You can discuss any topic you wish! This is an open thread. I will try to answer as many questions as I can.
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Who’s the greatest player you’ve played against?
Fischer, Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, Kramnik, etc.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Do you know GM Kosteniuk personally? Why does GM Kosteniuk put false information in her resume?
This is the information on the USCF website:
ID Name Rating Quick Rating
12470226: JUDITH POLGAR 2648 – 2660
12905458: ALEXANDRA KOSTENIUK 2563 2504
12452240: ZSUZSA POLGAR 2557 2618
April 2006 Top 100 Rating Lists
Women (regardless of age)
1 Polgar, Zsuzsa NY USA 2557
2 Zatonskih, Anna NY USA 2484
3 Krush, Irina NY USA 2449
GM Kosteniuk is only listed on the list which include Foreign Women. She’s not listed as a US player. She is not the #1 woman player in the USA. She’s the #1 active player in the foreign list in the USA. Judit is much higher rated.
Am I mistaken?
Sincerely,
Jesus
Susan could you try to analyze briefly The Chessic styles of Fischer, Kasparov, and Karpov.
TFK
Jesus,
I met GM Kosteniuk a few times. Even though I think she is a good chess player, I clearly disagree with some of her promotional decisions.
I have no answer to your questions.
You are correct, Judit is much higher rated in both USCF and FIDE. People have to decide what’s the truth and what’s not. You also have to ask GM Kosteniuk about her resume. I have no comment about it.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
TFK,
Their playing style match their personalities perfectly.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
How does a world class player like yourself overcome the negative thoughts and feelings that come with the loss of a game? How do you avoid feeling like you are a “failure” when you lose?
gad,
Just back to the drawing board 🙂
It does not matter how many times you lose. It only matters how many times you get up and checkmate again 🙂
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Jesus,
Oh my God! You’re right. I didn’t know Judit Polgar has a USCF rating. But the information shown on the us chess website clearly proves that Kosteniuk lied.
I guess it’s expected.
Susan,
Did you read the Sexmate article on Alexandra Kosteniuk in Penthouse? If so, what do you think about it.
Thanks!
Manlanca
Malanca,
I am not a fan of this magazine.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Susan,
What chess website do you visit?
Bert
Susan, I know you’re a Knicks fan, but what do you think of the WNBA and the New York Liberty womens basketball team?
Any plans for another book? Picked up your new one today and I already love it!
Thank you for this wonderful site!
(Anonymous said…
Susan,
What chess website do you visit?
Bert)
Many such as chessbase, chesscafe, chess games, chessville, chess gateway, TWIC, FIDE, USCF, etc.
(Anonymous said…
Susan, I know you’re a Knicks fan, but what do you think of the WNBA and the New York Liberty womens basketball team?)
Too bad there was a team name the Houston Comets 🙂 Otherwise, the Liberty would have won the title 🙂
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
(Any plans for another book? Picked up your new one today and I already love it!
Thank you for this wonderful site!)
The next one will be about endgames. Glad you like this one. I always try to make it unique, even with this site.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Susan , Good luck in your upcoming NYAC match. 3 questions…does a match like this take on a freindly feeling ? How do you assess your chances ? Any special preperations ?
Best Regards
(Anonymous said…
Susan , Good luck in your upcoming NYAC match. 3 questions…does a match like this take on a freindly feeling? How do you assess your chances? Any special preperations?)
Definitely friendly but games will be hard fought. Everyone in this group is very nice.
My chances? I will tell you after my 10th game 🙂
Preparation? Definitely. My coach is making work on a number of things already 🙂
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Will your endgame book be done with the same publisher? The first two have a nice format…
(Anonymous said…
Will your endgame book be done with the same publisher? The first two have a nice format…)
I am not sure yet. I have not decided on it. But no matter who is the publisher, it will be easy to read.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Susan , The overall effect on the internet for chess ?
(Anonymous said…
Susan , The overall effect on the internet for chess ?)
Mostly positive! Great for chess! Now even people from small towns can play chess 24/7.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Susan how often do you get to have family time with your sisters and also do you communicate with them often via cellphone, because you seem very close. 1 bonus question ; ) What was it like in simul with you three sisters playing the same board every third turn. I mean you all have different styles.
TFK
TFK,
We speak on the phone and exchange e-mail often. Not much time in person.
Not a simul I prefer to do often. Once every 10-12 years like last time is fine.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Why do you make an ‘open threat’? What will you do to us if we do not post anything?
I have a few, but I dont expect you to have time for them all.
If you could change the result of any one single game (not match) of your career which game would it be and why?
What books do you recommend for patzers to improve with?
What question have you never been asked by a chess fan or reporter that you wish they would?
What questions do you hear too often, such as whats your favorite piece?
What’s a typical day like in the life of Susan Polgar? In your answer be sure to say what type of foods you eat most often!
Hello Susan.
I am 33 years old. I played chess at a young age and was good at beating my family members, friends, etc. Then I stopped for many years and have only recently come back to the game. I began rated e-correspondence play a month ago over at schemingmind.com, and I’m currently playing around 1400. I’m studying your books, working the examples daily. I’ve set a goal for myself of one day reaching 2000. My question is, do you think it’s possible for someone who didn’t play much in their youth to achieve a rating that high? Is it possible to swing to that level when you’ve got 2 kids and work, with almost no past OTB tournament experience, etc?
Thanks for your time.
Hello Susan,
I am wondering if it would be a good idea to organize team competition between various High Schools in the nation over the internet. I have organized US College tournaments for the last three years, and built a web infrastructure (at http://www.tatiana.net/iccl) to help alleviate some of the work for the organizer and the TD. I am considering organizing High School team competitions over the internet to help remote High Schools, and schools that do not have funding to attend the major US High School events. Do you think that this idea would be useful to promote educational chess, and if so, what strategies would you recommend to try to get some financial funding? Since there are hundreds of hours of work involved; I am not sure if I want to commit to this idea until I get quite a bit of feedback to see if the idea is sound. Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Gregory Alexander
http://www.tatiana.net/iccl/
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I like chess and play often. Would you mind telling me, when you’re playing a game, what’s your way of thinking?
By the way I’m from China and I’m just interested what do you think of Chinese female player?:)
gregory,
I like it. Fantastic idea. However, my advice is negotiate with a server that is willing to sponsor it. There are a number of them which would be willing to do that.
Monstroun Moonlight,
When I play, I think of nothing else but my position. I think there are many talented female Chinese players. There will be many more world champions to come.
* Anonymous said…
What’s a typical day like in the life of Susan Polgar?
Well, I spend 16-18 hours a day working on chess projects, train, run errands and take care of my children. Just about every minute is accounted for.
* Anonymous said…
My question is, do you think it’s possible for someone who didn’t play much in their youth to achieve a rating that high? Is it possible to swing to that level when you’ve got 2 kids and work, with almost no past OTB tournament experience, etc?
Yes. Work on your middlegame tactics, endgames and positional understanding.
* Anonymous said…
If you could change the result of any one single game (not match) of your career which game would it be and why?
– I don’t look at the past. There are too many things to accomplish in the future.
What books do you recommend for patzers to improve with?
– Logical chess by Chernev and Chess Tactics for Champion by me.
What question have you never been asked by a chess fan or reporter that you wish they would?
– They asked everything 🙂
What questions do you hear too often, such as whats your favorite piece?
I hear just about every question too often 🙂
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
* Anonymous said…
Question: Your chess blog is superb and seems like way too much work for 1 person! How much help do you get in writing the posts, loading the photos and puzzles, etc.? Thanks.
Yes, I am involved with every threat. The pictures and graphics are done by my business manager.
It is time consuming but I feel that if I do something, I want to do it right. Too many blogs are not updated for days / weeks / months.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
OK, joking does not work. Susan, it is a ‘thread’, not a ‘threat’.
Thank you. I must have been blind 🙂
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Thank-you for the advice Susan!
I will inquire with the ICC to see if they will sponsor the elementary students. They have been quite gracious and already sponsor the College Chess League of which I am a part. The hard part is gathering the High Schools and being the TD of the event. I am thinking about hosting one event in the Spring for just a few of the best teams and see how it goes. I hope that I don’t step on anyone’s toes…
Take care!
Gregory Alexander
http://www.tatiana.net/iccl/
I am a strong player but often find myself short of time. Are there any methods for coping with time pressure?
Thanks for your answer:)
I have one more question: how do you take your opponent’s postion into thinking?
All I want to know is this: when you’re playing what is your think sequence?
Susan,
I was told that to be a really good player, I must be able to visualise the game in my head (i.e., play without chessboard). Is it true? If I can’t does it mean that I am not talented enough, and will never be good enough?
Thanks.
Susan
Are you single right now?
Who is the father of your kids?
Hello Susan,
Just wanted to say that I’m a great fan of yours and have been so for a long time. Keep up the good work. We need more people like you in the world.
Susan, what is your opinion of the method of chess improvement suggested by Michael De La Maza?
If you aren’t familiar with it, it basically involves learning chess by repeated drilling on large problem sets. For example, to get better at tactics, one would solve a 1,000 problem set of increasing level of difficulty. Then the cycle would be repeated with the goal of completing the problem set in half the original time. This process is repeated until the entire problem set is completed in one day (the 7th cycle of problem solving).
When will Judit play again? She is missing all the big tournaments so far this year.
Dear Susan,
I enjoy your site. I am about 2200 by rating but do not play much. I enjoy the psychological aspects of chess (I am neuroscientist by training) and recently I became interested in chess and brain development. I have a 2 year old daughter and my question: Is it already too late (!?) in exposing her to spatial patterns that would stimulate her brain development for superb chess play. I read in an interesting article about you and your sisters in Psychology Today that at the age of 4 you were already playing. My guess is that for the best result, a small baby should be somehow exposed to intricate and attractive spatial patterns in 3 dimensions. Do you have any advice on how to train my daughter without playing chess ?
Hi Susan,
You seem like a person at peace with herself. What role does religion play in your life? Do you practice meditation?
PS
I just want to say thank you Susan for this thread and for your outstanding Blog.
Susan,
l have been playing email chess at http://www.Chessworld.net since August of last year, my handle on the site is Durham Red.
l joined this site in August of 2005 as l wanted to seriously improve my chess playing ability, and l read from somewhere that you have to practise and play many chess games in order to improve.
However despite reading several chess books and playing many games of chess, l am finding it hard to improve.
So far l have played over 900 games at
http://www.Chessworld.net
and currently have 200 odd games going.
l was wondering if you had any suggestions in how l can improve.
l sent you an email asking for help/suggestions on how l could improve my chess but did not get a reply, but then again you probably get dozens of emails a week from people asking you this same question, probably thought it was yet another weirdo sending emails to you :-)), l can assure you l am not – l have a picture of myself with a friend on my homepage at
http://www.Chessworld.net
l am the one on the right by the way!
Any help or suggestions on books/databases/software that may be useful would be greatly appreciated.
One final question :-),
what is more important, positional play or tactical play, l dont really understand the concept of positional play in chess, l have yet to find a book that explains this aspect of chess.
Well if your still with me well done :-)), l do go on a bit, your assistance will be greatly appreciated.
PS dont forget to check out my picture on my homepage at
http://www.Chessworld.net,
ok l am going now
Kind Regards
Stephen
You’re playing a simul (you have black) and you’re suddenly hit with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+?? Kxf7 5.Nxe5+?? After you stop laughing riotously — how do you play?
Who all will play for the Hungarian team in the forthcoming olympiad ? (Both Open and Women)?
Susan: Have you seen the (weak) British player hold is own against 9 of Britain’s top chess players (including GMs) in a Simul?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw060g5vd7w
How can a plyaer select the “candidate moves” in a position?
Susan
Firstly, I really enjoy your blog: thank you for writing it.
In particular, I like your frequent puzzles. My request, though, is whether there is an additional format, such as jpeg, you could attach to your page, to facilitate printing out the diagrams. I like to print them out, for later reading on the train etc. At present, there does not seem to be an easy way to print them out without printing lots of unwanted material too.