Once you have figured out how all the chess pieces move, what is the next step up the chess ladder? This helpful and entertaining book provides you with the complete answer. In this easy-to-follow guide, renowned chess teacher Chris Ward explains all the crucial checkmating patterns, plus how to catch out your opponents with an assortment of tricks and traps, commonly known as chess tactics. There is something for everyone in this book: improving players can benefit from learning the basic checkmates and the key tactics such as attacking and defending pieces, forks, pins and skewers, while more experienced players can discover the delights of advanced checkmates and sneaky tricks, ones that can flummox even the world's best players!

Learning chess tactics is fun and one of the quickest ways of improving your chess, and it's even more enjoyable when your opponents begin falling for your tricks! Read this book and, with the help of a Grandmaster, you will be ready to unleash your weapons in your chess battles, whoever your opponent may be.

• An ideal chess tactics and checkmates guide for the improving player
• Written by a distinguished chess author
• Full of notes, tips and warnings to help the reader

Introduction

I'm sure that you are itching to get into the main body of this book, so I won't keep you here long. Of course I have no idea how you will use this manuscript, but I would obviously prefer that it wasn't to swat flies or balance a table leg! Seriously, I am confident that you will be well versed in tactical play and the art of delivering checkmate if you work through this book from beginning to end, but it is important that you do so at your own pace. Please ensure that you take all the time that is required for you to get to grips with each theme.

The obvious problem when solving puzzles set in a newspaper or quiz book, as compared to a practical game of chess, is that in real life there is no angel (or devil!) who appears to inform you that you have a sacrifice available, leading, for example, to mate in three. In truth, recognising when it is worth investing time on your clock in tournament play to locate a 'winning combination' comes with experience. However, this book will try to fast-track you in that department, by making observations on such conditions under which tactical play is likely to be successful. Indeed, work your way through the exercises as well and you will soon become adept at recognising patterns. Then all that will be left will be for you to employ such ideas in your own games, and if you do so, then I'm sure that you will be satisfied.

In chess, winning is the important thing, but - well, nobody can deny that win­ning as a result of a snazzy combination or a pretty checkmate really adds the icing!

I hope you enjoy Starting Out: Tactks and Checkmates.

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