Over-worked Pieces and Removing the Guard, pt. 2

I've completed through 40% of circle 2. I had hoped to complete the whole 7 circles on this theme this past weekend, but some of the puzzles were simply mind-numbing in their complexity. Long trees and fat trees... I tell ya! In a previous post, I had indicated that the most difficult puzzles in Reinfelds 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations was on a par with CT-Art 3.0 level 40 problems. I was dead wrong, there. I think Fred had the gamut covered. So, I know I'll be getting as much benefit out of mastering the problems in this book as I would have gotten if I had continued using CT-Art 3.0. That is, as long as I maintain the discipline of working out other, non-solution variations to see why they don't work as well as the solution. I've also found alternative solutions in a few instances that win just as easily as the ones that Fred gives.

Anyhow, I'm rambling. One thing that I'm having difficulty doing is finding a precise distinction from the two themes of Over-worked Pieces and Removing the Guard. In some instances, the tactics seem very much to use the same idea of either distracting or eliminating a defender. Tonight, I'll finish through at least the 3rd circle.