Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games

My review is more about expectations as a reader than the book itself. You shouldn't be surprised that there are 5334 problems, combinations and games.

But - your mileage may vary. I can look at the "Mate in 2" and solve it quickly and there's others I've stared at for 10 minutes. If you "read" this, to the extent you can read thousands of chess positions, you should be prepared to put in the work and resist the temptation to put it into an engine and get instant gratification.

What it has given me is a better understanding of piece coordination, even if I don't expect to see some of the positions on the board. In my opinion, it's a good illustrator of pieces working together even if the examples are contrived (e.g., finding "Mate in 2" when up a significant amount of material).

“Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games” by Laszlo Polgar

This is a fantastic chess book that teaches basic pattern recognition and beginning calculation skills. The first 306 puzzles are mate in one. They do a fine job of teaching you all the must know mate in one patterns. Puzzles from 307-3718 are mate in twos. Quite a few of these are composed and serve less to teach you patterns and more to serve as calculation training. Due to the composed setup, the puzzles force you to reason out or calculate the two move answer. While chess players may grow past drilling mate in ones, the beginning calculation training stays relevant longer into your chess journey. Overall, a hefty book that can aid at the beginner and intermediate level players. I do have titled friends that still solve it once a year as light calculation training.

Amazing book with so many puzzles for every level.