Since February 2022, I have been working my way through volume 1 of The Manual of Chess Combinations, which is aimed at young beginners. Naturally, I am able to burn through a substantial number in a short session. Nonetheless, I have answered incorrectly on a small number (25-30 wrong through the first 720). Currently I’m at 1045. I do one page and then check my answers. Usually I get all six correct in only a few minutes. Sometimes a problem takes longer, and I fail a few. Last night I solved 1003-1032 over the course of half an hour. I failed one. This morning, I failed three of 12 in 1033-1044. One of my wrong answers leads to forced checkmate, but in more moves than the correct solution.
My principal interest is in the structure and sequencing of the exercises.
I acquired volume 2 of this series in 2015 (see "Manual of Chess Combinations"). In late February 2022, I added volumes 1 and 3 because IM John Donaldson had them for sale at a low price. Then I ordered volume 4 from an online book seller.
My copy of the first book was brought into print by a publishing venture connected to the corrupt then president of FIDE and of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. A letter from Ilyumzhinov in the front of the book identifies The Manual of Chess Combinations (1997) by Sergey Ivashchenko as "the first book from the new publishing house named 'Kirsan-Chess'" (4). My copy of volume 2, also by Ivashchenko was published in 2002 by Russian Chess House. The currently available edition of volume 1 is broken into 1a and 1b.
Ivashchenko's statement in the beginning offers a clue about his background: "This book concludes the author's 25-year-long work on the creation of a manual of chess tactics" (4). In volume 1, Ivashchenko states: "the set was tested during my 25-year practice of teaching beginners" (6).
Earlier editions of these books exist, according to the US Chess Federation store, claiming Ivashchenko's books were best sellers in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, selling more than 200,000 copies. I was having difficulty learning anything about the author so inquired in Chess Book Collectors on Facebook. Some links to articles in Russian were provided (thanks Andrew Waldie!), including the very useful "Sergei Danilovich Ivashchenko", which discusses some of the publishing history and sales. There were two earlier editions published in Russia. Also these articles make clear that Ivashchenko is Ukrainian and teaches (or taught) at the Nizhyn Children's and Youth Sports Chess School. His teaching is emphasized in "Nizhyn chess player Serhiy Danylovich Ivashchenko celebrates his anniversary."*
Volume 3 is the work of Alexander Mazja and was published in 2003. Sarhan Guliev. The Manual of Chess Endings (2021) is volume 4. I have seen volume 5 advertised on the back cover of volume 4, but have not found the books readily available in the United States yet. A volume 6 appears to exist as well. Are these newer editions of Soviet classics?
The Soviet Union dominated chess more than four decades in the last half of the twentieth century. Russia, as well as Ukraine, Armenia, and other former Soviet Republics continued predominance well into this century. It could be argued that Russian success in our day and Soviet success in the twentieth century has roots in Czarist Russia with the work of Alexander Petroff, Karl Jaenisch, Mikhail Tchigorin, and others. R.G. Wade, Soviet Chess (1968) begins with such predecessors, for instance.
The Curriculum
The quality of instruction evident in the series of books Chess School 1-4 is undeniable. Ivashchenko's sequencing is well-constructed, spanning two books with 2,508 exercises in 11 "stages of studies". The book claims these exercises will carry a beginner to a rating of 2000. Of course, other instruction must form the core, while the exercises offer practice. Such rating estimates give a good idea of the difficulty level of the exercises by the time one reaches stage 11, but offer no guarantee. Chess School 1 has stages one to five.
Checkmate in one move is the whole of the first stage and part of stage two. The first sixty exercises are arranged by the piece delivering the final check: rook (1-12), queen (13-30), bishop (31-42), knight 43-54), and pawn (55-60). Then 60 checkmates where the piece delivering mate is not specified.
Early exercises teach basic patterns and in many cases are grouped, such as a swallow's tail checkmate in no. 19 and dovetail checkmates in nos. 20, 23, and 30.
Clear triangles indicate White to move. Black triangles indicate Black to move.
Ivashchenko's statement in the beginning offers a clue about his background: "This book concludes the author's 25-year-long work on the creation of a manual of chess tactics" (4). In volume 1, Ivashchenko states: "the set was tested during my 25-year practice of teaching beginners" (6).
Earlier editions of these books exist, according to the US Chess Federation store, claiming Ivashchenko's books were best sellers in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, selling more than 200,000 copies. I was having difficulty learning anything about the author so inquired in Chess Book Collectors on Facebook. Some links to articles in Russian were provided (thanks Andrew Waldie!), including the very useful "Sergei Danilovich Ivashchenko", which discusses some of the publishing history and sales. There were two earlier editions published in Russia. Also these articles make clear that Ivashchenko is Ukrainian and teaches (or taught) at the Nizhyn Children's and Youth Sports Chess School. His teaching is emphasized in "Nizhyn chess player Serhiy Danylovich Ivashchenko celebrates his anniversary."*
Volume 3 is the work of Alexander Mazja and was published in 2003. Sarhan Guliev. The Manual of Chess Endings (2021) is volume 4. I have seen volume 5 advertised on the back cover of volume 4, but have not found the books readily available in the United States yet. A volume 6 appears to exist as well. Are these newer editions of Soviet classics?
The Soviet Union dominated chess more than four decades in the last half of the twentieth century. Russia, as well as Ukraine, Armenia, and other former Soviet Republics continued predominance well into this century. It could be argued that Russian success in our day and Soviet success in the twentieth century has roots in Czarist Russia with the work of Alexander Petroff, Karl Jaenisch, Mikhail Tchigorin, and others. R.G. Wade, Soviet Chess (1968) begins with such predecessors, for instance.
The Curriculum
The quality of instruction evident in the series of books Chess School 1-4 is undeniable. Ivashchenko's sequencing is well-constructed, spanning two books with 2,508 exercises in 11 "stages of studies". The book claims these exercises will carry a beginner to a rating of 2000. Of course, other instruction must form the core, while the exercises offer practice. Such rating estimates give a good idea of the difficulty level of the exercises by the time one reaches stage 11, but offer no guarantee. Chess School 1 has stages one to five.
Checkmate in one move is the whole of the first stage and part of stage two. The first sixty exercises are arranged by the piece delivering the final check: rook (1-12), queen (13-30), bishop (31-42), knight 43-54), and pawn (55-60). Then 60 checkmates where the piece delivering mate is not specified.
Early exercises teach basic patterns and in many cases are grouped, such as a swallow's tail checkmate in no. 19 and dovetail checkmates in nos. 20, 23, and 30.
Clear triangles indicate White to move. Black triangles indicate Black to move.
Stage two continues with thirty mate in one, then a series of tactical exercises for material gain organized by the identity of the target. First, a rook is gained (151-174), then a knight (175-186), bishop (187-198), and queen (199-240).
Some important endgame positions appear in stage four and again near the end of stage five (the last problems in the first volume). Through the first three stages and most of four, the reader is told whether playing for checkmate or trying to win a particular piece. There are also sets where one must find a draw. Near the the end of stage four and through all of stage five, the direction is “how to proceed”. The student must discern the possibilities, whether mating, forcing a winning advantage through pawn promotion, forcing a draw, or winning material.
A substantial number of the exercises in volume 1 and quite a few in volume 2 are familiar to me from seeing them in other books or in classic games. A small number are compositions, especially in the selection of endgames.
Any student—child or adult—who invests time working through these exercises will improve their game.
Some important endgame positions appear in stage four and again near the end of stage five (the last problems in the first volume). Through the first three stages and most of four, the reader is told whether playing for checkmate or trying to win a particular piece. There are also sets where one must find a draw. Near the the end of stage four and through all of stage five, the direction is “how to proceed”. The student must discern the possibilities, whether mating, forcing a winning advantage through pawn promotion, forcing a draw, or winning material.
A substantial number of the exercises in volume 1 and quite a few in volume 2 are familiar to me from seeing them in other books or in classic games. A small number are compositions, especially in the selection of endgames.
Any student—child or adult—who invests time working through these exercises will improve their game.
The print books are on the expensive side, roughly $40 each through Amazon, but you might luck into a bargain, as I did, buying previously owned copies. Chess King also offers software and app versions of the first two volumes. On my iPad and iPhone, the app was free with the early exercises. For $7.99 each, I was able to purchase the entire contents. They are sequenced differently in the app. For instance, you go through all of the rook checkmates (through several stages) before moving on to the bishop. These apps make the contents accessible and interactive. Tactics for Beginners is volume 1. Manual of Combinations is volume 2. The Mate in 1 shown is another Chess King product with nearly 2500 exercises.
I recommend these books and apps.
*Machine translations of these articles clearly were less than perfect, but they gave me enough to get some of the information I was seeking.
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