This is the second book of the Thinkers' Chess Academy series. In the
first book we started at a beginner's level with checkmates in 1, 2 or 3
moves and the most common tactical motifs. If you have already worked
with the first book you will now be much more experienced and ready for
some more difficult lessons. We will start with 50 combinations to
refresh our memory of the motifs from the first book. Th e chess friends
who have not read the first book can treat it as a kind of self-test. If
you cannot solve many of the examples it may be better to go back and
work through the first book again. It is not a good idea to leave basic
knowledge out. It will certainly hinder your progress if you do so. In
this book we will not only show you more tactical motifs, but we will
also give you an introduction to the basics of chess strategy. You will
learn the most important elements of strategy which will help you to
find better plans and to understand positions better. At the end of the
book a chapter with 50 checkmates of 5+ moves will show you techniques
of how to attack or hunt the opponent's king and also how to improve
your calculation skills and your imagination at the chessboard. Now
enough of the prologue, let us go to work and learn lots about chess
tactics and strategy! Have a lot of fun while studying chess and enjoy
your improvement! Yours, Thomas Luther Grandmaster and FIDE senior
trainer