MASTER YOUR CHESS WITH JUDIT POLGAR by Judit Polgar and Andras Toth, New in Chess, 508 pp., publ. 2022.
Weighing in at over a kilo (two and a half pounds if you still work in Imperial), this wristbreaker is based on the authors’ Chessable course of the same name. A work ambitious in scope, JP says ‘...my co-author Andras Toth and I offer you a concentrated, yet thoroughly efficient, starter kit that aims to set your chess on the right path: upwards!’. It is ‘...an attempt to provide a rock-solid foundation to your game’ in which they ‘...cover all aspects of the game from the opening to the endgame’.
In keeping with their objective of looking at the foundations of tactical play, the most common positional themes and endgame techniques, the authors split their work up into ten large parts:
·Part I Opening Disasters
·Part II Calculation
·Part III Positional Concepts
·Part IV Strategy
·Part V Positional Sacrifices
·Part VI Tactics
·Part VII The Initiative
·Part VIII The Attack
·Part IX The Endgame
·Part X Puzzles
Each part is sub-divided into a number of relevant areas, e.g. Part III, Positional Concepts, is split into
·Chapter 6 Weak Squares and Outposts
·Chapter 7 Misplaced Piece
·Chapter 8 Good Knight vs Bad Bishop
while Part VII, The Initiative, is divvied up into
·Chapter 18 Queenside Castling Scenarios
·Chapter 19 Pawn Breaks
·Chapter 20 Material Sacrifices
·Chapter 21 Openings That Thrive on Initiative
You can see how widely they cast their net. These also give you an idea of the intended readership. It is not a book for raw beginners – these are not concepts encountered in one’s earliest acquaintance with the game – but rather for players with some grasp of the basics ready to move on to more sophisticated stuff.
The selected examples are mainly of recent vintage, including many from Polgar’s own practice, and feature all the big names, but the authors do not ignore the classics. They are generally striking and convey the point under discussion admirably. There is one issue, though, something that is not a problem in Chessable format, but is not easy to get round in a book, viz. with the questions/exercises embedded in the games, it is virtually impossible not to see the answer as one works one’s way through the text. To deal with the exercises in the manner intended will require a generous helping of willpower and good old-fashioned sheets of paper: one to cover the right-hand page and two smaller strips to cover the two columns on the left. Footery! Improvements are not obvious. Within the context of the work, putting the answers at the end would have risked a disjointed text, but some version thereof might have been feasible. The alternative is just to regard the examples as an educational presentation and follow the explanations, at the expense of removing any benefits accruing from the Socratic approach.
The text reads smoothly and well. JP’s enthusiasm for her subject matter and love of dynamic chess in particular shine through on every page and cannot help but rub off on the reader. Having said that, a little more discussion on how to come up with the ideas, rather than the ideas themselves, would have been welcome, e.g. game 89, p.197, Hodgson-Psakhis, began 1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 Bb4 3 g3 Bxc3 4 bxc3 d6 5 Bg2 f5 and now 6 c5!!. JP: ‘...a fantastic idea. All White wants is to drastically change the character of the position and open up files and diagonals so that the bishops can excel.’All good and well, but how to lead our post-beginner to a position where they will be able to suss out such moves? You can throw enough examples at them and hope that the idea will stick, but I’m willing to bet if you gave the position after Black’s fifth move to a player rated around, say, 1200-1300, most would plump for something routine like 6 d3 or 6 Nf3. I’ve even seen Nh3 played in such positions. The point seems to be that by their nature, positional sacs are still grounded in dynamic play. JP remarks in another example about ‘...how thin the borderline is between positional and tactical chess!’. If the reader can absorb that, then moves of the c5!! variety might start to find their way more readily on to his/her radar.
Another thing illustrated in the above example is the need for a teacher to anticipate his/her students’ likely questions, the more so if they are not face to face. In her commentary after 6 c5!! dxc5, Polgar writes authoritatively, ‘The only (my emphasis – IM) realistic alternative is 6...d5...’. I can imagine readers wondering what’s so wrong with, say, the very reasonable looking 6...Nf6, which gets nary a mention. Of course asking questions of one’s own and coming up with the answers is no bad thing, but it helps at least to have your question acknowledged.
Overall this is a very worthwhile attempt to introduce ambitious newcomers to the finer points of the game – you’ve virtually got Judit Polgar as your coach! – although I find myself wondering if it’s a bit too much for one volume. Splitting it into two would have reduced the risk of skating over the occasional point and provided the possibility of deeper discussion in places. It is certainly well produced – solid hardback, clear presentation and colourful text and diagrams – and is well worth a look by anyone in the intended readership category looking for good, solid instruction while not afraid to do some work of their own.
Ian Marks
April 2023