I have received some requests from readers who want to try The Chess Gym before signing up, so we are now offering a 7-day trial period.
At The Chess Gym, you can follow a weekly training program that includes: daily analysis, solitaire chess, weekly sparring games, track your training on the habit tracker, and join a community of like-minded chess improvers.
The Tactics Ladder 2nd Edition!
I have made a breakthrough! Back in 2022, I started on a massive puzzle project called The Tactics Ladder. My idea was to create a collection of the best, highest user-rated, puzzles from the Lichess puzzle database and create workbooks on an even level that could be used for the woodpecker method.
This was a massive project and with the help from my brother to make some layout code I got started. There was however a lot of manual work in editing and making sure everything was aligned correctly. Since 2022 I have published 4 books. Two books for the 1400 FIDE level, one for 2000, and one for 1000.
The books have sold pretty well, but the main idea of creating a complete ladder of tactics books with the best user-rated puzzles has not been realized.. yet!
In the meantime, FIDE has announced a rating change that will make the guiding ratings obsolete.
Secondly, Amazon now takes a larger cut for printing large format books due to rising prices on paper. The prices have peaked, but I do not think Amazon will roll back their price changes any day soon.
This means that the current books do not earn any meaningful royalties anymore. It makes sense to shrink the format of the books to a 6” x 9” format. I have also received requests from readers for a more portable format, so it seems natural to implement this change.
New Layout
In the last year, I have learned to use Python with some help from ChatGPT.
I have spent many hours setting up the code and finding a good layout. Here is a page from ‘The Tactics Ladder - Beginner I’ aimed at getting chess players to a 600 rating.
A switch from FIDE rating to USCF
FIDE has approved the following rating changes from March 2024:
1. A one-off change to Standard Ratings for rated players: For players with a standard rating lower than 2000 points, an increase will be applied following the formula (0.40) x (2000 – Rating). Players with a standard rating of 2000 or more will retain their current rating.
2. Changes in the rating floor: An increase in the rating floor from 1000 to 1400.
https://www.fide.com/news/2831
So, besides increasing my rating from 1824 to 1894, it will also have a major effect on the whole rating system in general. The raised floor of 1400 also creates some difficulties regarding The Tactics Ladder series, where the starting book is for the 1000 FIDE level.
Since I have sold 67 % of the Tactics Ladder Books in the US I think it makes sense to convert the ladder steps to USCF ratings now that FIDE ratings for a while will be uninterpretable. I have made the following conversion table.
This is only a guide and will help readers pick the right starting point. I know some lower-rated players have a high Lichess puzzle rating, but it doesn't change the fact that they miss fundamental tactics in their games. The lowest rating group is not included since it would have been a book full of back-rank checkmates, and I thought it would get boring. The top tier is not included because there are simply not enough 2800+ rated puzzles for a 500-puzzle book with high requirements for quality.
New Cover Design
The cover has also received a makeover and will more clearly illustrate the steps up the tactics ladder. On each cover, the pawn will be moved further up. I know that some chess players prefer to keep a chess book collection on their shelves, so I have made a nicely looking color lineup.
When will it be out on Amazon?
If all goes well I will have published the full series next month! This time around I’m confident that I will complete the project!
The first book is live on Amazon, and I should get my copy on Wednesday. I will let you know if everything looks great next week, hopefully it does.
If you are a paid subscriber you can download the pdf for The Tactics Ladder - Beginner I below: