Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games

This is a perfect book for learning basic common tactical pattern recognition in chess. I had the hard back version of the book many years ago and used it for myself and also to teach my kids, who were elementary school age at the time. Years later I got the kindle version, to carry around with me, and to work chess puzzles from time to time when traveling, many of which remain quite challenging. I have had zero problems with the kindle version. It is great for kids because they seem to pick up and internalize the patterns quickly and intuitively, and this can be helpful in making them stronger chess players. I’ve played chess since I was a kid and am a reasonable United States Chess Federation player, with a rating of 1700 to 1850 over the past 25 years. At my level of play, I still find this book quite helpful and entertaining, and many of the more difficult positions are still challenging and sometimes take me several minutes to work out.

This book has been a valuable tool for improving my chess several years ago. I was playing and analyzing games with experienced players in an Egyptian café, a space where intricate wooden screens cast dappled shadows on the boards and the air was thick with the aroma of potent coffee and the distinctive click of backgammon games. Several of us studied a wide range of strategies from this book over several cups of mint tea, often interrupted by the (lively) debates of other patrons. This book is excellent for anyone wanting to advance their chess skills.

Awesome puzzle. Some easy and some way advanced for me currently

I first borrowed this bad boy from the library totally on accident. I had no idea how good this was. The worst part was returning it. I was making a habit out of re-barrowing it until I figured its obviously worth the money to just buy it and make notes in it. Ive improved more from the puzzles in this game then the ones on chess.com. If your serious about improving your game, this is a must have.

More than just a book of problems, Polgar's book is a training aid for serious study. In order to win a chess game, chess players have to solve finite problems using elements culled from complex positions. One thing that separates good players from mediocre ones is the ability to intuit significant variations from the enormous cloud of possibilities each chess game offers to find the lines of play most likely to lead to advantage. It is in this that Polgar's book differs from games collections and other books on strategy and tactics. Polgar's goal is not to give a bored or weak player something to pin his hopes on so he can say, "Ooh, I just went through 1000 spectacular combinations!" or, "Ooh, I just read a book on Alekhine!" His approach is different: his intent is to give the player the ability to recognize tactical themes buried in positions by flooding the player with thousands of tactical short problems in an attempt to imprint his readers with the kind of resource of experience that is the basis of the intuitive ability that great players have. More than just a book of mates in three moves, or five moves, Polgar's chess tries to teach the player to recognize possibilities for goal-directed play in any situation that may come before him or her. If anything can be said to be `weak' in Polgar's approach, it is the lack of prose in it that limits the scope of its approach. A monograph on Capablanca's games can point out that tactical sequences can have purely positional goals, while Polgar sticks to the flashy, romantic idea of attack. Understanding Polgar completely would turn a player into a tactical monster, but understanding Capablanca leads to a player's deeper understanding of what works in chess in a broader and more useful sense. Another difficulty in the book is its sheer volume and the time it takes to work with it: many players are put off by the enormous amount of work it implies; they want something easier, not realizing that the magic they are looking for to make them stronger is right in front of them. There are a many reasons to recommend Polgar's Chess, the greatest of which is Polgar's best credential as a chess coach: that is, three daughters who happen to be Grandmasters. The approach in Polgar's book touches on the nature-versus-nurture question by asking which is more likely: did massive training early on in life make his three daughters world-class chess players, or does he happen to be the father of three geniuses? Only the first answer makes sense. This book needs a kindle edition in a big way.

My 12 YO, gifted, autistic kiddo has turned out to be quite the chess whiz. He is at 900-1000 after playing for 4 months-ish. I gave him this book to read/solve/think about right before bed instead of electronics. The next day he thanked me profusely for the book! (Which never happens). He likes every aspect of it. He likes the chess moves problems to solve. He likes the play-by-play of famous chess games. And I think (?) it’s teaching him about famous chess players. He keeps calling it the biggest chess book ever, lol. I highly recommend this book for chess enthusiasts! It does teach the rules of chess in the very early exercises, but I’m not sure if it’s enough for a brand new player who doesn’t know anything.

Este libro es una joya, fue lo que hizo a las hermanas Polgar lo que son hoy en día. Si lo que buscas es mejorar en ajedrez debes practicar este tipo de ejercicios de mate para ejercitar tu visión a futuro y visión panorámica (así le llamo a la capacidad de ver y ponerle atención a todo el tablero). Recomiendo la versión física solamente si lo usas en casa (ya que el libro es literalmente del tamaño de un tabique de construcción) pero si lo requieres para clases y tienes proyector en el aula o viajas mucho y quieres practicar o entretenerte, la versión Kindle es muy buena (tengo ambas). Si lo quieres comprar para niños que juegan ajedrez (a partir de 9 o 10 años le entienden fácil) y nunca han hecho un ejercicio de estos, debes explicarles la mecánica con uno o dos ejemplos del libro y luego ellos solitos seguirán, aún si no saben escribir en notación algebraica.

Excelente livro para aprender xadrez. Os exercícios são ótimos, mesmo sem um conhecimento profundo de inglês. Vale o investimento.

レビューを書く前に、一言。 囲碁・将棋・チェスなどのマインドスポーツの世界は、完全な男社会です。トップは全て男であり、性別が力量に大きな影響を及ぼすのは常識です。 そんな中、この本は圧倒的な問題数によってひたすら鍛えられる仕組みになっていきます。私が初めて手にした入門書はボビー・フィッシャーの本でしたが、その次は、これしかありません。一部のレビューで”Mate in two"（将棋でいう三手詰め）などの回答部分に最後まで手順が書かれていない、というのがありましたが、私に言わせればこれは最後の手順まで考えさせるための著者の意図的な手法なのだと思います。 私の手元にこの本が届いて約一週間ですが、全部終わるには二年以上かかるかもしれませんね。言い換えると、この本が終わるまでは他のチェス本を買わなくていいということですから、大変な経済効果です。また、ひたすら図面による問題ばかり続きますから、英語力はほとんど必要ありません。 最後に。 実は著者のラズロ・ポルガー氏は独特のメソッドにより自らの三人娘を全員チェスのトッププロに育て上げた人物です。この場合のトッププロとは、男性プロも含めた全世界のプレーヤーの中でトップクラス、という意味です。 それだけでも、この本は絶対的な信用をおけるのではないでしょうか。

Kitap kullanılmış öncelikle zaten uygulamada used good condition olarak belirtilmiş normalde gerçekten iyi bir kondisyonda fakat kargo firması ve paketlemeden dolayı daha çok hasar alıyor. Ben iade edecektim fakat vazgeçtim uğraşmamak için kitap gayet güzel binlerce bulmaca minyatür oyun ve kombinasyonu içeriyor. Yeni başlayıp gelişmek isteyen birini ortalama bir seviyeye getirecek nitelikte fakat koleksiyon niyetiniz yoksa ortalama bir oyuncunun beklentisini karşılamaz.

Bought it at my son's request, and he spends countless hours in it, he really enjoys trying to solve the problems shown in it.