Breaking Through: How The Polgar Sisters Changed The Game Of Chess

by Susan Polgar, Paul Truong

In a major event in chess publishing, Susan Polgar provides a candid inside view of the lives of the Polgar sisters, each with their own goals and aspirations. She takes readers through the incredible development of the three sisters as they pursued their becoming chess prodigies, growing into contenders, winning World titles and Olympiad gold medals, ending the Soviet dominance in women's chess, breaking through the gender and age barriers, and generally revolutionizing the game. Readers will also be privy to the thoughts and feelings the sisters experienced during major triumphs and disappointments, as Susan shares their most joyous moments and biggest heartbreaks.

Another important issue covered is the strict but ultimately successful training techniques used by the Polgar sisters in their chess evolution. Finally the chess public will have a chance to find out how the sisters really feel about these controversial methods of studying the game.

This volume wouldn't be complete without a marvelous compilation of the Polgar sisters' most stunning chess games, providing a move-by-move explanation of their best and most memorable encounters.

Genres: Chess

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jaume · Rating 2 out of 5]

Merely a historical curiousity, not particulary well written or providing any worthy lesson about life, education, etc. Was expecting more. In some parts it is just written as a simple account of events.

[Bill Krieger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author Susan Polgar is a chess master. She's not just a great women's chess player; Susan Polgar is one of the best chess players in the world, period. She stands atop a very elite intellectual and competitive mountain. Her achievements in chess took the dedication of a lifetime to accomplish.

So, when I grab a book written by Susan Polgar, I sort of expect that same level of dedication and quality. But that is not the case in Breaking Through.

My 2 bill-stars are pretty generous, actually. I give 1 bill-star for the text of the book, which reads more like a crappy blog (cough) than a book. There are many spelling, grammatical and formatting errors in the text. The telling of Susan Polgar's story is done step-by-step, as rote and dry as (in)humanly possible.

I added 1 more bill-star for the chess games that Polgar details in the book. She goes through full chess games, move by move, explaining her thought process, options, mistakes, etc. It's pretty amazing to follow along, even to a chess novice like myself. It's too bad this level of attention wasn't invested in the rest of the book.

There are three Polgar sisters and they are all female chess phenoms (say that 10 times fast). The ending of Breaking Through tries to make the case that there aren't enough women playing chess. This (tediously) reminded me of the "not enough girl nerds" argument. Whatev.
yow, bill

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11545793

[Cassiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been following Judith's play in recent intl. tournaments; hang in there Judith!