Improve Your Chess!

Let me start by saying tactics are the weakest part of my game. Having come to chess at the age of 30, I did not benefit from my youth. Quite the contrary. Many would say, I was washed up even before I started to play chess. I talk about this in a previous article.

Luckily, I am not so easily discouraged. In fact, I do not believe that the young learn more quickly than adults. Rather, I believe that an adult who can put as much time into the game as an adolescent can improve just as quickly, if not faster.

That is the good news. The bad news is that a great deal of time is needed to improve tactical play.

Aging chess players have one great advantage over younger players. If you have been studying chess for decade or so, you are bound to have a much greater knowledge-base than do younger players. Not only with chess, but you will also have learned psychology and emotional control. These are important aspects in competitive chess.

Consequently, such knowledge can be leveraged over the board when a well-read player develops his/her tactical play. Remember, chess is easy!

All one needs to play this game is "The patience and resolve to see the consequence of all reasonable moves", Patrick Flynn.

OK, so I haven't addressed the question head on. Let's do that now.

To improve tactical play, you must go all the way back to relearn the board and basic piece play. I started with an empty board. I looked at all the diagonals tracing them with my eyes. Then I reviewed the rank and file. Once I did this, I asked myself questions. What color is the b4 square, the c7 square, the h5 square, the e4 square, etc. Then I asked about the diagonals, how many squares are in the a2-g8 diagonal and what color are they? If you take the time to assess your knowledge of the board, you will probably be quite surprised with just how unfamiliar the chess board really is ... after all, so few times do we see the board without pieces obscuring our view.

Now I add pieces and trace their movements on the board. I want to know what squares they can reach in 1, 2, and 3 moves. This can be surprisingly difficult as well. Just try your hand at the well know win in a KQ vs KR endgame. Understanding piece piece mobility is critical if you are to force mate before drawing on the 50-move rule.

With that done, I went back to basic mating patterns and simple endgames. I am currently studying two books to improve my calculation and precision.

First, "Secrets of Pawn Endings" by Muller and Lamprecht is by far one of the very best chess books ever written. In this comprehensive study of king and pawns, you learn to calculate long tactical lines. In addition, you will gain an appreciation for precision. To get your just results in these endings, your play must accurate.

Second, "1001 Brilliant Mating Combinations" by Fred Rinefeld develops your understanding of piece play and forcing combinations. This book is a valuable reference to anyone trying to improve his/her tactics. The book has few words. But in its silence, you understand simple mating themes as well as some very unusual mating tactics.

In short, the study of tactics requires diligence and study. I set aside 6 hours a week for these exercises. However, my lifestyle does not always allow this study. Consequently, my play suffers when I do not exercise my chess mind. So if you really want to improve in this area, you must first set aside time each day to familiarize yourself with piece play in the middle and end games.

Good luck in your studies.

Written by: Kevin Monte de Ramos