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LXGOLEP

Engaging Pieces

240 pages, paperback, Daowood & Brighton, 1. edition 2007

€19.95
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Engaging Pieces: Interviews and Prose for the Chess Fan contains interviews with some of the most fascinating personalities of the chess world, poignant short-fiction that uses chess as a metaphor, and in-depth book reviews and editorials. This is writing that entertains and makes you think.

  • Michael de la Maza explains the importance of chess tactics and how he improved his USCF rating from Class-D to Expert, in two years.

  • Jen Shahade talks about her book, Chess Bitch, and the controversial topic of women's chess.

  • Hikaru Nakamura confides what it's like to be a teenage chess star.

  • Mig Greengard, arguably the world's most charismatic chess journalist, waxes philosophic on everything from the immaturity of professional chess players to promoting chess as a sport.

  • Hydra's programmers, designers of the world's best chess computer, explain the computer science behind their monster.

  • Mark Glickman demystifies every detail of the USCF rating system. Harold Dondis and GM Patrick Wolff of the Boston Globe claim, "It is the best summary...we have seen."

"In the interviews of Engaging Pieces, Howard Goldowsky goes past the obvious questions and draws out the human and the unexpected from chess players. In the fiction, he gracefully combines his chess knowledge with literary ability."

- WGM Jen Shahade

Preface

During the last six years, I've contributed interviews, fiction, and opinions to a variety of state, national, and online chess magazines. This book, a complete collection of my chess writing, is the culmination of that work. Its title, Engaging Pieces, describes both the art writers strive to create and the medium with which chess players strive to create art.

I compiled this book for the same reason I began writing about chess in the first place: I wanted to share my curios­ity about the cultural, social, and competitive nature of the game. Thus, the topics running through these pages include complex, contemporary issues that I wanted to make acces­sible to the public. Some of these topics include the details of chess rating systems, the interaction of artificial intelligence with chess computers, the relationship between feminism and women's chess, the marketing and promotion of chess, and the question of whether or not chess is a sport. Simply put, I'm a chess fan. Each article and story represents the type of in-depth and entertaining chess writing that I, and other chess fans, deserve to read.

After reading this book, it will become evident that chess players and those surrounding the game are dynamic and passionate people. For example, my first interview, a profile of Michael de la Maza, was written because I was curious about his obsession with chess tactics, and I was fascinated by his rapid rating ascension; Maurice Ashley's vision of chess promotion prompted my essay about the HB Global Chess Challenge; the humble yet impudent personality of a young Hikaru Nakamura inspired a conversation with him right before he won the U.S. Championship in 2005; and a brash, chess-playing homeless man panhandling in Harvard Square became the archetype for a character in the short story "When the Balance be in Your Favor."

It is rare to see both fiction and non-fiction published in one volume. Yet having all of my chess writing collected in one place ties my work into a convenient package, and helps bring closure to one stage of my writing career. In the future, I'd like to spend more time improving my chess ability and pursuing other literary interests.

Lastly, many of the pieces here contain a postscript. These are brief, one hundred to seven hundred word updates about related events that have transpired since an article was origi­nally published. These postscripts add a current perspective to each article, and, if necessary, they will help bring the reader up to date.

I hope these articles and stories prove to be as enjoyable to read as they were to write.

Howard Goldowsky

Canton, Massachusetts

April, 2007

More Information
Weight 300 g
Manufacturer Daowood & Brighton
Width 13.1 cm
Height 20.2 cm
Medium Book
Year of Publication 2007
Author Howard Goldowsky
Language English
Edition 1
ISBN-13 9780979048821
Pages 240
Binding paperback

viiPreface

Part 1 : Profiles and Interviews

001 Michael de la Maza

Author of Rapid Chess Improvement

011 Mig Greengard

Charismatic chess journalist and writer

033 Paul Hoffman

Author, editor, TV host, and chess journalist

049 Hikaru Nakamura

Young American chess star

065 Charles Katz

Chess on television? The former Vice-President of Edge TV

073 Chrilly Dollinger and Muhammad Nassir AH

Co-developers of the mighty chess computer Hydra

077 Jennifer Shahade

Author of Chess Bitch: Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport

095 Greg Shahade

President of the United States Chess League

105 Joe Block

Beauty and the Geek chess-playing celebrity 109 David Shenk

Author of The Immortal Game

115 Mark Glickman

Chairman of the USCF Ratings Committee

133 Michael Weinreb

Author of The Kings of New York

Part 2: Fiction

147En Passant: An Opportunity Lost

161 Chess as a Sport

169 Chess Doesn't Care

173 Inspiration for a Young Chess Master

177 A Conversation with Anthony Meters

187 When the Balance Be in Your Favor

Part 3: Opinion

197 The Chess Journalist Letter

205 Tournament Entries: A New Perspective

209 Computer Chess: Looking Back, Looking Forward

223Chess and the Art of Negotiation: A Review

231 Appendix: A Bibliography of Contemporary Chess Fiction

Das Buch ist in englischer Sprache geschrieben und in drei Abschnitte eingeteilt. Im Teil 1 "Profiles and In­terviews" befinden sich 12 Unterab­schnitte zu verschiedenen Schach­themen, wobei jeweils eine Einlei­tung und ein Nachwort aufgeführt sind. Der Teil 2 "Fiction" enthält sechs Kurzgeschichten. Mit dem Teil 3 "Opinion" werden die Mei­nungen von vier Herausgebern wie­dergegeben. Das Buch schließt mit einer recht umfangreichen Bibliografie.

Allein diese erste Übersicht verdeut­licht, dass das Buch kaum in eine der herkömmlichen Kategorien ein­zuordnen ist. In seinem Vorwort ist uns der Autor aber behilflich, indem er uns seine Motivation näher bringt. Hier ein kurzer Ausschnitt:

I compiled this book for the same reason I began writing about chess in the first place: I wanted to share my curiosity about the cultural, social, and competitive nature of the game. Thus, the topics running through these pages include complex, contemporary issues that I wanted to make accessible to the public. Some of these topics include the details of chess rating systems, the interaction of artificial intelligence with chess computers, the relationship between feminism and women's chess, the marketing and promotion of chess, and the question of whether or not chess is a sport. Simply put, I'm a chess fan. Each article and story re-presents the type of in-depth and entertaining chess writing that I, and other chess fans, deserve to read.

So finden wir in diesem Buch keine einzige Schachpartie und keine Aus­sagen über Schachwissen, wir fin­den auch nichts über Schachwelt­meister oder Turniere. Howard Goldowsky befasst sich vielmehr in seinen Interviews und Erzählungen mit dem ungewöhnlichen Randge­schehen rund um das Schachspiel und konzentriert dabei sein Schwer­gewicht auf die Schachpersönlichkeiten der Ostküste der USA. Dass ihm dabei seine journalistische Fä­higkeiten zugute kommen, steht au­ßer Frage. So liefert er eine unter­haltsame Darstellung über die au­genblickliche Schachszene in den USA. Ein Morphy oder Fischer sind für ihn vergangene Episoden, die keiner Erwähnung wert sind. Auch über die aktuellen Schachgrößen der USA verliert er kein Wort. Es ist im Rahmen dieser Rezension unmög­lich, an dieser Stelle alle von Gold­owsky aufgeführten Themen zu be­sprechen, weil sie den Rahmen sprengen würden. Daher sei hier stellvertretend der Rücktitel des Buchs wiedergegeben, der ebenfalls nur auszugsweise den Inhalt des Buchs so beschreibt:

Michael de la Maza explains the importance of chess tactics and how he improved his USCF rating from Class-D to Expert, in two years.

Jen Shahade talks about her book,

Chess Bitch, and the controversial topic of women's chess.

Hikaru Nakamura confides what it's like to be a teenage chess star.

Mig Greengard, arguably the world's most charismatic chess Jour­nalist, waxes philosophic on every-thingfrom the immaturity of professional chess players to promoting chess as a sport.

Hydra 's programmers, designers of the world's best chess computer, explain the computer science behind their monster.

Mark Glickman demystifies every detail of the USCF rating system.

Hamid Dondis and GM Patrick Wolff of the Boston Globe claim, It is the best summary...we have seen. "

Dieses kunterbunte Kaleidoskop charakterisiert das Buch auf aller­beste Weise. Deutlich ist Howard Goldowsky seine Begeisterung nachzuempfinden, die Faszination derjenigen Menschen aufzuspüren, die sich dem Schachspiel auf ganz unterschiedliche Weise verschrieben haben. Daher adressiert er sein Buch richtigerweise an den Schachfan. Mehr kann und will dieses Buch auch nicht: Es legt ein eigenes Zeug­nis ab für die Schachbegeisterung. Der Autor zeigt uns die menschliche Seite des Schachspiels ohne die kriegsähnliche Auseinandersetzung auf den 64 Feldern. Er zeigt, wie und warum Menschen sich von die­sem Spiel faszinieren lassen und was es ihnen bedeutet. Da mag man dem Autor nachsehen, dass alle seine Beiträge lediglich Wiederholungen seiner alten Veröf­fentlichungen sind, beginnend mit dem Jahr 2002. Viele seiner Artikel erschienen z. B. im ChessCafe, einer Seite, die regelmä­ßig im Internet nachzulesen ist, was im Buch aber auch nicht verschwie­gen wird.

Wer ein bekennender Schachfan oder Sammler ist, wer das Schach­spiel einmal aus einer etwas anderen Sicht erleben will und wer an sozio­logischen Zusammenhängen interes­siert ist, dem kann dieses nicht all­tägliche Buch empfohlen werden.

Mit freundlicher Genehmigung

Gerhard Josten, Rochade Europa 12/2007