Possibly the best CDrom for the novice/intermediat

CT-ART 3.0 by Convekta

Using this program is like swinging 2 or 3 bats back and forth just before walking up to the plate to play chess. I swear by this program! It has nothing to do with opening play. It's sole function is to sharpen your tactics. I'm sure many of you already know this program, but for those of you who don't (like me a few weeks ago), do yourselves a favor and at least check it out online...there are several reviews. Actually, Michael de la Maza (author of the controversial RAPID CHESS IMPROVEMENT program) pounds this book hard into his reader's heads like it's the gospel.

Anyone think differently of the program? I'd love to hear why.

steelydan

It's the best you can get.

I think it's excellent but darned difficult. Even some of the level 1 tactics have multiple variations and 5 move combinations which seems excessively hard. I'm still working my way through the level 2 tactics until i can spot them almost immediately. At my lowly rating I prefer Chess Tactics For Beginners, made by the same Company.

I like CT art, but have one problem with it. The combinations almost always end in mate. So you end up looking for mate as every solution. In a real game, the combination might net merely a pawn, but that would be enough to win. In most games combinations of this sort are far more common. For the life of me, I don't see why producers of books, cd's, etc. focus on forced mates because they almost never happen over the board. A book like Bobby Fischer's Outrageous Chess Moves (besides the sappy title and besides the fact it's all about Fischer) is more like what i have in mind. Sometimes the combinations win a minimum of material, but enough to tilt the balance.

I do agree that most of the combinations in CT-ART to end with mate. However, I don't find it to be so much of a problem--I still think the aim of the program is achieved. Because so many of the combinations are 5,6, and 7 moves long I think the "swinging with several bats" analogy still applies. I'm getting a big dose of tactical motifs that happen to lead mostly to mates. For me, this sharpens my awareness during the middle game.

I tried practicing with CT-ART before participating in the Chicago Open this summer. My USCF rating going in was a lowely 875. I came out of the U1200 section with a 5.5 of 7. I wasn't expecting to do that good at all! Every game is different, I know, but I have to give CT-ART some props for my performance. I was more alert at the board (seeing 2-4 moves ahead...not easy for me) while always spotting my opponents' threats (also not the easiest thing for me).

I will admit that CT-ART is difficult. It's really demoralizing when you get a level-1 problem wrong....only to be headed towards harder level-2 and 3 problems. You gain a real appreciation for chess technique, that's for sure.

For purely combinational setups, I'd recommend some books (these books don't necessarily aim for mates): COMBINATION CHALLENGE by Lou Hays and John Hall. ENDGAME CHALLENGE for that matter also. And the mother of mothers, CHESS by Laszlo Polgar. I really do think these are staples for any ameteur chessplayer's library.

peace,
Steelydan

Yea, Steely Dan, if you practice on ct art your game will get better, undoubtedly. However, my argument still stands: The best tactics practise consists of combinations as close to over the board as possible and that means combinations that lead to winning a pawn or even giving you a little better position. This type happens all the time, while the combination leading to mate happens rarely. They get rarer and rarer as your opponents get better and better. At one point I did lots of work on CT arts. When played OTB I found myself constantly looking for that mating combination. Only it wasn't there! Meanwhile, my opponent would push a pawn, get a better strategic position and win hands down.

point well taken, buddy.

I wonder if there are any collections of positions where the net profit of simple tactical combinations is merely a pawn. THAT would be reality.

And the reality might be: nobody would buy it. It's much more persuasive to call your book Find the Mate, or Crush with Combinations! and not Find the Combination that Leads to a Positional Edge. Reality doesn't sell, even to chessplayers. I've seen quite a few players who develop rapidly, build a solid position, then stare at the board for an hour looking for that mate in three espoused by CT Art. I'm not saying CT ARt is bad; it simply give a distorted picture of the evolution of a game. As long as u balance CT ARt with the study of open files, minority attacks, exchange sacrificies, etc AND of course your strategic concepts, you should be ok.

It's about patterns.If you practice with CT-art a lot,you develop a high skill of pattern recognition.You will not only start to see more checkmates,but also any other type of tactical shot.Of course,you must look for them.If you only look for mate threats from,say,move 15 on,and do not care to win a pawn or a piece,you'll lose 90% of the time.

Yea, Sirlosealot, I agree about the patterns. Mating patterns can be used to gain advantage in other ways too. I just think when CT ART uses 90% mating attacks it gives a skewed impression of the game. Actually, it might be more. I haven't counted. I just remember it made it easier to find each solution by looking at the king and the pieces that could be brought to bear on his majesty, knowing that a mate was there. In real life, usually it isn't. It's like implying that every time you buy a lottery ticket you'll win a million instead of the twenty buck it coughs up (sometimes). And might I mention that well-respected writers like J. Silman despise de la Maza's Rapid Chess Improvement. You should see his scathing attack on his web site. Later.

I did read the Silman review of De la Maza. He HATEs the book. I can understand why. And at the same time, I'm split about it. Mostly because I'm just a novice and haven't yet crafted either a solid positional style OR tactical attacking bent.

The review is entertaining to read....SirLoseAlot, you should find it and read it :-)

On the plus side Silman says CT ARt will help those deficient in tactical skills, but it's only one facet of what is needed to become a high rated player. In the end, he says of de la Maza's Rapid Chess Improvement, "When all is said and done, I can’t recommend RAPID CHESS IMPROVEMENT (a book that, in my view, offers a philosophically bankrupt vision of what chess is). It smacks of “the blind leading the blind.” But, as I said earlier, his book might prove useful for some." I don't know what the numbers are, but I wager de la Maza has sold more of this slim volume than anything Silman has written. Maybe this has something to do with his attitude toward the book.

Originally posted by buddy2
Yea, Sirlosealot, I agree about the patterns. Mating patterns can be used to gain advantage in other ways too. I just think when CT ART uses 90% mating attacks it gives a skewed impression of the game. Actually, it might be more. I haven't counted. I just remember it made it easier to find each solution by looking at the king and the pieces that could b ...[text shortened]... la Maza's Rapid Chess Improvement. You should see his scathing attack on his web site. Later.

SirLoseAlot,

that is precisely why I like the program. I am able to recognize when there is not mating attack in sight.... but I can't help recognizing the plus side to the kind of practice CT-ART provides. If anything, it's just an easy, put-together collection of combinations (mostly mating) which you can sort by theme or difficulty level. It's just a VERY convenient disc to have.

We must remember...it really is just giving the user just over a thousand "snapshots" of fantasy chess positions, nothing more. The "realer" you want to get, the closer one must simply study databases and critical positions from within.

steelydan (the best band since....well ....)

Renko has a CD of over 4000 tactics that involve pins, skewers, double attacks etc rather than play for mates. It's made by Chessbase.