5334 Problems, Combos and Games

Is this worth getting? Some people swear by it. Some say it is garbage.

Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games

Aug 13, 2013

I have it and it's fantastic.  First it was written by Juddit Polgar's father and it's how he trained them to play chess.  Second, what it is is  thousands of mating attacks organized thematically.  It 5 or ten of the puzzles go over cimilar positions with small differences which allow you to learn the pattern of the mate in many different situations.  This is very good and helps with recognition over the board.  Plus this goes along with Coach Dan Heisman's advice to memorize the basic tactical motifs.  I mean go over them until you can instantly recognize them and know the answer.  This has helped me extensively with tactics over the board.

It is definitely worth it.  But you need to go over the book every day.

I love this book. I've done them all at least once. It's worth it, and the progression from Ma01 to Ma05+ is like physical training. The puzzles at the end are fun and aesthetically pleasing as well. Some people hate this book apparently for the same reason I love it - it has absolutely no text. Just boards and solutions. There's no theorizing, no pedantry, no philosophizing, just boards. You have to do the thinking for yourself, and that makes for great training and cultivation of tactical instincts. Memorization does little for play in a time-dependent game that has such a large number of possibilities - you have to learn the heuristics - i.e., recognize patterns that may differ in sometimes small but critical details (tempi, position, etc.). Comprehension (which involves flexibility, distinction between related and divergent variants, and creativity) beats memorization every day of the week because you can easily forget what you memorize (especially under duress), or what you encounter may not be what you memorized and as such erroneously rote play can be abused by your opponent. But enough talk! Boards!

Though they put Laszlo's name on it, I've heard that it was actually written by Susan Polgar while she was still a teenager.  

I predict if you read this book once you will gain 200 rating points or more.

If I read it twice will I gain 400? I think I'm sold.

Carlsen read it 10 times when he was rated 863. Caruana will be finishing his tenth reading shortly.

Funny. I shall read it 30 times then.

A further note - you might think, "Well, gee, I can try out Ma01-05+ problems just about anywhere, like here, in many of the Tactics Trainer problems." The difference is the arrangement and selection of the boards in Polgars' book. And besides, I've found more than one tainted Tactics Trainer problem. The problems in the book are germane and illuminatingly chosen and presented - it's still worth the money, is my final exhortation. I've curled up around this tome many a time, as well as mirrored the problems on real boards. True, it may not cover master-advanced theory, but it's like a great tab primer for guitar - you can begin to see advanced theory through the lens of your own thinking by working through presentations of many interesting and typical positions. Enjoy!

This sounds great. I'm not sure if I should go through it before or after Susan Polgar's two books related to tactics...

Does kindle stuff work on iPads? That's what I have...

Do the pieces actually move on the screen?

           The copyright is 1994

So what?

             I just didn't know if you knew that, that book is 20 yrs old?   post #1 says Aug 2013.  I think that's when it became a kindle book.  No offense

I'm not offended, but I'm not following you.

           I don't think you could have purchased it on kindle before Aug 2013.

Not necessarily. It may have been revised from an earlier version. It's very possible you are corrrect, though. EIther way, what is the point you are trying to make? Maybe I am just tired.

All I want to know is if Kindle stuff works on iPads and if you can move the pieces around.

               Sorry, I really don't know.

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Fabulous. Now, I'll repeat my question to cloudychess before we digress into copyright law again.

Cloudychess--Do the pieces actually move on the screen on your Kindle when you use this Polgar book?