

1.♕d6#

Exercise 27

White to move

Black regrets not castling

Solution 27

Mate in 1

1.♕b5#

Zukertort-Anderssen 1865

Exercise 28

White to move

Ruling the ranks

Solution 28

Mate in 1

1.♕a8#

Exercise 29

White to move

By no means a draw

Solution 29

Mate in 1

1.♘c4#

Exercise 30

White to move

The queen and knight unite

Solution 30

Mate in 1

1.♕d8#

Adams-Leko 2005

Exercise 31

White to move

The king has strayed too far

Solution 31

Mate in 1

1.♕f7#

Lange-Anderssen 1859

Exercise 32

White to move

Black didn't develop

Solution 32

Mate in 1

1.♕e5#

Greco-NN 1620

Exercise 33

White to move

GMs get mated too

Solution 33

Mate in 1

1.♕xh5#

Petrosian-Kortchnoi 1977

Exercise 34

White to move

A 2006 mate

Solution 34

Mate in 1

1.♕f6#

Nadig-Vinas 2006

Exercise 35

White to move

The right piece for the job?

Solution 35

Mate in 1

1.♗e8#

Exercise 36

White to move

White's pieces are more active

Solution 36

Mate in 1

1.♕d6#

Nepomniachtchi-Sharma 2006

Exercise 37

White to move

Bishops rule

Solution 37

Mate in 1

1.♗g6#

Exercise 38

White to move

The R and N gang up on the king

Solution 38

Mate in 1

1.♖g8#

Kortchnoi-Padevsky 1972

Exercise 39

White to move

Cornered

Solution 39

Mate in 1

1.♘f7#

Exercise 40

White to move

It is nice to discover there's mate

Solution 40

Mate in 1

1.♘xf6#

Exercise 41

White to move

Two ways to end the game

Solution 41

Mate in 1

1.♘c6#

1.♘ed7# .

Exercise 42

White to move

Double trouble

Solution 42

Mate in 1

1.♖g5#

Exercise 43

White to move

A deadly pin

Solution 43

Mate in 1

1.♗xd7#

Exercise 44

White to move

Once again the king is exposed

Solution 44

Mate in 1

1.♗g5#

Exercise 45

White to move

An enterprising pawn

Solution 45

Mate in 1

1.gxh8♘#

Exercise 46

White to move

Easier than you would imagine

Solution 46

Mate in 1

1.♖e8#

Exercise 47

White to move

Mighty knights

Solution 47

Mate in 1

1.♘f7#

Exercise 48

White to move

Better not to exchange

Solution 48

Mate in 1

1.♖h5#

Exercise 49

White to move

A devastating discovered attack

Solution 49

Mate in 1

1.♘d3#

Exercise 50

White to move

The attacker wins

Solution 50

Mate in 1

1.♕a8#

Shaw-Tcharotchkin 2006

Exercise 51

White to move

Another king stuck in the centre

Solution 51

Mate in 1

1.♘d8#

Bets-Melnikov 2005

Exercise 52