Back to Basics: Tactics (ChessCafe Back to Basics Chess)

Tactics are usually why most people find chess fun! This book will greatly enhance your enjoyment learning about ― and benefiting from ― the recurring patterns of tactics. In chess, if you lose all your pieces you can't win! And if you capture each of your opponent's pieces, winning should be easy. Even if you just get ahead by a small amount of material, your chances of winning soar. The way to win your opponent's pieces is through the use of tactics. This book is about all types of beginning tactics. The author covers comprehensively the subject with basic instructional material, examples, and problems of all types ― about 500 examples and problems ranging from too easy to very difficult! Back to Basics: Tactics ― the first in the ChessCafe Back to Basics Chess Series ― should enhance your enjoyment in learning about ― and benefiting from ― the recurring patterns of tactics.


It does not matter who gets the advantage out of the opening if one of the players is likely to lose a piece to a simple tactic in the middlegame. Losing a piece from an advantageous position will almost always result in a lost position. So study tactics, not openings, until you almost never lose pieces to simple tactical motifs.

This book is an introduction to the various kinds of basic chess tactics. With instructional material, examples, and problems of all types, the subject of chess tactics is covered comprehensively. There are approximately 500 examples ranging from easy to challenging!

Dan Heisman (born 1950) is a United States Chess Federation National Master and author. He is the two-time Open chess champion of Philadelphia (1973 and 1976), and the Philadelphia Invitational Chess Champion (1973). His Penn State team won the U.S. Amateur Team Championship in 1972. Although rated over 2200 by both the United States Chess Federation and FIDE, he is currently inactive as a tournament player. Heisman is a member of the International Computer Games Association and worked at both Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov matches (1996 and 1997).