In 2008 Chessville proudly introduced a new columnist to our readers - Andy Hortillosa.  We called his column The Whites of Their Eyes, A Fresh Perspective on Mastering Tactics.  Andy offered such insights as:

Most authors believe, as evidenced by the books and software available in the market, that puzzle exercises and solving them are the best approach to learning tactics.  They could never be so wrong.  The best way to learn tactics for most people is to actually learn them by seeing the transition point in its entirety from the opening phase to the beginning point of the puzzle.

And:

The skill with the most practical value during a chess game is the one that helps players recognize that a tactical opportunity exists on the board.  This other skill is duly ignored by mainstream writers.  An improving player needs to master foremost how to spot a tactical opportunity and only then should he learn how to work out the tactical solutions.

After just two columns though, Andy decided to take a break in order to expand and extrapolate on the ideas he had broached in his new column.  The result was published this year by Everyman Chess, Improve Your Chess At Any Age.

To review, Andy's brief bio:

Andy Hortillosa [was] currently the Webmaster and Senior Writer of  the US Military Chess website.  His highest rating in the USCF was that of Expert.  Andy was the Denver Colorado Co-Champ in 2000, and was 12 times among the top-12 active duty players based on rating for the annual All-Army Chess Championships (1993 to 2006).  Andy made the All-Army Chess Team (top-6 finishers) ten times in 12  tries, representing the US as a member of the Armed Forces Chess Team five times at the NATO Chess Championships held in Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the United Kingdom and France.  Andy has drawn a simul game against GM Vlastimil Hort of Belgium, and beaten IM Eugene Meyer of Washington DC in a simul.  He also counts among his best performances a draw with IM Daniel Fernandez at the 2006 Houston Open.

Now, how can we at Chessville review this title, honestly and ethically?  Easy - we let Andy do it!  So with Andy's (and Everyman's) consent, we offer the following extracts from the book, three PDF files zipped together and yours free to download.  Included are the Table of Contents, the Introduction, and five pages from chapter two.

Download the 302 kb zipped PDF file

Another insight into Andy's ideas, and therefore the book itself, can be gleaned by perusing the two articles he's previously written here at Chessville, the very same articles this book is based on:

On Mastering Tactics, Part 1  and  On Mastering Tactics, Part 2

If that's not enough for you, check out what other reviewers had to say, as excerpted by Everyman Chess.

If that's still not enough for you, for crying out loud - just buy the book!  It's definitely worth the price of admission!
 

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