Excelling at Combinational Play: Learn to Identify and Exploit Tactical Chances

Rating:
Summary: A useful book
Review: In addition to the other reviews, it is also important to note that the positions come from actual games (though you probably guessed that since they are all from the Sicilian) and that they are from recent praxis. This may seem a small point, but taking only from recent ECO lines increases the possibility of seeing similar tactics in your own games. There is less chance of the tactic coming from a busted or unfashionable line.

It also seems unfair to trash Aagaard's work simply because it is "another puzzle book." One doesn't throw away a Stephen King novel because it is just another horror story. Rather you should judge the work on its merit within the genre. It is a well researched and useful tactics book and will increase your tactical ability. Feel free to grab other works like Reinfield and Polgar's puzzle books, but don't overlook this collection, especially if you like to play the Sicilian.

Rating:
Summary: 500 puzzles
Review: The bulk of this book is comprised of 500 puzzles with the solutions in a seperate section in the back of the book- only a relatively short amount of pages in the beginning of the book discuss what can be said about tactics. I believe reading complete games by killer players like Bronstein and Alekhine would do a better overall job of improving your strength. The puzzles are merely exercises that should be worked on for a limited amount of time, say three times a week for an hour or so each session. So Aagaard's book merely compliments a good chess library and is not a stand-alone book on tactics.

Rating:
Summary: Another puzzle book
Review: The previous reviewer is correct; the book is merely a collection of combinations problems taken from master play. A plethora of such books already exist, and there is nothing in Aagaard's book to distinguish it from the competition.

Rating:
Summary: Sicilian Combinations
Review: While it is true this book is essentially a book of 500 combinations there are a couple interesting aspects to it that previous reviewers have overlooked.
1) All combinations come from "Sicilian" openings and list ECO in the answers...while for the beginning player this might not matter, it is worthwhile to study patterns and ideas from openings that you play.
2) The problems have been checked to insure there are no ambiguous alternate answers....which is a common problem in chess tactic books...nothing worse than banging your head against a problem where your idea is equally legitimate or better. Lishvits's Test your chess comes to mind....
Aagaard has an enjoyable writing style, and aims to an audience somewhere between Silman and his excellent primers on strategy, and Dvoretsky and his world class books.