Chess: The Book

I just picked up "Chess" by Lazlo Polgar on sale. My first impressions are that the book has a lot of "meat" in it (over 5000 problems), that it was written by someone with a proven track record of chess instruction (trainer of the Polgar sisters) and that the "mates in one" are dead easy, but I was looking for a mate in one, I've missed some in real life ...
Is there anybody who has more than 20 minutes with this book? Is it a good place to learn?

i like it, and if you look more deeply at the back of the book you will also find hundreds of minature games, endgame studies and middlegame studies.

Good book for a good price. Type face kinda small, but the book is huge, so that's ok. Use a magnifying glass.

Originally posted by KneverKnight
I just picked up "Chess" by Lazlo Polgar on sale. My first impressions are that the book has a lot of "meat" in it (over 5000 problems), that it was written by someone with a proven track record of chess instruction (trainer of the Polgar sisters) and that the "mates in one" are dead easy, but I was looking for a mate in one, I've missed s ...[text shortened]... ...
Is there anybody who has more than 20 minutes with this book? Is it a good place to learn?

I think this book is an absolute MUST for any serious chessplayer, beginner or advanced! As all are saying, the price is awesomely low for what you get...and I can't think of another book out there that gives you this much (or even half as much!). I just saw a paperback version of it in a chess store in Ann Arbor...couldn't believe it! I've been lugging the hard back around for way too long...argghh

Steely 😕

IM Silman talks about that in one of his books, "Reasses Your Chess" I think. Missing mate in 1 over-the-board because no one is whispering in your ear "Hey! there's a mate in one" like you basically get with a problem.

Interesting I thought.

It is a very good book! You definitely shouldn't take it lightly.🙂

Hey Knever ,

I started a thread on this book a while back under the title Great Book, you might want to look it up.

Anyway, to reiterate, my opinion of this book knows no limits. This book is a master work, and the whole purpose of the diagrams in the book are for you to BURN into your mind the basic mating positions the same way the Polgar sisters did. (Read the intro to the book by Pandolfini)

Anyway, I have spent a lot of time with it, and what I did was to purchase a small notebook, and then I copied the mating patterns and cut them out with scissors, pasted them in the small notebook, and now I can carry them around in my pocket and burn those patterns into my mind any time of the day when I have a free moment.

In my opinion the book is indespensable, and for ten bucks, was one of the best chess book buys I ever made.

I won't leave home without it!