Tal's Winning Chess Combinations the Secrets of Winning Chess Combinations Described and Explained

Tal's Winning Chess Combinations the Secrets of Winning Chess Combinations Described and Explained - Tal and Khenkin

Product Details



* Hardcover: 409 pages
* Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 27, 1979)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0671242628
* ISBN-13: 978-0671242626
This book is as close to new for a 29 year old book as I have ever seen. According to the reviews, this is one of the best tactics books ever made. I will post a review by one of the people on Amazon.com:


5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on combinations I've ever seen, December 28, 2007 The book still merits 5 stars. Here's why:


1) It is organized according to the pieces involved: 1-R; 2-B; 3-N; 4-Q; 5-P; 6-2Rs; 7-Q+B; and on to 14-three pieces. This way you get to see how the pieces combine and interact (Kotov's "means")*.


2) There are 826 positions in the text and an additional 271 exercise positions (at the end of each chapter), in a little over 400 pages.


3) The motif gets far less attention than it should in chess. (A motif is what is in the present position that suggests the combination. A theme is after the fact.) There is more attention to motifs in this book than in any other I've seen.


4) The text is very easy going, almost whimsical, yet extremely instructive. It is superbly and concisely written and the translation by Hanon Russel is outstanding.


From page 198: "In Flohr-Hilg (1934), Black, at first glance, is not threatened by anything." (diagram) "However, this is only a superficial impression. The Knight on KB3 is covering two critical squares, its Q4 and KR2, and after 1. N-Q5! it is apparent that it is 'serving too many masters.' One must fall."


As you can see, that the knight is covering two critical squares is a motif for the combination beginning with 1. N-Q5. (The theme here would be "overloaded piece".) The whole book reads as simply and clearly as this, making it a pleasure to go through it several times.


My copy, less its spine, is still serving as one of the three chess books I use regularly. It is a clothbound hardcover. Though some pages have loosened, it is more durable than the great majority of chess books I've owned. It is high time this book was reissued (in algebraic notation, of course).


Note that it should have been called "Tal's Book of Winning Chess Combinations," since the great majority of the combinations in the book are from other players' games.

talcombo
Reg price: $149.95
Sale price: $99.95
Quantity: