Because of the format of "How To Beat Your Dad", it's easy to read through without a board in front of you. I actually photocopied the whole book and put all the positions on flash cards with the solutions on the back, so I could quiz myself over and over with the positions taken out of context. This worked really well for me, though the act of making all the flash cards took a while.

As for study time, I'd say just make sure you're spending at least 15-20 minutes per day doing tactics puzzles. If you have time for more, go for it, but just make sure that's a minimum every single day. Don't take days off just because you did extra the day before.

And I agree with Octal about playing gambits. You'll learn how to create and spot tactical shots or die trying.

--Fromper

Octal,

That's because beginners don't know the squares that their pieces should be on!

I usually know which squares they should be on, but my opponents usually beat me to them. I guess that means I need to get my prorities strait.

I'm currently learning from "Understanding chess tactics" by Martin Weteschnik, and even though I haven't got much comparison, I can certainly say that it's clearly written and makes things easy to understand for me.

Also note the book's good reviews on Amazon Amazon.co.uk: Understanding Chess Tactics: Martin Weteschnik: Books

basically a beginner should just follow the rule of the thumb, put your rook on the open file, your bishop on open diagonal, knights are usually strong if they are centralize and not challenge on the fourth, 5th, and 6th rank. Also unless you have a good reason don't forget not to castle

Not to complicate things but don't forget positional chess too.

Sometimes I forget the distiction between pieces and pawns. Finding good squares for your pieces does not equal positional chess. One has to do with bishops, knights and rooks, while the other has to do with pawns. Thanks for making the distinction ketchuplover!

Ryan,

I understand the basics of where to put my pieces, I just don't seem to find those magically great squares where things just magically happen. Sometimes things work out great, at other times not so great.

I've gotten a little better at this lately. It's not something that always happens, but sometimes I get into these middle game positions where I don't know what to do next, so I just try to improve the placement of my pieces. I'll make sure my bishops and rooks are on open lanes, usually pointed at the opponent's king, and move my knights and queens closer to my opponent's king, then start pushing pawns up the board. I just say to myself "When in doubt, aim for the opponent's king". And in some of those games, just having that much material pointed at one area of the board has created enough pressure that opportunities present themselves.

I remember specifically my only win from the big tournament I played in April, where this type of strategy worked out well for me twice in the same game. If I remember, I'll put that game into the computer and post it here to show you what I mean.

--Fromper

Practice makes perfect, don't worry if at first you have difficulty in doing this things, sometimes it takes time. In chess, planning is important(they guide you on where you should put your pieces, may it be short or long. A plan could also change during the game. There is just positions in which tactics are hard to find, basically it should be the position on the board that should guide you on where to put your pieces. I will be back more on these later.

Please remember the ability to solve these tactical puzzles quickly and easily doesn’t mean you’ll see them in your game! In these puzzles you know there’s a combination and what the result is supposed to be so you’re looking for it. No so in your own game. The key element in doing these tactical exercises is understanding what makes them work. E.g double attack, removing a defender, unguarded piece, pin, fork, etc. So when you do these exercises, and this is very important, always ask yourself why the does this combination work? That way when you see one of the signposts in your game your antenna will go up…maybe there’s a combination lurking in this position. For example you notice a piece that’s unguarded. Take a minute to see if there’s a possible double attack that’ll allow you to snag it. More often than not there will not be a combination available but if it’s there at least you have a better chance of spotting it if you are aware of the motifs that form the basis of combinations.