Thanks once again for these! I'm out of action for 2-3 days now, but when iI get back I will update the list and attach it again.

Hi aidin,

Thanks for your reply. 
Yes, the thread is on tactics, but Michael referenced a link that summarised IOS chess apps generally and asked forum members for their thoughts, which I gave.

You say there are tactics puzzles in Hiarcs, but I cannot find them.
You also say Stockfish has an option to use dual core ipad 2 functionality, but I cannot find this either and I have looked for it. 

I have used these three chess apps for three years now and I think they are each excellent in their own way, something I hoped to make clear with my comments, but I'm not sure how well you know them when you make these statements.

Personally I like T Chess Pro a lot. 
I think the GUI is excellent - I have no problem with the graphics or speed of analysis, although Shredder and Hiarcs seem faster.

My favourite was Shredder for a very long time, whilst I then preferred T Chess Pro for its better graphics over iphone Hiarcs.  
However, Hiarcs HD is very nice and so I think all three are good for chessplayers, but T Chess offers better value for money as it is universal.
Of course, Stockfish is the best value for money as it is both free and universal.

I use Shredder and Hiarcs more, though

I agree that Shredder is excellent for iphone and has a huge number of features, but Hiarcs has recently been updated and is, in my opinion, probably slightly better for a hardcore chess player.  I'm more of a casual user and my 'wants' list may be shorter than a club player's, but I appreciate the stats and opening book advantages that I think Hiarcs has over Shredder. 

Shredder does have the inbuilt tactics puzzles though; unlike aidin I can't find the tactics puzzles he believes are in Hiarcs, which I own on both iphone and ipad - maybe I haven't searched hard enough yet.

The other chess app that is a must on iphone and ipad is T Chess Pro. 

My ipad 2 likes this as its the only chess engine on the platform that allows dual core processor utilisation.  Not that I need really it.....but I guess its nice to know its being used and to be honest the speed improvements arent something I notice - the engine slaughters me just as quickly with the option turned off, but oh well....

I wouldn't bother with Fritz at all - it's slow and graphically a divsion below the aforementioned three apps.  If you have an ipad as well as an iphone, T Chess Pro is the best value, as its a universal app and so only needs purchasing once.  Check out some reviews and make up your mind from those, but I'm happy owning all three and having the choice to switch between them all. 

I contemplated buying Deep Green Chess, which looks rather nice but ultimately doesn't offer anything like the number of features of the others; if it were cheaper then fair enough, but all of these apps are around the £5 or £6 mark and so most people wouldn't want to spend that amount on all of them when one would likely suffice.

One other engine/app worth considering is Chess Wise Pro.  This is decent value, as its universal and also offers a very classy looking FICS interface into the bargain which looks lovely on an ipad.  Aesthetically its a real treat, understated and just simply well designed. 

As for Tactic Trainer (namechecked here, too - http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jul/11/chess-ipad-apps-tactics ) just type Tactic Trainer into the itunes app store.  I think it claims to have over 20,000 problems. Again, a universal app. 

Hope some of this helps.

Thanks aidin! -- will add.

Hi slates,

Thanks for this! You're not late at all -- this is 'work in progress' and the list won't be emailed to my club members till tomorrow anyway. Where do I find details of the Tactic Trainer for the I-phone -- is there a website?

I saw this reviewing iPhone apps, but maybe it's out of date? -- http://blog.chess.com/DeepGreene/the-kings-of-iphone-chess

If anyone can summarise the field that'd be great!

Thanks Stigma, I agree entirely with these thoughts. I actually have Tisdall (interesting book) and took it down to the Club to exemplify the 'anti-Kotov perspective', or part of it.

Will add the other Aagaard of course. Also I left a couple of basic Kasparov puzzle books out! We're getting there ...

I'll add de Groot too at some point, but then maybe I need a section on thought processes/psychology separate from the section on calculation. The way is open to add ancient texts like Krogius and lots more!

More recently, what about the books by Avni? Something like [i]Chess Tips for the Improving Player[/i] obviously isn't about tactics, but is latently about thinking processes in the sense that it asks us to recall at the board familiar psychological situations, e.g. 'Ideas that almost work', etc. etc.

Thanks to all who've been helping with this! The talk went really well and there was a lot of interest. I copied Smyslov_Fan's remarks on the Shredder I-phone app onto the list, and between the club ending and getting to the pub one guy had already loaded the free version of it onto his phone!

It's your decision of course. There are some books where the main emphasis is on analyzing, teaching or training techniques of calculation or decision making, like:

Aagaard, Jacob (2004). Excelling at Chess Calculation: Capitalizing on Tactical Chances. London: Everyman.

and from your list:
Beim, V. (2006) How To Calculate Chess Tactics (London: Gambit). 
Dvoretsky M. (2002) School of Chess Excellence 2: Tactical Play. Hombrechtikon/Zürich, Switzerland: Edition Olms.
Dvoretsky M. (2008) Dvoretsky’s Analytical Manual. Milford, CT: Russell
Heisman, D. (foreword by L. Alburt) (2009) The Improving Chess Thinker (?: Mongoose Press
Soltis, A. (1994) The Inner Game of Chess. New York: McKay

Other books I would label as "calculation":
Kotov. A. (1995[1971]) Think Like a Grandmaster. London: B. T. Batsford.
Dvoretsky, M. & Yusupov, A. (2009). School of Future Champions 5: Secrets of Creative Thinking. Hombrechtikon/Zürich, Switzerland: Edition Olms.

I would exclude books that mainly give exercises. That actually makes Forcing Chess Moves a borderline case, but I would still put it under "calculation" since Hertan's method for identifying candidate moves is quite original (though Heisman has been onto the same thing, on a lower level).

Edit: There's also 
Tisdall, J. (1997). Improve Your Chess NOW! (London: Cadogan). which has a couple of original and influential chapters on calculation, very critical of Kotov. They comprise less than a quarter of the book, but I think it's those chapters the book will be remembered for.

Edit 2: With the Heisman "Thinker" book based on real thinking process protocols on the list, it might be worthwhile including the similar 
Aagaard, J. (2004). Inside the Chess Mind: How Players of All Levels Think About the Game. London: Everyman. 
Or even the original 
De Groot, A. D. (1978). Thought and Choice in Chess. The Hague: Mouton. - though that one might be too academic for some.