HOW TO CALCULATE CHESS TACTICS

by Valeri Beim
Part 1: Tactics in Chess
What are Tactics and Combinations?
Tactics are the instrument by which one solves concrete problems arising from the pursuit
of strategic aims.
Tactics deal with current problems, that is, problems which need to be solved here and
now. Another very important factor, it seems to me, is that in chess the distinction between
tactical and other methods of solving a particular problem results to a significant extent from the
players emotional perception. What I mean is that chess-players traditionally consider an
operation to belong to the realm of tactic when it is at first glance unexpected, non-standard,
often sharply changing the development of the action on the board, or its intensity. In ordinary
life, such events are frequently described as revolutionary.
Tactics in chess consist of two basic elements: tactical blows (sometimes called
combinative blows) and combinations.
A Tactical Blow
Firstly, tactical blow can be an independent thing, and need not always have a
continuation in the form of a combination. Secondly, a tactical blow is not always connected
with a sacrifice (and, indeed, doesnt have to be the first move of a combination, although this is
an insignificant detail), but it must always be revolutionary, i.e. radically changing the situation
on the board.
A tactical blow is merely the smallest individual unit which exists within the overall
phenomenon that we call tactics.
The Combination
A combination is a system of tactical blows and their interconnections, having a forcing
character, and leading to favorable consequences for the perpetrator.
It is a system, because in a combination, often an initial tactical blow and its immediate
consequences are frequently followed, after a few moves, by another tactical blow, and so on.
The forcing nature of a combination is an important element, while their interconnections
provide for a series of moves, not themselves containing a revolutionary element. a combination
aims to bring an advantage to its perpetrator
In summary:

1. Chess tactics are concerned with problems which require urgent resolution.
2. Chess-Players traditionally consider as tactics methods of play which at first glance
appear unexpected, unorthodox, often changing radically the direction of events on the board or
the intensity with which these events flow. In other words, things which are generally called
radical or revolutionary.
3. Tactics is an abstract conception. It materializes on the board in the form of tactical
blows, which are themselves a form of revolution in chess, and are at the same time the smallest
elements within tactic. It is from these elements, or building blocks, that combinations are
const4ructed. A combination is a system of tactical blows and their interconnections, having a
forcing character and intended to be to the advantage of the perpetrator.
Tactical blows do not only occur as part of combinations, but can also appear in isolation,
although this is relatively rare.
In situations where it is not immediately obvious how your piece activity can be
converted into victory, the player who wields the initiative should seek the most promising way
forward and make a few steps in that direction. Once you have done so, you can see things more
clearly than is the case in an earlier position, and the path to victory, if it exists, often becomes
clear.
When in time trouble, it is often useful for the stronger side to repeat moves (only not
three times), so as to defer important decisions until he can consider them in more detail.
Tactics in Practice
The calculation only of forcing variations enables the player to concentrate his attention
on only a relatively narrow area, which eases his task.
Having missed one possibility to decide the game by a tactical blow, if another one arises
it is usually more complicated and therefore more difficult for the player to see. When a player
misses a chance to decide the game by a tactical blow, he complicates his task considerably and
may well place the win in doubt.
Blow for Blow
In most cases, it is the attacker who lands tactical blows, but it also happens occasionally
that the defender finds a tactical resource in reply.