Suggest a book on attacking chess

I'm going over month 2 material (again ) and have a question for other more experienced players.

It seems that ICS has good theory on attack. Seems like they've condenced the whole "Art of Attack" into their notes.

My question is that what does everybody think of the ICS' material on the "kings safety/attacking the king"?

Is it enough theory for an intermediate player and I should just go over more annotated games on the topic?

If it's not enough theory then what is a good book in addition to ICS material?

I have a copy of "Art of Attack" but I just can't stand it! Attacking Manual seems like a great book but according to some reviews it's for advanced 2000+ players?

I too don't like Vukovic and Aagaard is a bit advanced.

Attacking Technique by Crouch is great for patzer like me.

Blue Devil Knight wrote:I too don't like Vukovic and Aagaard is a bit advanced.

Attacking Technique by Crouch is great for patzer like me.

I have that book but the problem is that it's too short! I want a more structured book which is more like a textbook.

Lots of discussion of various books in comments here:
http://chessconfessions.blogspot.com/2007/10/accidental-and-coordinated-threats.html


And here I discuss the general question of books on the attack here:
http://chessconfessions.blogspot.com/2008/12/attacking-manual-for-idiots-art-of.html

Of course Art of Checkmate is like Vukovic for babies, in a good way.

Length of book shouldn't matter as much as quality. Anyway let us know what you settle upon. Maybe you should tell us what you already have so we don't repeat things.

Sorry for the late reply but, the art of checkmate by Renaud and khan is a great starting point. (not sure about spelling of their names).

lol ... "late reply"? I guess you could call it that!

I thought someone would get a kick out of that one...lol

Depending on your current tactical ability, here are my suggestions:

Beginner - pretty much any tactics book by Bruce Pandolfini. They are very basic, but fun to go through. Also, Lev Alburt's Comprehensive Chess Course, Vol I & II are great for beginners.

Intermediate - I liked Lev Alburt's "Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player" to start with. Then I would move on to Alburt's "The King in Jeopardy". Both have lots of instruction and are fun to read.

For practice (also intermediate) - Alburt's "Chess Training Pocketbook" and "Combination Challenge" by Hall & Hayes.

For advanced players - "The Art of Attack" is pure gold.

Or, if someone is looking for a no-nonsense test only collection I don't think there is anything that beats "Test Your Chess IQ" by Livshitz. I have a two volume edition of 1290 positions - I see it is now published in three separate paperbacks.

The tests are grouped in 30-90 minute sets and you are scored on your solutions and the time you take to complete a set. The complexity of the problems range from experienced club players and progress to strong masters.

What I like about the Test Your IQ books is that unlike other puzzle books (Nunn, Volokitin and others..) is the scoring system includes a time incentive which forces you to work quickly.