The Tactics Bible

So, here is another one of the thousands of chess books dealing with tactics! Well, nothing new under the sun; just a huge collection of categorised material, dealing with tactics and all existing mate patterns. I am not seeking glory with this book, but I certainly had to have a book in tactics! That’s the main idea of the book; to be a companion for trainers and players who seek improvement — simple but effective! The names of the mates are not important. What’s crucial is understanding and sub-consciously memorising these patterns in order to recognise when they’re about to occur in a player’s own games. These mating patterns are not confined to chess problems and puzzles. As will be shown, they occur in the games of Grandmasters and even World Champions, past and present! They belong to everybody’s games, even beginners’! Each mate’s theoretical pattern is presented as a diagram, with constructed examples and actual games. It is suggested that students set-up and play through these mates from the losers’ viewpoint as well. Most difficult of all is recognising patterns when they occur horizontally (i.e., rotated 90 degrees) from the normal orientation. The key to each pattern is the status of the squares surrounding the king: which ones are obstructed, which are potential flight squares that can be controlled with the available pieces. Players are advised to know these patterns forwards, backwards and upside down!

Novice players often complain they are unable to inflict these mates on their opponents and that opponents spot the threat and find a defensive move to prevent the mate.Knowledge of the game and the defensive skill of today’s players, even at the amateur level, is much greater than it was 200 years ago. Players should remember Nimzowitsch’s advice: ‘A threat is stronger than its execution’. Threatening mate can force the opponent to make a defensive move that may compromise his position elsewhere. The knowledgeable player uses a mating threat as a (small) tactical stepping stone to gain an advantage. Just like any piece of knowledge and its skillful application, a mate threat can be a potent tactical weapon in a player’s arsenal. One of the critical elements of position analysis is king safety, both one’s own king and the opponent’s. Armed with knowledge of mating patterns, players can be alert for opportunities to bring their games to a speedy conclusion or prevent a disaster if they find themselves under such pressure. Frequently, these mating possibilities occur on the kingside because players typically castle on that wing, or else in the middle of the board due to a player’s failure to castle.

Efstratios Grivas
September 2018

Excerpt