Buy used:
$7.20
FREE delivery May 13 - 17. Details
Or fastest delivery May 7 - 10. Details
Used: Very Good | Details
Sold by ThriftBooks-Phoenix
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comment: May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Susan Polgar
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

A World Champion's Guide to Chess: Step-by-step instructions for winning chess the Polgar way Paperback – March 8, 2005

by Susan Polgar (Author), Paul Truong (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 100 ratings
See all formats and editions
Learn to Win at Chess from World Champion Susan Polgar

Susan Polgar, 4-time World Chess Champion, became a living legend by following the methods taught by her father, Laszlo Polgar, the famous Hungarian chess coach. In A World Champion's Guide to Chess, Susan reveals these masterful tactics and techniques to players of all ages. With coauthor Paul Truong, an 11-time National Champion, she begins with the basics of understanding how the pieces move and leads the reader through checkmate and defense, pawn promotion, and opening and endgame patterns. Accompanying the lessons are personal glimpses into Susan's famous career, including her story of becoming the first female Grandmaster, the highest title in chess.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Random House Puzzles & Games
  4. Publication date
    March 8, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    6.1 x 0.95 x 9.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0812936531
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0812936537
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Learn to Win at Chess from World Champion Susan Polgar

Susan Polgar, 4-time World Chess Champion, became a living legend by following the methods taught by her father, Laszlo Polgar, the famous Hungarian chess coach. In A World Champion's Guide to Chess, Susan reveals these masterful tactics and techniques to players of all ages. With coauthor Paul Truong, an 11-time National Champion, she begins with the basics of understanding how the pieces move and leads the reader through checkmate and defense, pawn promotion, and opening and endgame patterns. Accompanying the lessons are personal glimpses into Susan's famous career, including her story of becoming the first female Grandmaster, the highest title in chess.

About the Author

Susan Polgar is the current World Champion in Women's Chess and the top ranked woman chess player in the United States. As the number-one woman chess player in the world at age 15, Susan bridged the gender gap in chess by becoming the first woman to win the US Open Blitz Championship in 2003 and the first woman to ever earn the title of Grandmaster.

Paul Truong is an 11-time National Champion and is the captain and business manager of the 2004 U.S. Women's Olympiad Team.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Puzzles & Games (March 8, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812936531
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812936537
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.17 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.95 x 9.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 100 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Susan Polgar

Susan Polgar

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Hungarian-American Chess Grandmaster Susan Polgar has had an illustrious career, which includes winning 4 Women’s World Championships, and is the first player to win the triple-crown (Blitz, Rapid, and Classical World Championships). She became the #1 ranked female at the age of 15, and remained in the top 3 for nearly 25 straight years. In 1991, she broke the gender barrier by becoming the first woman in history to earn the Grandmaster title through traditional FIDE requirement. She is also a five-time Women’s Olympiad Champion, earning 10 overall medals – 5 Gold, 4 Silver, and 1 Bronze. In 2014 at the Tromsø Chess Olympiad, she became the first woman to receive the Furman Symeon medal as the best trainer in the world.

She has promoted the game in various roles away from the board: an award-winning chess journalist; best-selling chess author; heading the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) at Webster University; and leading the Susan Polgar Foundation, a non-profit organization supported by charitable donations that aims to promote chess and its educational benefits to youngsters, especially girls. In 2009, Susan became the first woman to coach a men’s division I collegiate chess team to the Final Four. Her teams have won 4 consecutive national championships.

Today, Susan continues to coach, do commentary at major events (such as World Championship and Olympiad) and also to write. She has developed her chess curriculum, which is being used in over 80 countries around the world, published best-sellers such as “A World Champion’s Guide to Chess” and “Chess Tactics for Champions”, and recently has coauthored "Rich as a King" (www.RichAsAKing.com), a book on how chess strategies can be applied to investments, with CFP Douglas Goldstein.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
100 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Helen R. Koepfer
5.0 out of 5 stars Clear Instructions for a Beginner
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
When I decided to learn to play chess, I looked carefully for a good instruction book and read many reviews of available books. I highly recommend this one by Susan Polgar. Her introduction to the game and the various strategies is very clear. There are puzzles at the end of each chapter with solutions and explanations for the solutions as the puzzles become more complex. Rather than begin the lessons with opening game strategies, she first gets the learner accustomed to seeing patterns on the board which will be helpful as they progress.

I’m 78 years old and had given my granddaughters a chess set for a Christmas. My daughter and I wish to learn along with them, so I sent her a copy of the book. She is also finds it to be a good choice.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Musicus
5.0 out of 5 stars For beginners, I guess
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2010
Verified Purchase
The reviews here have been confusing to me. On the one hand there are two Kid's Reviews, one telling «Good if you know some basics - Not a starters book» and another telling «This book is more at an adult's level of learning» but on the other hand there is the reviewer Liyong telling just the opposite, «Good book for beginners, This book is really for beginners only.»
I should, but I didn't trust Liyong or my own learning skills, so I bought Pandolfini's  Beginning Chess: Over 300 Elementary Problems for Players New to the Game  first, in order to prepare myself for the present one. Well, while I did learn something from that very simple Pandolfini's book, I could probably have learned the same from this book, which also has much more to give, is put together with much more care and offers progression, a learning curve. If you buy this book, and it happens to be too difficult for you, then you can be advised purchasing Beginning Chess, and solve the 300 problems there at least three times. However most beginners can wisely save their money getting the present book only, which probably will be a perfect introduction to the next book by Polgar,  Chess Tactics for Champions: A step-by-step guide to using tactics and combinations the Polgar way , a book I haven't got yet.
17 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Isaiah Karlinsky
4.0 out of 5 stars She is an excellent teacher, and this book is very good for ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
She is an excellent teacher, and this book is very good for beginners. I didn't realize how "beginner oriented" it was. Lots of good excercises on the basics, but I think her video lessons are much more comprehensive for more advanced players.If you are a more advanced player, you will probably be disappointed.
The book listed as used was in excellent condition.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Harry W. Bellaire
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent learning tool.
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
My wife and I are interested in learning chess, and we thought that learning from a champion would make the most sense. Susan starts with the very basic information needed, then progressively takes the student through the learning steps necessary to become a very competent chess player. She shows all the strategy of planned attacks, protecting your pieces and getting out of trouble when it happens. I love her training exercises where she asks you to identify how to attack or capture the opposing piece, and the answer explains why her choice is the best action. After a while, you choose the correct action more and more often; and that is what this book is designed to do. What a totally great book !! I can't praise it highly enough. On a slightly different note- I wish she had written a book on how to fix computers!!
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Roberto Perez-Franco
3.0 out of 5 stars Tactics and Mate Exercises for <1400 players
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2011
Verified Purchase
I read this book cover to cover, and I think the title is misleading. It is not a step by step instruction for winning at chess. First, there is no such thing. Second, for all the emphasis in the cover on Susan's multiple championships, the book is geared towards fairly entry-level players.

What you will find in this book:
- The rules of chess, and how pieces move, with exercises.
- A nice inventory of chess tactics, with exercises for you to practice.
- A nice set of mates in 1, 2 and 3 moves for you to practice.
It is my estimate that these exercises may be challenging for <1000 players, but are trivial for >1400 players, while they will be fun to do for those around 1100-1300 (my range).

What you will not find in this book:
- Any decent introduction to openings. For that, look elsewhere.
- A clear exposition of the basic endings. Although some attention is paid to endings, the explanations are often lacking and the reader is given dozens of moves with no guidance. For that, look elsewhere.

In short, this book might be better called A Chess Primer, Tactics and Mate Exercises for <1400 players.
21 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
jomiro
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent All-Around Introduction to the Game of Chess
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2007
Verified Purchase
I bought this book for my 6 and 8 yr. old children who had just started playing chess and had a basic understanding of the way the chess pieces moved . The book breaks down various facets of the game in small and easily understood lessons. My kids really love this book, and it has greatly helped improve their playing. I have also learned many things from this book. I had always been a casual chess player who could think through different situations as they unfolded in the game, but after reading this book, I now have a more structured and intentional approach to playing and can visualize patterns much better. I think this book is great for anyone who would like to improve their playing above the basic level.
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Hari
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for beginners and hobby players!
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2011
Verified Purchase
'Practice' before you 'Play'

This book teaches the game in small steps, such as how to checkmate if you have specific pieces, how to avoid a loss by using perpetual checks etc.

This book helped me in developing a "radar system" that scans for various parameters such as identify the vulnerable pieces, finding the pins and at the same time protecting your pieces from opponent's attack.

I have taken a printout of dos and don'ts section and keep it with me while practicing with my chess simulator program.

I feel confident with basics and ready to read advanced material.

Great book for beginners. I give 5/5.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
claude
5.0 out of 5 stars ce sont les échecs
Reviewed in Canada on August 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
j'aime ça manière de faire et d'expliquer les choses
Report
Tracy Crew
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2022
Verified Purchase
Great Christmas present for someone who is learning chess
Report
Manobendu Kesari jena
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book
Reviewed in India on October 30, 2017
Verified Purchase
Well packaged.best for beginners
2 people found this helpful
 Report
やし酒飲み
5.0 out of 5 stars 日本と西洋のチェス教育の違いがわかりました。
Reviewed in Japan on June 2, 2011
Verified Purchase
著者はチェス界ではかなり有名な女王です。
英語は日本では中校生レベルで難しくなく、くどくない。

とにかく、この本はバランスがよい。著者の子供の頃の
訓練方法を追体験しているようです。

・駒の動かし方から始めます。
・十数種類の基本Tacticsについて各20問題ほど取り組みます。
・チェス盤と駒を出して、３２種類のエンドゲームの基本形を
　動かしていきます。ざっと確認です。
・１手、２手、３手のメイト問題を解きます。
・学びがいのある２つの実戦を検討していきます。

問題の数が豊富で、入門を終えたら、土台を築くのに最適の本です。
この本の続編も購入してください。
One person found this helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to the game
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2022
Verified Purchase
Simple set up, easy to follow.
Report