The Rookie: An Odyssey through Chess (and Life)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.17 (826 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1408189720 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-02-09 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Entertaining look at life as an average chess player The author travels around England, Europe, and the US on an odyssey to understand chess and those who play, and challenge himself to become a better player. I know, it sounds as though it might be deadly dull, but it really isn't - at least to other chess players or maybe even those who want to understand us a little bit better.There is a lot about the leagues and tournaments he plays in, but it's also about other players - many of them very well known in our little world - he meets and interviews. Althoug. "Disconcertingly Honest Look At The Royal Game" according to William M. Bacon. This remarkable book should be required reading by everyone involved with the game of chess. It was refreshing to read such honesty when it comes to emotions felt when playing tournament chess. The interviews with chess personalities alone are worth the price of the book. For example, GM Vladimir Trachiev says chess is "a human activity which is doomed to disappear." This is part of a thread running throughout the book. WGM Elmira Mirzoeva says, "At the moment we are neither sport nor culture. We don't kno. a great read! C. carnes I read it front to cover in a couple of days Funny, poignant, and instructive all at he same time, if you are a struggling chess player you will identify with the author and learn from his journey. Will it make you a better chess player? Uh. well maybe not. But maybe it will make you a wiser person to know that the person across the board from you is suffering just as much as you!
-- Leonard Barden * The Guardian * There is wit and humour in abundance in the book * Surbiton Chess Club * Deserves to do for chess what Fever Pitch did for football -- Charles Cumming . Recommended. The Rookie is actually a life lesson much more relevant than all of those self-help books * The Daily Mail * Stephen Moss's highly readable book, The Rookie, is a brilliant account of the emotional roller coaster of an average club player trying to become seriously strong Many will empathise with Stephen's tribulations and can learn something about themselves
What, he asks, is the essence of chess? And what will it reveal about his own character along the way? In a witty, accessible style that will delight newcomers and irritate purists, Moss imagines the world as a board and marches across it, offering a mordant report on the world of chess in 64 chapters - 64 of course being the number of squares on the chessboard. He alternates between "black" chapters - where he plays, largely uncomprehendingly, in tournaments - and "white" chapters, where he seeks advice from the current crop of grandmasters and delves into the lives of great players of the past. He looks for spiritual fulfilment in the game, but mostly finds mental torture.. He becomes champion of Surrey, wins tournaments in Chester and Bury St Edmunds, and holds his own at the famous event in the Dutch seaside resort of Wijk aan Zee (until a last-round meltdown), but too often he is beaten by precocious 10-year-olds and finds it hard to resist the urge to punch them. Stephen Moss sets out to master its mysteries, and unlock the secret of its enduring appeal. It is both a history of the game and a kind of "Zen and the Art of Chess"; a practical guide and a self-help book: Moss's quest to understand chess and become a better player is really an attempt to escape a lifetime of dilettantism. Chess was invented more than 1,500 years ago, and is played in every country in the world. He wants to become an expert at one thing. What will be the co
In a long journalistic career - too long, his critics would say - he has written mainly for the Guardian. He is one of a select band to have met Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen, three of the game's greatest world champions. Whether any of this constitutes a qualification for writing this book is high