Ambitious history of chess with well-synthesized social/political/psychological context, plus analysis of the "immortal game" played by Anderssen and Kieseritsky in London, June 21, 1851. ( )
Very enjoyable account of the history of Western chess, framed in a blow by blow account of a famous encounter between Adolph Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritsky in London (1861). ( )
A good mixture between a plain but well documntd history of th Chess game, the vary basic concepts to understand Chess theory over time and also the personal exprience of the writer, grandson of an American master himself. I would recommend the book specially to those not understanding how this ancient game can still hook people from all ages in the XXI century. ( )
Combines a general history of chess with a play-by-play account of one of history's most famous chess games. Interesting even for those who don't seriously play chess. ( )
Elegant, short overview of chess history and what the game may mean. History is done in broad strokes and alternate chapters focus on the play by play of "The Immortal Game" Anderssen vs. Kieseritzky 06/21/1851 London.
The alternate chapter structure works well and adds to the overall understanding of the subject. Shenk's writing is light handed, flexiable and very readable. ( )
Caliph Ar-Radi was walking in the country, and stopped in a lovely garden, replete with lawns and flowers. His courtiers immediately began to dilate on the wonders of the garden, to extol its beauty, and to place it above all the wonders of the world.
"Stop," cried the Caliph, "As-Suli's skill at chess charms me more." --al-Masudi, tenth century
Dedication
First words
(Prologue): Think of a virus so advanced, it infects not the blood but the thoughts of its human host.
(Introduction): Large rocks, severed heads, and flaming pots of oil rained down on Baghdad, capital of the vast Islamic Empire, as its weary defenders scrambled to reinforce gates, ditches, and the massive stone walls surrounding the city's many brick and teak palaces.
Stories do not exist to tell the facts, but to convey the truth.
Why has one game, alone among the thousands of games invented and played throughout human history, not only survived but thrived within every culture it has touched? What is it about its thirty-two figurative pieces, moving about its sixty-four black and white squares according to very simple rules, that has captivated people for nearly 1,500 years? Why has it driven some of its greatest players into paranoia and madness, and yet is hailed as a remarkably powerful intellectual tool?
Nearly everyone has played chess at some point in their lives. Its rules and pieces have served as a metaphor for society, influencing military strategy, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and literature and the arts. It has been condemned as the devil’s game by popes, rabbis, and imams, and lauded as a guide to proper living by other popes, rabbis, and imams. Marcel Duchamp was so absorbed in the game that he ignored his wife on their honeymoon. Caliph Muhammad al-Amin lost his throne (and his head) trying to checkmate a courtier. Ben Franklin used the game as a cover for secret diplomacy.
In his wide-ranging and ever-fascinating examination of chess, David Shenk gleefully unearths the hidden history of a game that seems so simple yet contains infinity. From its invention somewhere in India around 500 A.D., to its enthusiastic adoption by the Persians and its spread by Islamic warriors, to its remarkable use as a moral guide in the Middle Ages and its political utility in the Enlightenment, to its crucial importance in the birth of cognitive science and its key role in the aesthetic of modernism in twentieth-century art, to its twenty-first-century importance in the development of artificial intelligence and use as a teaching tool in inner-city America, chess has been a remarkably omnipresent factor in the development of civilization.
(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:06:24 -0500)
A history of chess explains how the game, its rules, and its pieces have had a profound influence on military strategy, literature, the arts, mathematics, and the development of artificial intelligence.
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