Polgar Chess University DVD reviews?
Sort:
Anybody? Like hell I will let this thread drop to page 2 with just the opening post.
The little engine that could...
I resignate. It must be the best kept chess-learning secret.
you really think you can buy a 'all in one wonder pack' for chess. if it would solv all our problems in chess, it would be super popular - so the fact no one answers is the best you can get.
A response... my f---ing hero! Appreciate your "tell it like it is" (my quotes intend to demarcate the contained phrase as a noun).
I am simply surprised that 135 hours of structured instruction from the lab-rat GM who grew up in a chess tube does not garner the interest of the numerous chess amateurs in this community eager to improve? (As an aside, I think they are not DVD's after, but rather downloads).
My plan B was to post something like "how do I get my bishop to move at the start of the game?" or "is mangus carlson better than philadoor?" and then later in the same thread ask about the Polgar Chess University to see if it would get more responses.
I guess my social awkwardness also comes across in typewritten speech, and that I am a chess-posting amateur as well.
I am simply surprised that 135 hours of structured instruction from the lab-rat GM who grew up in a chess tube does not garner the interest of the numerous chess amateurs in this community eager to improve? (As an aside, I think they are not DVD's after, but rather downloads).
My plan B was to post something like "how do I get my bishop to move at the start of the game?" or "is mangus carlson better than philadoor?" and then later in the same thread ask about the Polgar Chess University to see if it would get more responses.
I guess my social awkwardness also comes across in typewritten speech, and that I am a chess-posting amateur as well.
Jun 25, 2017
0
#7
So many ways to learn for free online these days, dannyhume. If it's affordable and you find easier to learn in such a way, I'm sure there is a ton of content in the package. I prefer things like mate puzzle apps, tactics trainers, youtube videos (I've learned a lot from chessnetwork and John Bartholomew), drills and videos here on chess.com (you have premium so you're entitled to watch them), and of course books.
So much free material out there, Slow_pawn! I feel that I could be 100-200 points stronger if I stuck with materials that were more structured, incremental, and pedagogically inclined rather than the random haphazard jumping around that I have been doing for several years.
In addition, the videos that are out there, even if good quality, are often short so they can't dive into details as strongly as a lengthy curriculum series ought to systematically do.
In addition, the videos that are out there, even if good quality, are often short so they can't dive into details as strongly as a lengthy curriculum series ought to systematically do.
Well, maybe a good starting point... I am merely looking for passive learning while I pedal my way back to gaining weight slower than before.
ROFL!!! Thanks for that! so many things i want to answer to that but....
Jun 26, 2017
0
#11
dannyhume, if you need structured learning, buy the orange books of Yusupov. 90% sure that you cannot solve the book but still it is a good buy. I too haven't been able to solve the book. but I have learned a lot just by checking at the answer.
That is good to hear that you can learn from Yusupov without being able to have figured out some of the 15-20 move or more variations he includes in the answers. I certainly want to use his books, but I feel like they might be more useful if I was a little stronger in basics/fundamentals.
Susan Polgar explains things very slowly and carefully in her well-structured video series, and so she avoids the problem with a lot of free chess videos, which is that the experts presenting them are really just talking to themselves, usually too rapidly and in some incomprehensible accent, about games they like, rather than actually imparting knowledge, as Polgar does. True, Polgar has an accent as well, but she enunciates so carefully that this causes no confusion. If you want a carefully designed way to progress from the basics up to more advanced levels but don't want to expend the energy involved in reading and setting up problems on a board to figure out, Polgar's series is perfect.
The general rule is that if you immerse yourself in a foreign language before age 16, you will be able to speak it perfectly and without an accent. I spoke only German until I was 6, but after that lived in the U.S., England, and Canada, and I can speak English without an accent, though my relatives who were older than 16 when we moved still sound like Colonel Klink or the Katzenjammer Kids.
How much is this course?
Well, if you can't understand what the person is saying because their accent is too thick, then it doesn't much matter whether the person is a grand master or a patzer..
One criticism I would make of Polgar's instructional series is that it takes up so much space I couldn't even fit more than the first third of it onto my pc, so I have to keep it on a stick.
Luitpoldt wrote:
Well, if you can't understand what the person is saying because their accent is too thick, then it doesn't much matter whether the person is a grand master or a patzer..
One criticism I would make of Polgar's instructional series is that it takes up so much space I couldn't even fit more than the first third of it onto my pc, so I have to keep it on a stick.
Indeed. Chess may be beyond accent, but teaching is not.
Please send me an invitation
I bought the Polgar's mega bundle at ~$60 (black Friday sale from iChess.net) for my son. Her slow pace (some call it boring) makes it perfect for my 8 year old son. He is going through the videos (at the speed of 2 of them a day). He will take months before he finishes. What improvement he shows after this, time will tell. But he seems to be happy that I bought it for him.
The amount I paid would definitely make it worth.
This consists of 135 hours of instruction, divided into 3 courses-- "Secrets of Chess Tactics", "Secrets of Chess Strategy", and "The Art of Attack"--, each in turn with a Beginner version, Intermediate version, and Advanced version. It looks like the most comprehensive chess course on DVD (don't know much about Lemos' DVD's).
A few comments:
1) This is not her Polgar Method DVD course (10 DVD's or so), so please do not confuse the two. Also, these are not Judit Polgar's DVD's, so please don't confuse it with that either.
2) I don't care about Susan Polgar's legal issues with USCF or her "character" ... how well do she teach/deliver the chess knowledge she claims to impart upon us weakies with this massive course?
3) I know books, interactive software, coaches, and this and many other sites provide wonderful resources for chess learning (I am a Diamond member), but for this post, I am interested in passive learning using DVD's because I would like to watch something as I try to heed my wife's "advice" to start "exercising" again to stem obesity. Thanks!