Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
There is no question there are a number of free tactical trainers floating around the internet, whether for your smartphone/tablet, or for the web browser, but having tried all the major ones, I can safely say that ChessBase’s is one of the best, and certainly my favorite.
One thing that helps it stand out, is not just the huge amount of positions, but that they all feel distinctly ‘human’. This might seem like strange comment, but after running into tons of computer generated puzzles, many with very odd solutions, it becomes quite appreciable.
The first thing to do is to access the site. Remember, this is not a program you need to download, and should run in any modern browser, meaning it runs in Windows, MacOS, and even Linux.
Although you can use it as a Guest, if you do, you will miss out on many important features, including its ability to adapt the difficulty of the positions to your level. If you have a Playchess account, log into it here, and if not, just create a free account and log in.
Before starting, let’s take a quick look at the toolbar, and the new buttons and changes. On the left there is a Flip Board button, in case you want to view the position from one side or the other. The next buttons are fairly obvious, until you reach Criticise Position. If you are unhappy with the position for some reason, such as found an alternate solution, you click on it, and describe the problem. The Like Position button is when one position really tickled you for some reason, and you want to share that with others by giving it a thumbs up.
On the right there is a Send Feedback button, and this is for more general comments such as a bug in the site or a suggestion to improve it. You will also see a new Language button so that you can use the Tactics Training in any language you choose. If you don't see your language, nd would like to help translate it, click on the bottom menu option "Your Language Here!"
In the main screen, on the left is the position to solve, and on the right is a list of information such as the difficulty of the position, whether you have seen it before or not, plus the number of positions you have solved, your current rating per the trainer, and your title.
When you first start using the site, you start with a 1600 rating, and the positions it gives you will be quite easy. The more you solve, the higher your rating will become, and gradually the difficulty of those positions will also increase, and the more you stumble on, the more rating you will lose, also leading to easier positions for you.
Even if you already have a high rating (a couple of IMs who use the site quite regularly have ratings over 2500), when you first start a session, the first few puzzles will usually be very easy, even mates in one. The idea is to help you warm up, before challenging you with tougher ones.
Just one warning: if you feel tempted to ‘close the page’ with an unsolved position, it will treat this as unsolved and deduct Elo the next time you come back. To leave without this penalty: when done with a position, simply do not click on Next Position. In any case, much like blitz, the Elo will come and go on any given day or session, so don’t get too attached to this and just have fun.
White to play and win
Here we have a fairly difficult position. I spent quite some time working out the lines. The first line is simple, and was the only one the system tested me with. I was disappointed since the other line is much longer and harder to calculate, and I thought should be the main line.
As a result, I clicked on Criticise Position, and shared this opinion, and my alternate line
Sometimes the solution can be a quiet move, albeit vicious
Using the Tactics Trainer is quite a bit of fun, and it is set up so that you are not only challenged regularly, but can plot your progress. If you are using it on your own, feel free to do a few before the start of a round to warm up, or include sessions of solving in your study to improve. You can organize it by a set number of positions, or for a set amount of time.
As you improve and train you will get new ranking titles and feel free to see the Ranking
List to see where you fit in
Above all have fun, and May the Mates be With You.
