5334

Oct 21, 2015, 12:51 AM |

If anyone at all follows this blog, that person would have noticed that I am writing after a long time and in a break from tradition, have named my blog post 5334.

As an IB student, procrastination get holds of me sometimes(read quite often) and I head to Quora when I should be completing an assignment. Now quora.com is a pretty amazing site and one of their top writers, James Altucher is also a very strong chess player( USCF - 2204). Even though he writes about many things, he has often said he owes a lot to chess. One of the questions asked him what is his favorite chess book and he replied by giving the name of the chess book compiled by Laszlo Polgar for his 3 daughters.

On going through that book, I found that it contained exactly.... you guessed it.... 5334 puzzles. Some are easy and some are quite challenging. This huge repository ingrains a variety of patterns through repetition. Not only could I now use it to improve my own abilities but also take puzzles from this book to my class and then let the students see how I went solving it following which they will attempt them on their own.

Here I have attached some of the puzzles that were enjoyed by my class. Good luck solving them

The last puzzle brought on a look of incredulity on my student's faces, it was such a simple yet beautiful trick. Enamored, they told me to send them puzzles through the sports incharge when I couldn't make it to class and they duly obliged.

Next when I took class, I was informed by the students that the teachers had rescinded their chess playing time since the kids had started spending too much time on it. Whoops, gave one puzzle too many it seems. However, after some discussion with their teachers, it was established that chess will only be played after the students complete their daily assignments. The students were glad such a compromise was reached. For that particular day, I had planned to show them the game attached below.

Though some aspects might have been difficult for them to understand, this was the first time I showed them a classical game I had played. It certainly left an impact on them.

I must tell you, that I won't be writing another blog post for another month or so now since the students are now starting with their school exams and then going on holidays. If all goes well, I shall see them in the month of December.

Cheers and Happy Holidays.

5334

Chess Without Boundaries