Why Puzzles Books Are Better than Online Tactics Trainers

IM Kostya explains why he believes puzzle books are better for improvement compared to online tactics trainers (chess.com, lichess, chesstempo, etc.)
Please watch the whole video to hear my full thoughts before commenting, thanks!
Friendly disclaimer: I'm a fan of all the sites (chess.com, lichess, chesstempo, chess24, etc.) and love what they do for chess players. These are just the humble thoughts of a long-time chess coach :D
Check out my full review of ChessKing tactics apps here: • The Only App You Need ...
0:00 Intro
0:06 Main advantage of puzzle books
1:14 Main issue with online puzzles
4:37 "Instructive puzzle" #1
7:57 "Instructive puzzle" #2
12:30 Typical disclaimers!
TLDW:
Puzzle books contain hand-selected puzzles based on instructive value, often chosen by a strong player/coach.
Online trainers:
- Solutions tend to be computerized
- Puzzles end before the full solution is played out
- The critical/principled/logical defense is not given in favor of the "computer" defense, which is often less instructive
Make sure to follow me on ChessDojo!
twitch.tv/chessdojolive
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chess_dojo

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Please watch the full video to hear my complete thoughts before commenting, thanks! 0:00 Intro 0:06 Main advantage of puzzle books 1:14 Main issue with online puzzles 4:37 "Instructive puzzle" #1 7:57 "Instructive puzzle" #2 12:30 Typical disclaimers!

[@yoniker83]

Nice video Kostya! Could you do a video about Yusupov's entire 10 books series and how to use it from your honest point of view? :D

[@lp4969]

Kostya explains chess improvement tips like nobody, he really is a gem in the chess community

[@LoneWolf2308]

I agree with you...

[@jakubdobrzyckipianist7922]

Absolutely phenomenal Coach ☺

[@billyb6001]

I like him, hanging pawns and chessnetwork.

[@Trynottoblink]

Surprisingly similar to what Andras Toth says about how beginners (which I am) don’t do puzzles the right way. He says the right way to do them is how his teacher made him do it when he was learning chess. He’d get a puzzle on paper, calculate the best line and any possible variations for whichever side is to move, and then his teacher would look at it and tell him if he was right or if he missed something. Point being that you don’t get rewarded for guessing or figuring it out as you go along.

[@jimbrady7030]

As someone who has gotten better at calculation from books, I approve of this message.

[@sqworm5397]

Hello! Some book recommendations please?

[@AndresGonzalez-wc3ek]

Yes please, which books do you recommend?

[@antoniopabloquintanilla8145]

Could you please recommend some books?

[@jimbrady7030]

@@antoniopabloquintanilla8145 tactics time 1 and 2 have been the most helpful, woodpecker method is not bad either

[@antoniopabloquintanilla8145]

@@jimbrady7030 Cool, thanks a lot for the tip! :)

[@buddythompson5284]

Hah, I got a puzzle today that was "White to move and draw". It was a one move solution puzzle. White had only one legal move. I managed to solve it.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Hahaha

[@PhilomathBret]

Yeah, if you miss enough puzzles on chesstempo that your rating gets super low, it will give you puzzles like that that are impossible to get wrong.

[@Evilanious]

Another advantage, I find, is that puzzle books are normally organised by theme and the theme is explained. I found it quite helpful to see a good selection of decoy puzzles to get that specific idea drilled, instead of just random tactics of every variety or the automatic or crowdsourced selection you can use in tactics trainers where somebody has for example marked passed pawn as a theme because there is an irrelevant black pawn on a7 that's technically a passer but has no relevance to the puzzle which is mate in three. They really help you learn specific things.

[@yakkyuu12]

what are some of your best puzzle book recommendations for different levels of players?? I would also appreciate any feedback from people reading this post!! Thank you!

[@matiasgoinheix366]

Man, I'm subbed to many chess channels, but most of them went the streaming way and it's really unintersting and mostly filler by now. You have a great channel here, wish it was promoted more because the information you give is really good. At least for a 1300 like myself. Thanks for the videos.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Thanks for the kind words! Please note my main channel these days is kzbin.info, where you can find many more instructive videos!

[@matiasgoinheix366]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy Well, subbed!

[@MrSupernova111]

Agreed!

[@musicguitar]

Totally agree!! I’m 1700 and learn so much from this channel! Keep it up!!

[@onnoquinten2944]

this is so helpful. All the motivation I needed to start using CT - ART again, because I already knew it was a great app, but was just being lazy and not getting a new smartphone and just doing lichess puzzles and being content with that

[@travistucker4067]

So glad I found this channel!🔥

[@diegovillanueva7889]

All my respect and admiration to Kostya. This guy knows what he's talking about. I am a chess coach and still, I am learning a lot from his content.

[@tammy5554]

Started by watching you from chess dojo and many videos later I’m still following , by far one of the most instructive and high end quality information about chess and all, wished I had discovered you sooner. Also bought some of the books you recommended like Silmans Endgame, Thank you very much

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Thanks so much!

[@jiteshkumarsahoo2830]

I so much needed this video!

[@luxxianalux6769]

Wow this video is good. Originally I thought online puzzles and book puzzles are nothing different. But I really change my opinion after I watched your video, and I really agree with what you said.

[@inguh7041]

Great points raised. One counterargument is books sometimes don't show all the plausable moves/defences either (even with very good books), and it's very time consuming to input the position manually to check with engine

[@marcofrey2903]

Just a 1600 chiming in here with two counterarguments. 1) So why not just practice online puzzles in a more disciplined way by forcing yourself to calculate and visualize all reasonable variations before making a move? I find it especially useful on a budget and it's faster than setting up a physical board as well as leafing through pages (to the index of answers, etc). 2) Puzzles organized by theme can be great for building a repertoire of patterns in your head, but they also provide a bias towards the right answer. If I'm in the back rank tactics chapter, well my brain is primed to look for those tactics. Random online puzzles mix it up forcing you to jog through your brain's rolodex of patterns and ideas. PLUS: Aren't Lichess puzzles taken from real games? They're not all created using AI.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

1) That is a very good idea but most people don't do this and also you have a chance to "change" your answer after seeing the opponent's response. 2) I recommend to do puzzles by theme when starting out, then switching over to random puzzles. The first is better for building pattern recognition and the second can be done once the patterns are there. 3) Lichess/Chesscom/ChessTempo all do the same thing essentially -- they scan games for tactics. Often the tactics weren't "found" in the game. It's the computer finding a tactic that could have happened. That's what I mean by puzzles generated by AI. Some are good, some are very random.

[@marcofrey2903]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy Helpful clarification. Thanks!

[@billelliott4217]

THIS helps!! Thank You :)

[@str2254]

As a beginner, my problem with books is that when you face exercises that are too hard for you, on which you're failing: You don't have the opportunity to do exercises that are similar to those, in a similar level of difficulty, so that you can learn and improve. You get stuck with those exercises you've missed, and your only hope is to memorize them. I was just reading the soviet chess primer and in chapter 2, from exercises 11 to 17, i only got the 16th right (i was spending from 30mins to an hour on each). With an online trainer it'd assign me a rating and recommend me exercises similar to those before i progress to harder ones. Also i think you're having a lot of strong assumptions about how someone trains online. Of course if one wants to get the puzzle right he has to calculate all black's responses, no matter if it's an online trainer or book. If you don't mind having a good solving rate you can just lazily find some random variation that may give a win for white and take it for granted. But it's a problem with the player, not the platform.

[@BallisticaMetal]

Tactics and pattern recognition go hand by hand... if you didn't solve it it was because you didn't know the pattern, don't give up, now that you learned that pattern you will never forget it and it will always pop up quickly in any game/puzzle.

[@ImMarkiee]

Great vid, I got that app you half recommended, but there are no book recommendations?

[@thefrancuteleac]

I agree with everything that Kostya said. I came to the same conclusions on my own. I have multiple versions of Chess Tactics Art(by Maxim Blokh) and I think the software is very instructive and useful, because it makes you play the main variation till the end and also a few side variations. On the other hand, when solving puzzles online, I would sometime lose points because of a "wrong"" answer, but after turning on my engine, it would approve of my move, it would still be a very good one, it just wasn't the move they wanted. Because they would only accept one "correct" answer. Also, the advantage of a software like CT-art over printed books is its interactive character.

[@Patrizsche]

Thanks for this explanation, this is the first time I hear this

[@screamingliner]

ooh, my pet peeve is getting on online puzzle where the opponent's last move was missing mate in 1.

[@MrSupernova111]

Thank you so much for posting this!!!! I think far too many players waste endless hours doing online tactics which lead nowhere. Personally, I went from 1400 to 2100+ online without doing online tactic puzzles whatsoever. In fact, I rarely did any actual book puzzles either. I learned to calculate by analyzing GM games and my own games. If I saw a great combination regardless of depth I would set up the position on a board and force myself to visualize the entire combination without assistance. I remember years ago learning about a devastating 9 move combination Kasparov deployed against Karpov with a forced win. If I saw the position again today I would recognize it instantly. Sometimes I could spend 20-30 minutes per position. But the result is that I learned to calculate deep combinations. Maybe not coincidentally, I'm horrible at doing online puzzles because they are meaningless to me - especially fast timed puzzles. Great video! Thanks!!

[@ChessJourneyman]

And others climbed from 800 to 2300 by doing online puzzles because reading positions from a book and setting them up is inefficient. Go figure!

[@MrSupernova111]

@@ChessJourneyman . Nobody goes from 800 to 2300 by simply doing puzzles. If you think puzzles alone are going to get you to 2300 you have a lot to learn. Since my original comment my rating peaked at 2200+. But hey, continue doing meaningless puzzles for the sake of doing them.

[@KKolbet]

Sorry for comment after so long. I'm at around 1300_1350 10min and 10+5. I was doing Fischer's book and winning chess, plus tempo and lichess puzzles. Everyday. I see improvement absolutely. Do you recommend these books or the chess kings to replace lichess and tempo? I like tempo and lichess because it's just fun. I also practice with Lucas chess. Thank you :)

[@yoniker83]

Nice video Kostya! Could you do a video about Yusupov's entire 10 books series and how to use it from your honest point of view? :D

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

I'm a big fan of the Yusupov books. My general recommendation is to use a chess board when going through books. There's a training group in ChessDojo's Discord server that discusses the Yusupov series as well, you should check it out! (Check description for links to ChessDojo)

[@moniquecameron9767]

In another video you spoke of ChessKing. Would these apps/courses be the exception to what you're saying in this video about puzzle books being better than online?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Yes they are my favorite since they most closely resemble puzzle books

[@Memorex996]

what's are some good ways to get the most out of puzzle books if you study alone? For Example, want to go over Van Perlo's Endgame Tactics book

[@sleads]

HI my fide rating is 1400 . what books do you suggest me to read to improve my chess rating to +1800?

[@delboy9234]

Kostya makes a very valid point. I sometimes use sites to solve puzzles, and have noticed they often don't play out the most testing lines, at least from the human point of view. It's unrealistic, because it's like the engine assumes you know the refutation in important side lines.

[@tuddgrimley8532]

Some really good points here. Now I want to buy some books, I feel like I've been missing out

[@zenchess]

This is why I like the ct-art app for pc (i know there's a phone app too but I haven't tried it). It makes sure you actually understand every relevant variation of the tactic you are solving

[@zenchess]

Ah my bad I should have watched the whole video 1 minute later you recommend ct-art LOL

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

I did a whole review on it for kzbin.info!

[@henrybomba6428]

There chess puzzle on chessable that i believe follows your thoughts on puzzles? I think doing those puzzles has been better for my mind. I got few ones, common chess patterns i like for tactics.

[@torrubirubi]

Kostyra, in the case you read these comments, I have a question for you. I know I have to analyse my games. However, after losing a game I simply hate to go through it again. Probably you will say, “come on, don’t be silly, check nevertheless the game”, and I would say “thanks, I actually knew this”. My question is however more subtle. I actually would like to know how did you deal with this problem personally. Or how you convince your students to analyse their games. Did you always analyse your games? Or did something happen to you to make you consistently analyse your games? Thanks for the answer. And thanks for your great videos!

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Interesting question! I would say for me, I learned that if I analyzed my games, I would be less likely to lose in the same (painful) ways. Of course, if you blunder a piece, there is little to analyze-- you just didn't see it...but you can explore your mindset during the game, your time usage, and come up with some insights into your own play anyways. Lately I've been working on converting winning positions. It's difficult to review the missed chances, but I hope it will help me win more in the future. So my brain feels like it's worth it. Hope that helps!

[@torrubirubi]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy I see, thanks for the answer! I will consider your advice in my next analysis.

[@cenoh2381]

Recommended puzzle book sir IM? future GM

[@staycalmandrelaxed5724]

I teach my little niece and nephew there between 6-8 years old now.. they love this game....there going to be crazy players if they keep practicing..im thinking maybe I should get them to do more puzzles

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Puzzles are the way! Keep it fun for them :)

[@sourandbitter3062]

I've tried both books and online puzzles. In my opinion, Chesstempo isn't too far from book quality. You won't find a puzzle ending on move 1 (like the Bxh7+ example), plus there's a comments section where you can review lines you might have missed. My personal choice out of the three.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

You've had a very different experience to me, every time I try chesstempo I find lots of puzzles with strange, computery solutions. But a lot of folks have expressed success with it, so that definitely counts for quite a bit!

[@paulgoogol2652]

Very good points. For one of the reasons I didn't like a chess tactics book recommended to a friend by a teacher. It would force you to find a mate in 2,3,4... in trivially won positions. I'd say alright every move wins, let's move on, chat. Guess I was too picky. Often precision is much required but I'm like why not run up this juicer.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

I have to disagree with you a bit. The "mate-in-x" problems are useful because they train you to find a precise solution. I understand that in a game you could win any number of ways, but training your calculation is all about finding very specific solutions, which is why many coaches (myself included) place a lot of value in these puzzles. Of course, they are just a part of the picture, it is also extremely important to work on common tactical themes as well. Hope that makes sense, thanks for watching!

[@lolololololololol11]

4:11 CT-ART is criminally underrated

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Have you seen my review for kzbin.info?

[@ChristopheStrobbe]

CT-ART is based on a book: Combinative Motifs by M. Blokh. Kostya knows both the book and CT-ART.

[@thefirstwarlock]

My own pitfall with puzzles in general is that I expect the best move should lead to a clear or significant advantage (aside from the forced mates), so I often have to go back and check the computer evaluation for online puzzles which are not so clear. Having an attached engine at the ready helps speed up the learning process, but otherwise Kostya makes a strong point here to favor book puzzles over online/app type puzzles. I also have the chessking apps which are great. Excellent content Kostya, thank you.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

That's another thing I like about the ChessKing apps, there's an engine in the background to check lines against

[@PhilomathBret]

I think chesstempo is great but I also use puzzle books. 1. Chesstempo doesn't mark a 2nd best move wrong if it's totally winning. It tells you it's good but to find a better move. Book problems always have only 1 winning move. It's more realistic to not know if there is just 1 winning move. 2. I can read comments about the problems or look up on my own on an engine any critical variations the puzzle doesn't show. 3. It almost never makes me find just 1 move, ignoring critical moves afterwards. 4. Most importantly, it has lots of types of moves you never see in books. For example, sometimes you need to find the only way out of checks so that you stay ahead.

[@TheBigGuppy]

Thanks. Online puzzles are just convenient. I do the puzzles on Chesbase Online. The solutions generally go deep but its always a single line and seems engine based. I need to start looking at real pieces again.

[@BigScoup]

Are you referring to the “live” section in Chessbase?..the tactics feature which is next to novelties?..

[@TheBigGuppy]

@@BigScoup I guess. Its the online tactics section. I usually get there through my Fritz17 interface. Live games are in a different section of the site. But its the same site. tactics.chessbase.com/en/

[@toasty893]

Im looking for a nice Chess puzzel Book Do you have a Suggestion? Im a 2000 elo Blitz and Rapid Player on lichess maybe this Information is Important :😅

[@vzjaginsevsaoirse5003]

Hello IM, what was your training routine when you were 10 years old?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

I already answered your previous comment 😊

[@rajdey7032]

Suggest some good books on chess puzzles

[@Wardcreek]

What are the best puzzle books to get? Best pawn king endgame books? Etc

[@ChristopheStrobbe]

See the video "The Best Chess Puzzle Books Ever" on the ChessDojo channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaS3mqugps2geJI

[@slowslav6653]

a book which i can highly recommend is chess calculation training by romain eduard really nice book which helped me a lot

[@TillSwims]

Great book series but the solutions aren’t annotated

[@slowslav6653]

@@TillSwims okay that s true it s a bit harder to read

[@Chessdrummer83]

I agree about online trainers not showing the proper or full solution, but I try to calculate all potential lines and if the computer picks an abstract response I go to analysis and check it over to understand the puzzle and verify my thought process. So it depends how you use the online trainer. Do you have any recommendations on straight up puzzle books Kostya?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

That's a great method! Unfortunately I expect most don't follow this approach, and often guess their way through a problem, only analyzing (maybe) if they get it wrong

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Regarding puzzle books there are lots of good ones! I'll have to make a video on them soon for kzbin.info

[@Chessdrummer83]

Ok subbed chess dojo. Another thing to add (if you agreed) for advanced calculation puzzles 1800+ or what ever it could be worth mentioning doing them with a board in front of you, but not moving the pieces only visualising the calculations on the board, I do this to help my otb play. Thanks for your time and effort!

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

@@Chessdrummer83 absolutely agree about the benefits of using a board and not moving the pieces 💯

[@Chessdrummer83]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy I sent a small donation. Thanks again

[@chex1007]

where to find that app that Kostya was talking about?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

The company is called Chess King -- their main app is CT Art 4.0 but they have other apps based on your level. I did a full review for kzbin.info

[@chex1007]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy thank you Kostya :)

[@kavita344]

Is woodpecker method a good one? Does it has answers?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

It is but I would only recommend it for 1800+

[@Watercolordragon]

A lot of times i do puzzles correctly and then i am lost in the continuation of the winning position

[@benedictineonchessable]

I completely agree with the points raised. Another bad point about online tactics trainers for me is that intermediate players would find more value from getting good at lower level tactics. Tactics trainers however, work by increasing the puzzle difficulty and so they become (went not warped as above) ineffective. But for calculation purposes they also fail as the timer rewards speed over accuracy, not good for accurate calculation training either!

[@gray_gogy]

My goodness, Kostya had me thinking and frying my brain with the second puzzle. I saw queen f8 and also saw queen block and rook takes queen, but Kostya said white to play and win and white still wasn't winning. So I watched on and he just adds a rook for white loll

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

I said it was a bad puzzle!

[@gray_gogy]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy haha yeah, at least I didn't find a ghost solution!

[@zachgoldstein9063]

I agree that these are advantages of books, but there are also some advantages of online. 1) Humans might select puzzles that they think are elegant or involve motifs they like. Computers objectively randomly sample puzzles from real games, offering a more representative set of puzzles to what you'll encounter in games. 2) A puzzle book author can try to guess how hard a puzzle is, but online trainers will give you puzzles more likely to be at your skill level because they've tested them on hundreds of other rated players. 3) Sites conveniently give you personalized statistics on which types of puzzles are your strengths and weaknesses compared to other players at your level, allowing you to focus on your areas of improvement.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Fair points! I may include them in a future video

[@user-pp3em5mc3m]

If someone started following your points, he would get quickly disappointed with chess. The touch of human hand, which implies some imperfection and some subjectivity, are like little obstacles that make you think yourself. Otherwise you dissolve yourself in what you deem perfection and therefore become unsensitive and straightforward. It's like to say that golf mowns are better than wild grassfields. Nope.

[@ChessJourneyman]

The only pro to books is that you do puzzles slower, so it might stay in your memory longer... There are many good online chess puzzles and problems.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

What are your favorite chess books?

[@torrubirubi]

In Chessable you find several books which well selected puzzles. The advantage is that you practice using spaced repetition.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Yes for me books in an e-format (chessable, forward chess, kindle, etc) are still chess books!

[@kavita344]

What is spaced repetition?

[@torrubirubi]

@@kavita344 Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique that is usually performed with flashcards. Newly introduced and more difficult flashcards are shown more frequently, while older and less difficult flashcards are shown less frequently in order to exploit the psychological spacing effect. The use of spaced repetition has been proven to increase rate of learning. (Wikipedia)

[@marcofrey2903]

What's your favorite tactics book/course on Chessable?

[@averagejoe5016]

Is The Woodpecker Method a good tactics book to start with

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

I'd only recommend it for 1800 (online rating) or higher, but it has some excellent exercises

[@averagejoe5016]

IM Kostya Kavutskiy what would you recommend for people under 1800 then?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

I'm a fan of Combinative Motifs by Blokh, as well as the series of books called Manual of Chess Combinations. For U1200, the Learn Chess the Right Way series (5 books) by Susan Polgar is excellent

[@MrSupernova111]

Maybe online puzzles need to be set up in a way that you have to make all the moves for both sides until you solve the puzzle then submit your position when ready. This would be closest to studying puzzles from a book where you have zero assistance (unless you cheat) in solving the puzzle.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Good idea but would be a total overhaul of the current trainers!

[@MrSupernova111]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy . I know. Its unlikely but I'm glad that you brought this up to my attention. I wasted too much time doing meaningless puzzles online this year and its time to get back to basics. Thanks for the reminder to keep it real! Cheers!

[@E-uj5jb]

7:20 Bxh7 g6 ng5 does black not have f6?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

It's not a real puzzle but Bxg6 and Qh5 looks good

[@E-uj5jb]

Ye

[@kingsgambit7098]

I'd say the only real advantage of a book over the online tactics are how deep it goes. Meaning the amount of moves to solve. I'm 2600 in online tactics, but I was solving famous chess puzzles from past world champions when I first started playing a decade ago. The thing about making a move before you solve the puzzle is you are often right. This is because you don't need to solve the puzzle to know that the position is winning. This is exactly how you should approach your timed formats. However, if the move isn't clear to you. Then you should always caculate. An sometimes the AI can be ridiculous with their defensive solutions, but a lot of the time it can be very instructional as these books tend to give the worse alternative. My advice, definitely start with a book, but running through a few tactics online a day is perfectly fine as well.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

The problem is online trainers usually push people to guess without calculating, which is not a good habit for real chess!

[@kingsgambit7098]

You are right. It is in no way a good habit to guess, but neither is caculating every move you make. Understanding the position and your goals are far more important. Caculating is only needed in certain positions. What you should be grasping from tactics is why it works in general. Not necessarily the order of moves you play. You can get that from both a book or online trainers. The difference would be the feedback you get.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

@@kingsgambit7098 There are lots of things to be trained, but the importance of sorting of through concrete variations shouldn't be overlooked. Of course chess is a deep game, there are many factors to consider

[@kingsgambit7098]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy Absolutely, there are many factors to be considered. Even over a decade of playing I still feel like I barely know a thing. I'm studing endgames and Imbalances at the moment. With my tactical capabilities I'm feeling deadly and like a noob at the same time. My point is the general concepts of tacics is what ppl need know. Ex: Backrank weaknesses, forks, pins, skewers, discover attacks, blocking, overworking, distracting, etc. Think in schemes like Capablanca. Don't get lost in the deep dark forest....

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Yep, totally agree about the importance of tactical themes. Which you can learn from books, courses, videos, etc

[@raveendrank.n.3449]

Wow

[@zah936]

What is ctr?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

CT-Art, I posted a full review on kzbin.info

[@rageagainstthemachineragea2497]

👍🏾💯👌🏾

[@andreitiberiovicgazdovici]

Beiing a kid growing up in Romania in the early 90', Chess websites were like getting to Mars for US😆🤣 Learning on a phisycal board and a book Is still unbeaten tho imo. Not saying puzzles aren't good to learn, they are very good and fast and practical actually

[@ChinmayDhake]

It is quite rare that you find someone talking so intellectually sound that your brain gets an orgasm. Very appropriate logic in terms of the comparison that even I had thought about few times and carried it with me.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Haha, thanks

[@asdf14051]

9:41 i didnt realize that this was a flawed puzzle and spent 10 minutes looking for a win for white 😭

[@tommydashed4205]

Says it pulls from games right before saying it could be some nonsense that would never happen in a game.... 🤔

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Yes because the tactics are always missed in the game

[@EEFTARUNA]

Scenario: materials are equal , pawn structure is good,my king is more active ,opponent piece attacked by my queen and my bishop but defended by his queen only Me : capturing with queen offering trade (there is no discovery) Computer : congratulations you are wrong Me: am I joking to you

[@carsten3987]

At kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIrZhnmsZ9SWerc you talk about "CTR"? What's that? Sorry if this is a stupid question.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

CT-Art 4.0 - I did a full review for kzbin.info

[@bencash4967]

I think this is wrong in relation to chesstempo, I've yet to find a puzzle that isn't very good

[@isabelbarcelo5296]

Knowing now that books are better than online puzzles. The question isssss.... What is the best puzzle book? Woodpecker method?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Depends on your level. There are many good ones!

[@isabelbarcelo5296]

@@IMKostyaKavutskiy being 2000 on lichess? 🙃 What do you recommend me?

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

Combinative Motifs by Blokh and the Manual of Chess Combinations are great 👍

[@elkku685]

But I thin there is only one winning move at the start in every puzzle so your wrong at point where you said the other winning move is wrong but in online puzzles there is only one winning move PS: you are right about everything else you said there so dont understand wrong

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

There are many online puzzles where there are multiple winning moves but only one is marked as correct. So you might find a forced mate but still get it wrong because there was a faster mate. But in reality, both moves are winning. Does that make sense?

[@lockdowndb4863]

Kostya, I love you. But when i become a titled player, if my thoughts haven't changed, we might go to war over this😂. This is going to be the replacement to the Greg Shahade and Jesse Kraii battle over blitz chess.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

I look forward to it!

[@Petrhrabal]

I am sorry, but some online puzzles are simply wrong. Opponent having a queen taken in early mid game layout without any threat, loss and with plenty of better options is just a blunder.

[@adam-ng9jj]

Russian puzzles books are the best!!