Reddit Reddit reviews Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games

We found 19 Reddit comments about Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games
Black Dog Leventhal Publishers
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19 Reddit comments about Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games:

u/mpo7 · 170 pointsr/iamverysmart

I play chess. My USCF rating is currently 2123... And I thought the sphere chess looked absolutely retarded at first too.

>Nah, I feel you should start from openings.

You shouldn't. Opening theory is quite dense and heavily influenced by computer analysis. You benefit more from trying to understand what you are trying to achieve, rather than trying to simply memorize some openings.

Logical Chess: Move by Move is a great book for anyone that has mastered the basics but is looking to learn more. You will pick up some opening knowledge along the way, learn how openings give rise to specific kinds of middle-games. And you will come across some endgames (although endgame basics are absent).

If you wish to seriously improve there are 3 parts:

  • Understanding the reasons behind moves in the opening of a game - decisions regarding pawn structure are especially significant as these will determine the nature of the battle to come in the middle-game. For this - annotates games (like those in Logical Chess) are beneficial. Specific opening books are also useful but only after you've got a feel for what kind of middle-games you like (because then you know what kinds of openings to pick!). Other game collections (there are tons of great ones): Botvinnik: One Hundred Selected Games and for the more advanced Zurich 1953
  • Tactics. Chess, like other things, has a large component of pattern recognition. Solving tactical problems from workbooks (there are hundreds of these, so I will recommend 2: Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games and 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations
  • Endgames. Endgames are the most math-like in terms of study. You learn basic endgames (K+P vs lone K, K+R+P vs K+R, etc...). Once you have the basics, you can 'solve' more complicated positions by trading down (reducing them) to basic endings. Know nothing about endings? Here is one place to start: Pandolfini's Endgame Course. Dvoretsky's endgame books are also excellent.


    There is quite a lot of chess literature. If you enjoy chess and wish to study and improve there are plenty of ways to do that. If competing in tournaments interests you check out the United States Chess Federation if you are in the states. If you are abroad, check out FIDE. And of course there are online options such as chess.com, the Internet Chess Club, etc...

    Sorry... bit of an enthusiast :)
u/HorseNamedAppetite · 8 pointsr/chess

Solving for mate and studying pawn/rook endgames should be studied from day one. Both of them help immensely with visualization, and will make your entire game stronger. The Polgar book with 5334 problems is a classic, and I strongly recommend it, because it goes from easy mate in ones to harder mate in threes and so on:

https://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Problems-Combinations-Games/dp/1579125549

It's a monster volume at 1,100+ pages, and will put some strain on your bookshelf, but it's only $21 at Amazon. You're not going to find better value as a beginner.

u/D314 · 7 pointsr/chess

Lots of tactics.

This book is good for beginners

https://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Problems-Combinations-Games/dp/1579125549

This one is also very good (and better IMO), a bit more advanced but still good for beginners.

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Exercises-Kids-Coakley/dp/1895525101

u/OldWolf2 · 5 pointsr/chess

> I’m learning chess with a few books from the library and there is one book called 5534 chess variations or something like that and it’s all just hundreds of puzzles mainly for the endgame like checkmate in 2 moves, checkmate in 3 moves etc.

It sounds like you're describing CHESS by Polgar. This is calculation training, it is nothing to do with endgame play . Even though some of the positions may occur during an endgame.

The purpose of solving these problems is to train yourself in being able to perfectly calculate short variations (1, 3 or 5 moves for M1, M2 or M3 problems respectively). Which is an essential skill if you ever want to get out of the "beginner" stage.

u/Uber_Nick · 4 pointsr/chess

According to the Polagar patriarch, he has up until the child's third birthday. No need to rush.

Until that time, I recommend drilling the infant with tactics: https://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Problems-Combinations-Games/dp/1579125549/

u/Adddicus · 3 pointsr/chess

Chess by Lazlo Polgar.


u/ivosaurus · 2 pointsr/chess
u/Super_Moi · 2 pointsr/chess

I'm currently reading Chess by László Polgár It starts with the rules and then has tons of problems to help you think about your game. It has mates in one, two, and three moves. It also contains games. It claims to be able to train you up to ELO 2200. It is a huge book though, but interesting nonetheless. With 5334 exercises such as problems, combinations, and games, you're bound to learn something.

u/drdvna · 2 pointsr/chess

Agreed that learning the logic of tactics and strategy are essential to playing good chess. Playing faster should never be a goal. Blitz chess etc. are just a way of challenging yourself and keeping the game interesting in my opinion, but not at all a learning tool. I would really focus on learning more about the classic openings and the classic endgame patterns. Horowitz's book Chess Openings and Polgar's book on recognizing endgame mating patterns are a great place to start. Once you are familiar with the common patterns that occur in chess, you play through those at lightning speed, and you can take your time when it comes to the middle game.

u/[deleted] · 2 pointsr/chess

Maybe you would benefit from working with a coach. Also, read more books, review historical matches every day and do exercises to shake yourself out of your rut.

I can't imagine watching a few Youtube video channels could get you to your all-time peak--and one year isn't much time to do anything, really. You're off to a good start, now kick it up a notch.

u/r-habdoglaux · 2 pointsr/chess

This. I'm the same way--I slay at tactical puzzles, but haven't put in the time to learn positional analysis and memorize historical games in a way that would get me anywhere worth mentioning. I can't exactly say I've had stellar experiences around competitive chess players, either...let's just say it's not my scene and leave it at that.

If you don't have it yet, get Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games and you'll be glad you did. If I had choose to a handful of "desert island books", this one would definitely be in there.

u/Spiritchaser84 · 1 pointr/chess

If you want free, go to a library and get this book, though I believe it only has sections for mate in 1, 2, or 3.

u/Lyblix · 1 pointr/learnmath

not super math related but you should introduce him to chess, im sure he would love it. the internet is very helpful for improving at chess, but if screen time is an issue there are many great chess puzzle books/ strategy books out there e.g. Laszlo Polgar’s book:
Chess

u/bassist_human · 1 pointr/chess

If you want to go oldschool (with a book), I used Lazlo Polgar's Chess years ago and liked it.

I don't know why I never thought of applets for chess puzzles... I'm going to have to try some of these out.

u/el3r9 · 1 pointr/chess

For a puzzle book, there's only one answer: [Laszlo Polgar's Chess](Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games https://www.amazon.com/dp/1579125549/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zc9pybH4QPQBS) . As for entertaining books I'm not sure.

u/mechanical_fan · 1 pointr/spikes

He may be right in the part about Magic, but he COMPLETELY misses the point in chess and it would be some of the worst chess advice you could get. He pretty much said "forget tactics, study openings", which is the opposite of what you should be doing if you are not at least a FM (some people would even argue a GM).

The first puzzle is much, much more important than knowing what to do in the opening position. Chess is not about how common a position is, but how useful are certain patterns. The patterns the puzzle is teaching: Queen Sac (yes, it is ok to lose your queen in some situations), smothered king (yes, putting pieces around your king may actually make you lose, instead of protecting him), forced moves (notice how black must play forcing moves or lose) and knight movement (knights are weird). The exact position is not going to happen, but the patterns happen again and again.

On the other hand, learning/memorizing which are the best 1-5 is close to useless if you have problems with real game patterns (like the puzzle is trying to teach). Playing a "good/best" first move give you a very, very small advantage compared to actually knowing what to do during the game (here is Miles taking down Karpov with 1... a6: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068157 or Larsen taking down Petrosian with 1. f4: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1106394, both "subpar" moves)

However, he is trying to make a parallel that doesnt exist. The current problem with magic puzzles is that they are not teaching you the right patterns, a lot of the time they are trying to be cute instead. There are those is chess too, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke_chess_problem).

What he is missing is that for chess you must learn game positions because most of your decisions will happen in the middle game, as chess games go in average 40+ moves. The very important ones are probably happening only in 20+. And you can only make decisions like "Should I sac my queen?" if you actually know there are positions you should be saccing your queen, which only puzzles can teach you. By not doing puzzles, not only you will be choosing the wrong moves, but you aren't even going to consider/calculate the right move. You are going to be stuck on a beginner's mind forever.

However, in MTG you should study opening positions because most magic games are fast, with around 6-7 turns and the most important decision is "should I mulligan?". So, you should be studying mulligan and early turn puzzles, but they are still puzzles.

TLDR: The author has no idea of what he is talking about when it comes to chess. He is at least right when it comes to MTG. And yes, quantity is very important when it comes to puzzles, in both chess and MTG. Number of puzzles in a chess book can easily run into the 1000s, and you should solve them all (for example: https://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Problems-Combinations-Games/dp/1579125549/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VDKM7BWJN2YG1TQK7G1F). Today, websites likes Chesstempo are easier tough. Patterns are not about "how common the situation happens?" but "how useful is knowing this?" (which he misses when talking about chess. By a lot.)

u/themusicdan · 1 pointr/chess

I use the Polgar book. It's not an app but it works.