I just wanted to add that it's now the first time I get problems like
en.lichess.org/training/61122This is essentially a "defensive" tactic - the first move being obvious, you then have to find the only move to keep the advantage rather than killing the guy off.
IMHO the recent changes are clearly a step in the right direction.
Still not sure if it's possible/feasible without ALTs...
For instance
en.lichess.org/training/61162The correct (and very nice) solution is -2.6, Nxa3 is -1.6.
Nxa3 should be an "ALT" rather than a miss IMHO.
I would like to add my vote for setting difficulty levels as well. It seems the abundance of different mating patterns has also gone away and this is bad for new chess players in my opinion.
If you can't bring back the original style of puzzles, please consider allowing some choice of motif and puzzle rating level. Depending on my mood, I want to do easier or harder puzzles.
I would like to suggest a "just for fun" mode in the tactics trainer in which (i) you are not rated, (ii) you can choose the difficulty level of the puzzle and (iii) there are no repetitions.
Let me explain why: The new design is great for ambitious players who do tactics to improve etc. But there are many people like myself around who do this just for fun. It is not fun to have to do the same puzzle several times (and no option to opt out of this) and personally I think that all attempts to make the thing competitive (i.e ratings, in particular displaying the rating changes of one's last few puzzles just below the puzzle) also drain the fun away.
@error_state @a_pleasant_illusion linked to the update notes on puzzles here:
lichess.org/blog/WDY6cCEAALYi5Xg2/puzzles-updateIt seems long the current goal is exactly what you're aiming for in allowing you choose puzzles by motif. I don't know about ratings. I tend to agree that they're handy since sometimes you just want to sit there and grind some typical patterns and not focus on long complex calculations, but on the other hand I think chesstempo is still probably the top site for tactics training and they do not allow difficulty selection but instead automatically provide a relatively balanced (and unpredictable) range of puzzles to you. This I also enjoy since you never know if it's a "well duh it's this..." or if you're missing something more subtle - much like a real game.
#15 ChessTempo allows for so called "custom problem sets" - you can tailor different sets according to your personal tastes/needs, difficulty selection being only one of many possibilities.
Horse_Badorties -
Chess Tempo is a great site for tactics. I've had an account there for a long time and use the Custom Problem sets myself. There are so many ways you can configure them. It takes a little time to figure things out but for anyone who is serious it is a good site.
patzersixtyfour -
patzersixtyfour - you make a good point. There are people who are just looking to do them for fun and not for training. There are times I want to just do simple problems. I just did one that was killing my brain. I got most of it correct except the very last move. I wanted to just do something easy after that one but the next problem that came up was another hard one so I stopped. But I like your recommendation.
Cheers!
lichess.org/training/61182