Tactics training

Tactics training is all about solving chess problems, and lots of them. Discussing various sources of these problems may take much time, but the important point is that tactics training revolves around one activity-doing chess problems. The key here is quantity. If you cannot solve a problem within a minute or two, look up the answer and move on. But, make sure to look at the problem again in a couple days; repetition helps. The point of solving these puzzles is to build pattern recognition. You're unlikely to see any of the positions you study in a tournament game, but once you've solved one to two hundred problems involving back-rank mate or clearance sacrifices, you'll quickly recognize those possibilities in your games.