How often do tactics occur?

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Avatar of AtaChess68
Have you ever seen statistics on tactics? How often do they occur? Is there ‘top 20’ list?

And if there is not such a list, how do you think a top list would look like?

1. Pin
2. Fork
3. ?
4.

Not easy to measure accurately I think. But that is not my question.
Avatar of Lc0_1

I don't think so, but I'd be pretty interested if hey did. Chess.com has over 100,000 puzzles...

I think it would look something like this:

1. Mate in ones

2. gain material

3. Fork

4. exploiting pins

 

Less (or the least, as I know it, because I've only done like 4 of each even after doing 15,000 puzzles) common would be the 2 Bishops Mates and Alekhine's gun.

Avatar of MarkGrubb

In your own games or someone else's? Review your last 20 games and tally up the count. Probably give you a reasonable estimate, give or take. Come up with some reasonable bands: every game, every other game, 1 in 4 games, etc.

Avatar of AtaChess68
Yes, I will go over my last 20 games and I will try to get them all. I won’t manage because I am an advanced beginner. But I’ll try. But I am still curious about the over all database statistics. Or just a hunch.

It will help me decide what tactic I should start with.
Avatar of MarkGrubb

you'll have to subgroup you analysis by opening now. you may need a statistician. should find a few on here. 😁

Avatar of AtaChess68
Nooo, I don’t want a statictician. I want an article. Preferably 2017 and reliable. With a top 50.

2016 or 2018 is ok too.
Avatar of Optimissed

Depends on the level you're at.

Avatar of MarkGrubb

😁

Avatar of tlay80
Optimissed wrote:

Depends on the level you're at.

Sort of.  In games between strong players, nobody falls for a simple fork, but even if they don't fall for tactics, players are using the threat of tactics (or even the threat of the threat of tactics) all the time.  They don't expect their opponents to miss them, but defending against the threat of a tactic may require another, smaller concession.

Avatar of AtaChess68
Some reactions but no top-list. That’s a pitty.

I did find an quite extensive list of tactics here on chess.com. Not what I meant but I like the list:


https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-tactics?_gl=1%2A15ra67a%2A_ga%2ASmRFUDBwZzRVZGZKMUtKRlBEZmpEOEdSeWdzT1c5eEhmOWJjMGZ6c3FWWVRZVkJJeHZtQTlpOG5ZWG5iRjF4Sw..

Avatar of llama
AtaChess68 wrote:
Have you ever seen statistics on tactics? How often do they occur? Is there ‘top 20’ list?

And if there is not such a list, how do you think a top list would look like?

1. Pin
2. Fork
3. ?
4.

Not easy to measure accurately I think. But that is not my question.

Most of the tactics you see during a game are in calculation and are never played.

The basic list of common ones, that I've given to new players before, is:

Pin / Skewer
Fork / double attack
Discovered attack / discovered check
Removing the defender / overworked piece

Avatar of AtaChess68
That is a useful little list indeed IIama03.

My rating is around 1300 and I have been playing for over 30 years. And it might sound weird but I never understood the word ‘tactics’. Now I do and I see that I have some studying to do.

You little list give me a ‘where to start and where to focus’. Thx
Avatar of AtaChess68

I was making problem sets in ChessTempo and realised that this list gives an indication to what tactics to learn first. The rating in the list is of course unrelated to our ratings here at chess.com.

Avatar of CrazyXII
I’ve used alekhine’s gun once… but only once.