Thinking methods are at the heart of the chess struggle, yet most players devote little conscious effort to improving their calculating ability. Much of the previous literature on the subject has presented idealized modeis that have limited relevance to the hurly-burly of practical chess, or eise provide little more than ad hoc suggestions. Here, experienced trainer Valeri Beim strikes a balance by explaining how to use intuition and logic together to solve tactical Problems in a methodical way. He also offers advice on when it is best to calculate 'like a machine', and when it is better to rely on intuitive assessment.

Introduction

This book is not typical of the majority of books about tactics, or collections of combinations, nor does it contain a conventional classification of combinations by theme. However, the reader will find plenty of combinations themselves, and the book will also cover, from an original and unconventional standpoint, a number of wider questions. Most of all, it is concerned with two of the most important subjects in chess - tactics and the calculation of variations.

I am convinced that there can be no doubt of the special importance of these two subjects, because there is not a player in the world who has not frequently (I emphasize - frequently, not just once or twice) suffered from one of the following:

a) overlooking a possible tactical blow from the opponent;

b) failing to seize the opportunity of a favourable tactical resolution to the problems of the position; or,

c) simply being outclassed by his opponent in the art of calculating variations, which as we shall see, consists of a number of components.

Alternatively, let us take the example of such a vital aspect of chess as the ability to place one's pieces on the most favourable squares. Even where the correct formation is obvious to the player, he still has to carry out the necessary regrouping in the correct move-order. And the correctness of the latter depends wholly on accurate calculation of variations. An error in this department can wreck even the most immaculate positional conception. Furthermore, a weakness in tactics and the calculation of variations can cost a player dearly, even in the most favourable of positions. Such situations have, without doubt, occurred in the practice of every chess-player.

There is one other aspect of this problem. Positional errors can damage one's position, but rarely in a way that is immediately fatal. By contrast, mistakes in calculating variations (especially over­looking tactical resources, be they for oneself or the opponent) can, and often do, lead to a serious deterioration in one's position, if not an immediate loss. Furthermore, as you will see in this book, in many positions it is difficult, if not impossible, to arrive at an accurate assessment without calcu­lating concrete variations. In other words, the ability to calculate variations has a significant influence on a player's positional judgement.

And there is one final, but highly important, consideration. Let us ask ourselves this question: of all the qualities a chess-player needs for success, which is the most important? Of the many possi­ble answers, I think we can agree with this one: the ability to win! And the most important element in this is the player's tactical mastery and ability to calculate variations. If a player has an insufficient level of skill in this respect, it is extremely difficult to achieve success in chess, just as a soccer team cannot win without having at least one player who can put the ball in the back of the net.

From all that has been said, one inescapable conclusion follows: although chess consists of many different elements, the single most important factors in deciding the outcome of a game of chess are tactics and the calculation of variations.

As my regular readers will notice, some of the problems we shall deal with in this book have already formed the subject of one chapter in my first book Chess Recipes from the Grandmaster 's Kitchen. It is now time to reveal that that book consisted in the main of a series of articles about dif­ferent themes, almost a collection of draft outlines. It had always been my intention that those parts of the book which dealt with the most important issues would be covered in more detail in separate volumes, and the present book represents the first of these. In this regard, I should point out that in it, I have not repeated any of the examples used in Recipes and that with only insignificant exceptions, nothing presented here has appeared before in my other books. I have also tried, to the greatest possible extent, to use in this book the most recent and up-to-date material, in particular games from the past three years. Having said that, I have also used some examples from the classics, but mostly ones that should not be overly familiar to most readers.

The quantity of material presented here is considerable, but the amount available to me was even greater. To keep the coverage concise, I have mostly quoted game fragments, and have only rarely given complete games. In addition, in the 'Exercises' section, when presenting the solutions, I have often added additional material to that in the main body of the book, offering further conclusions and advice.

Despite all that I have said above about the importance of the subject covered here, I am sure that many chess lovers will inevitably wonder whether yet another book is really needed on a subject about which so much has been, and continues to be, written. What in particular can the reader expect to find in this book, other than just some newer examples of the same topics? I have said before that I never start work on a book unless I can say that I have something new to present. Whether great or small, there is always something new in my books. On this occasion, I shall present you with an especially significant number of completely original considerations, conclusions and recommendations, which in the main are either contrary to the generally-accepted views, or in some cases supplement and develop these views. It follows from this that the book is inevitably somewhat polemical in places, and this is especially true in relation to the work of Grandmaster Kotov, who in the past wrote a good deal about the same subject.

As with my previous books, I politely request that my readers send me their comments on what they read here, irrespective of whether these comments are favourable or otherwise. Both your praise and your constructive criticism will be received with my gratitude. My e-mail address is valeribeim@ gmx.net

Valeri Beim

Vienna, June 2006

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