1001 Checkmate Exercises: Mastering An Essential Chess Skill

Improve your game by studying 1001 all-new checkmate exercises!

This book presents 1001 checkmate exercises from recent tournament games, and they are aimed at club players or other players who want to improve their skills in this essential area of chess. The large collection of exercises is complemented by a format that is also designed to improve the reader's visualisation skills.

The book contains mate in 1, 2, 3 and 4 exercises. The mate in 1, 2 and 3 exercises are split into two chapters for each mate. In the first chapter for the particular mate, the position is given just before the mate is possible, and the reader is required to find the mate. In the second chapter, the position is given before the losing move is made. The task is to visualise this move, and then to find the mate.

The format of the book means that the level of visualisation required to solve the exercises increases by one half-move (or ply in computer chess terms) with each chapter. Hence, the exercises gradually extend the reader's visualisation skills, as well as improving checkmating skills.

The goal of each exercise is to find the quickest mate. In some positions, there may be several moves that lead to checkmate, but the quickest mate is required. There is only one first move for each exercise that achieves this goal. Detailed solutions are provided for all the exercises, and they have been computer-checked by several strong chess engines for accuracy.

The book will be a valuable resource for club and improving players, and it will give the reader many hours of instruction and entertainment.

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