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Just bought this book and finished all the mate-in-one problems, many of which were quite instructive patterns I never knew about. That's about 306 problems.The second section is mate-in-two, and is much more difficult of course, and 10x as large (about 3000 problems), but already I feel I'm getting benefit.Laszlo Polgar says not to set up a board but do the problems in your head--excellent advice and the book is suited to this (most grandmasters learn this way, not by moving the pieces around).The 3rd section is mate-in-3 and is shorter than the first section. The last section is combinations.Some quibbles are:a) there is more than one solution to some of the problems (yes there are)b) the answer key only gives the "key move", but doesn't follow up with the following moves or possibilities (for a 2 move-3 move problem) All in all, GM John Donaldson recommended this book in SF, so I took his advice and don't regret it.
This prompting is again, not something you would receive in a real game, but even so Polgar's book is excellent practice none-the-less. On the other hand, it means the book is BIG. It's hefty. It's an excellent tactical exercise), along with a few basic end-game sections. In terms of difficulty the first 306 problems are very VERY easy. It takes up a lot of space in a bag, so you can't always carry it with you.
It also makes a very good test of your competence -- these problems ARE fairly easy, given all the prompting, so if you're having difficulty with the "mate in 2 problems" then it's a good sign to see you need to keep practicing. This book is good quality -- that is to say, the puzzles clearly have one solution, there seems to be no dispute. On a mere practical stand-point, the book is BIG. This kind of artificial-ness comes about because you know what's side it is to play, and you know in exactly how many moves there is mate. It's basic. You get what you pay for: a LOT of problems. I am relatively new to tournament chess (rating about 1300), and I have been working with many different puzzle books trying to improve my tactics. You are not going to get mind-numbingly difficult tactical problems, nor are you getting a realistic game simulation.
Tactics are extremely useful, but most of the diagrams in the book end in mate so you are really looking to see how to kill the king again and again. That said, they are useful for drilling the basics. There is also a section of miniature games (less than 25 moves), where you see a real game that was played and see if you can find the appropriate continuation (this description is very brief; technically you play out the game up to a certain move. One you move past it, the diagrams become more difficult, but they still have this sort of artificial air about them. I have found this book to be much better for me at helping my end-game than at my tactics.
As far as the book being organized, the first 306 problems are white to play, mate in 1, the next few thousand problems (literally) are mate in 2 -- both black and white to play in their respective sections, and then about three hundred problems of white to move, mate in three. It also includes miniature games of 25 moves or less which, for me, were fantastic to see some exceptional tactics. Third, some of the diagrams are simple enough that there's only one piece that can put the king in check, ergo the solution is pretty apparent. I recommend Polgar, but understand what you are getting. If you're new in particular, this kind of prompting can help you build yourself up for the more advanced tactics books (like Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors, another book I've used and reviewed). You're given the hint only as to the key square, and there is a combination based on that square that mates.
First, it's because it's mate in 1. You are going to get rote practice on fundamental combination, piece interactions, and basic end-games. I picked up Polgar's book on chess because it includes simply so much material. That's NOT a bad thing. You are getting a big fat book that drills you repeatedly on the basics. You DO get realistic game simulation later in the book during the "miniature games" section, though that is not your standard problems where you can simply breeze through them, you really need a board to play through the game to see how it comes about.
But everyone needs their fundamentals at one point or another. This kind of mental prompting is not something you'd see in a real game. That means, for one thing, you have thousands of problems and exercises. It's rote. The drills by rote are excellent practice, however, in that you can see some fundamental piece interaction and fundamental check mates (for example, how rooks + bishop can hem in a king, what kind of pattern to look for when you want to mate with a queen, etc). Second, because you KNOW it's mate in one.
This is a very useful section for me, and a section most other reviewers have neglected to mention. So again, it's not necessarily the best book on tactics out there, but this is a solid drill book that helps you improve your game.
What makes this book so excellent is the fact that you can open it up to any page and work through it. It would make a brilliant coffee table book.I've owned it for a month now and it's helped already. It's timeless, and entirely indispensible. Polgar doesn't cloud the pages with his thoughts and observations, it's just straight up chess problems without the unnecessary riffraff. The problems help me better recognize checkmates, and quicker, too. -B.
Polgar starts you off with very simple problems that gradually build in complexity. Rather than tell you what to look for, he lets you figure out the answers for yourself. Thus you learn to recognize the patterns that lead to checkmate.You can work every problem in sequence, gradually improving your skills, or just dip into it at random for puzzle-solving pleasure. Wonderful book, glad I bought it.
This is a book that both my 7 year old daughter and myself can use and enjoy. The beginning puzzles are perfect for her and I have enjoyed doing them with her. This is exactly what I wanted.
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