Book Reviews

CT ART: The Book!

Eugene Manchester
Combinative Motifs by Maxim Blokh, 2006 Daiv, Figurine Algebraic Notation,
Softcover, 304pp., $25.95
Over the last few years, one of the most popular
software programs for studying tactics has been CTART 3.0. Authored by Russian grandmaster Maxim
Blokh and released by Chess Assistant not to
mention heralded by Michael de la Maza in the
popular Everyman 2002 book Rapid Chess
Improvement it has proven itself to be a
comprehensive and challenging way for most
chessplayers to develop and hone their tactical skills.
CT-ART 3.0 is a program for the personal computer.
That also means that if you do not have a computer or
the prospect of working on your game on a PC does
not appeal to you, for all practical purposes this
program was not available to you. With the release, however, of Combinative
Motifs, that has changed. This is the hard copy version of CT-ART 3.0.
The material is presented in the same fashion as it is organized on the software:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Geometrical Motifs (1-112)

Weakness of files or diagonals (113-255)
Opposing (256-405)
Weakness of a square or squares (406-447)
A piece is overloaded (448-467)
Poorly protected pieces (468-504)
Misplaced Pieces (505-521)
Passed Pawn (522-587)
Limited Material (588-609)
Cramped King Position (610-653)
Poorly Protected King (654-1086)
Conjunction of Combinational Motifs (1087-1206)

If you are familiar with CT-ART, you already know that one of its unique
features is the presentation of many positions that can be treated as either White
to Play and Win or Black to Play and Win. These duals have been preserved
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Book Reviews

in the book. This means that there are many more tactical exercises to solve than
the designated 1200+.
The exercises and their solutions are presented without any narrative text or
explanations, but instead with Informant-style codes, allowing anyone, regardless
of his or her native language, to make full use of the book.
Here is a typical exercise. It is taken from the section on overloaded pieces.
#467

White to move and win

Solution: 1 Bxe5! Qe6 (1Rxe5 2 Qxe5! Qxe5 3 Bxc6+ Kb8 4 Rb7+ Ka8 5
Rxb6+ +) 2 Qf3! Ne7 3 Rxe7! Rxe7 4 Qxc6 Qxc6 5 Bxc6+ Rb7 6 Bxg7 +And now an example of a dual, from the Poorly Protect King section:
#789

White to move and win.

Black to move and win.
Solution (White): 1 Rxe4! dxe4 2 Bc4+ Kf8 (2Kh8 3 Nf7+ Kg8 4 Nxd8+) 3
Qf4+ Ke8 (3Qf6 4 Nxh7+) 4 Bf7+ Kd7 5 Qf5+ +- after Tikhanov-Shmelev,
USSR 1970( the white pawn on g2 moved to g3).
Solution (Black): 1Nxd4! 2 Qxd4 (2 Rxe4 dxe4 3 Bc4+ Kh8 4 Qf4 [4 Nf7+
Qxf7! 5 Bxf7 Nf3+] 4Qxg5! 5 Qxg5 Nf3+ 6 Kg2 Nxg5) 2Qxg5 -+.

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There is a reason the CT ART 3.0 has become one of the most popular tactical
training programs for the PC: It is easy to use, nicely organized and it is
instructive for both beginning and intermediate players. It probably would have
been better marketing to keep the name CT ART. In spite of the slightly
awkward sounding Combinative Motifs, it has the same content, benefits and
advantages. And of course, every bit as good.

Order Combinative Motifs

by Maxim Blokh

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