Chess is 99% tactics. If this celebrated observation is true for the master, how much more so for beginners and casual players! If you want to win more games, nothing works better than training combinations.

There are two types of books on tactics, those that introduce the concepts followed by some examples, and workbooks that contain numerous exercises.

Chess masters and trainers Franco Masetti and Roberto Messa have done both: they explain the basic tactical ideas AND provide an enormous amount of exercises for each different theme. Masetti and Messa have created a great first tactics book. It teaches you how to:

• identify weak spots in the position of your opponent
• recognize patterns of combinations
• visualize tricks.

1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners can also be used as a course text book, because only the most didactically productive exercises have been used.

Uwe Bekemann, German Correspondence Chess Federation:
"I recommend this work, exactly for what it wants to be: a workbook. Beginners will become stronger without being put under too much stress."

Max Euwe Center, Amsterdam:
"A nice puzzle book for beginners and players with some experience, nothing more, nothing less."

Steve Goldberg, ChessCafe:
"I would classify it more as an excellent practice tool for 'advanced' beginners, and a fun, convenient tactics review for intermediate players."

Martin Rieger, Rochade Europa:
"A wonderful mix of various tactical motifs and a great assembly of exercises that really should be in every chess book collection."