Rating: 
Summary: ...Polgar avoids wordy text and lines of movement
Review: "Alpha Teach Yourself Chess in 24 Hours" Zsuzsa Polgar ...et al, $18.99 ISBN 0 02 864408-5
Rates much above the typical beginner book, because the typical beginner book will list a handful of moves, whereas Polgar just shows the illustrations, an asset because many beginners find reading or writing chess notation a bit of an obstacle at the outset.
Polgar well illustrates tactics, giving more than a single example of Double-Check, Discovered-Attack, etc. My personal recommendation is that a beginner can never have too many books, because they supplement each other. I have added this to my library
Rating:
Summary: Great Springboard for Novices
Review: Excellent book for beginners. Lots of diagrams and a good solid base of information. Sure there are more advanced books for Advanced players, but that is not the audience for this book. I bought this book to help my son get beyond the basic piece movement and onto introductory tactics. By far this was the most accessible book for novices that I found. Sure page after page of notation is great for those already deeply interested in the game but more diagrams and simple explanation is what novices need to get past basic chess. I highly recommend this book.And a question to A Reader from Los Angeles, angry much?
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Summary: Very nicely written chess book
Review: I have been teaching chess for 21 years and I have used many different books to help my students learn. This book works by far the best. It is very clear and very easy to understand. I also enjoy other works by the team Polgar and Truong on Chess Life and ChessCafe.com. They are best chess authors.
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Summary: For beginners only
Review: I ordered this book to keep me company during Operations Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom. I knew how to play chess; I wanted to learn how to play better. This book was a welcome distraction from the long moments of sheer boredom but it was quickly apparent that it is for beginners only. It is well written & gives plenty of examples of topics under discussion. However, I would have liked to see more games with play-by-play commentary. For these reasons I give it 4 stars. If you're starting out this is a great book to get you going. I would defer to others to make suggestions as to what text(s) would be the next step.
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Summary: The Best Chess Beginners Guide on the Market
Review: I was a below average player at best and I went out searching for a guide that could do much more for me than just start me off but could lead me down the path to understand the complicated chess literature. Being an avid reader and wanting to understand the game, I went through both "The Idiot's Guide" and "Chess for Dummies" to find some answers, before I picked up the Best beginners guide around, "Alpha Teach Yourself Chess (in 24 hours)". Polgar, Truong and Horvitz put together the best introductory book you can find for the game of chess. If you've never played, or if you just started and want to start understanding the game to read the more complicated literature, this is the best book on the market. The only questionable part of the book is the pro-Polgar twist it throws into some of the lessons, but the bright side to this is the ability to attract more female players to the game of chess. The most attractive component to this book is the step-by-step diagrams that are easier to follow than what the other two guides offer. You see moves 10-18 in the book, you don't have to have a chess board available to move throught the book. Annotated books are quite intimidating the beginning player and a picture speaks a thousand words. This is the "Beginner's bible to chess". To top this book and it's understanding of the mind of the beginner would be amazing.
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Summary: *** An absolutely fantastic book for beginners ***
Review: This is a very affective book to train a person how to play chess. I actually was able to teach a group of kids in school using this book as a guide. It worked out great. The children were able to learn it even faster than what the title said. Anyway, I think it is absolutely the best book out there for a beginner. It is easy to follow and comprehend. I strongly recommend it.
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Summary: Best book for a beginner
Review: This is absolutely the best book for someone who wants to learn chess the right way. The well known authors show you step by step of what to do. The book also talks about chess history and it gives you a lot of other important chess information. It is very well written and formatted. I give it 2 thumbs up!
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Summary: Impressive Book
Review: This is an impressive book for beginners who want to learn chess the right way. It is the best starting chess book on the market, a must have for everyone who wants to learn the game. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Excellently written book - Best beginner book on the market
Review: This is the best written chess book for beginners. The authors explained everything very well and they make it easy to understand. After careful research, I conclude that nothing even comes close to this book. Great job by the Polgar - Truong team.
Rating:
Summary: Clearly written
Review: Very good book for beginners. I especially like all the diagrams, make it easier to understand.
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