Novels based on Chess.

Novels based on Chess.

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W
Angler

River City

Joined
08 Dec 04
Moves
16907
26 Mar 06

Originally posted by sundown316
Re:Cockburn-don't waste your time reading this drivel. The man is psychotic in his hatred towards chess,and all that surrounds it,yet he never explains why he hates the game so much.
Your claim that Cockburn is psychotic and that his book lacks explanation of his critique shows that you either did not read it, or failed completely to understand it.

Cockburn is an excellent writer with a strong point of view, and real political commitments. He is one of the few true Liberals in America. His book is challenging and provocative. I found it disturbing as a chess player, and argued with it throughout. You'll find more of the politics of games and sport in his book than most others.

Hallman's The Chess Artist owes much to Cockburn's analysis, although he mentions Murray's A History of Chess far more often in the narrative. Hallman wrestles with Cockburn's conclusions.

4th stooge

anytown, USA

Joined
08 Feb 06
Moves
2519
26 Mar 06

If you can find it- (its out of print) The Chess Companion, by Irving Chernev has 11 chess inspired short stories, and real games analysed, at the end. He is an excellent chess writer. The stories are written by various authors.

d

Vancouver, Canada

Joined
03 Aug 04
Moves
7626
27 Mar 06

Originally posted by stanloh
Is there perhaps any good novels based on Chess such as Bobby Fischer goes to War, Story of a Chess Player, etc.

I am interested in Chess literature and the culture that revolves around it.
I really enjoyed The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Also, you might want to check out the listing on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess#Chess_in_the_arts_and_literature

W
Angler

River City

Joined
08 Dec 04
Moves
16907
27 Mar 06

Originally posted by General Putzer
No novels that I'm aware of but there's an abundance of short stories revolving around chess.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.

s
The Mighty Messenger

The Wood of N'Kai

Joined
13 Dec 03
Moves
156184
27 Mar 06

Originally posted by Wulebgr
Your claim that Cockburn is psychotic and that his book lacks explanation of his critique shows that you either did not read it, or failed completely to understand it.

Cockburn is an excellent writer with a strong point of view, and real political commitments. He is one of the few true Liberals in America. His book is challenging and provocative. I found ...[text shortened]... of Chess[/i] far more often in the narrative. Hallman wrestles with Cockburn's conclusions.
On the contrary, I did read it,and my opinion is still the same. The man is a right wing fruitcake,and that opinion is shared by 99.9999% of people,both players and not,who have read his raving in this book. He ought to stick to politics.

W
Angler

River City

Joined
08 Dec 04
Moves
16907
28 Mar 06
2 edits

Originally posted by sundown316
On the contrary, I did read it,and my opinion is still the same. The man is a right wing fruitcake,and that opinion is shared by 99.9999% of people,both players and not,who have read his raving in this book. He ought to stick to politics.
Cockburn is right wing?

and Barry Goldwater is an anarchist

🙄

Wow. I can name at least two chess players that have read his book, and went on to recommend it to others. Your 99.9999% suggests that you can name 200,000 others that consider Cockburn a right wing fruitcake. I hadn't realized so many had read his book.

s
The Mighty Messenger

The Wood of N'Kai

Joined
13 Dec 03
Moves
156184
28 Mar 06

Right wing,left wing,whatever-Cockburn is Looney Tunes.

W
Angler

River City

Joined
08 Dec 04
Moves
16907
28 Mar 06

Originally posted by sundown316
Right wing,left wing,whatever-Cockburn is Looney Tunes.
Looney Tunes were always left-wing; Disney was right-wing

Hinesville, GA

Joined
17 Aug 05
Moves
12481
28 Mar 06
1 edit

Originally posted by Wulebgr
Nabokov's The Defense is the best. The movie, Luzhin's Defense is an adaption of this novel. Katherine Neville's The Eight is a good read--much better than Dan Brown, which is similar in genre. Dorothy Dunnett has a series of historical novels with chess titles. I haven't read them, but they appear to have some chess themes and material. ...[text shortened]... .amazon.com/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/271RCLMWB1FP0/102-7519603-8668113?%5Fencoding=UTF8
Luzhin's Defense was a good film. I enjoyed watching the movie.
There is also called a movie made after another book, and it was called KNIGHT MOVES. It's with Diane Lane and the Christopher Lambert. Pretty steamy though, so prepare yourself for snippets of seductive flesh.

Vampyroteuthis

Infernalis

Joined
13 Apr 04
Moves
99671
28 Mar 06

Originally posted by more guinness
I'll second this. See also some of Martin Amis's stuff. At the end of "Money," our author sits down for a game of chess with his protagonist .
I just finished Money a couple of months ago. Martin Amis is brilliant. (So was Kingsley)

dsR

Big D

Joined
13 Dec 05
Moves
26380
28 Mar 06

Sinister Gambits ed. Richard Peyton (Souvenir Press 0-285-63052-0, 1991, £14.99, 318pp, hc); Anthology of 18 chess stories of murder and mystery.

* 7 • Introduction • Richard Peyton • in
* • I: GRANDPLAYER’S NIGHTMARES
* 17 • The Dreams of Albert Moreland • Fritz Leiber • nv The Acolyte Spr ’45
* 33 • The Three Sailors’ Gambit • Lord Dunsany • ss The Smart Set Aug ’16
* 41 • The Devil That Troubled the Chessboard • Gerald Kersh • ss John o’ London’s Weekly Jan 11 ’36
* 50 • Pawn to King’s Four • Stephen Leacock • ss Happy Stories Just to Laugh At, New York: Dodd, Mead, 1943
* 58 • The Royal Game • Stefan Zweig • nv Woman’s Home Companion Mar ’44
* 102 • End-Game • J. G. Ballard • nv New Worlds Jun ’63
* • II: BIZARRE CHESSMEN
* 124 • The Queen of the Red Chessmen • Lucretia P. Hale • nv Atlantic Monthly Feb, 1858
* 151 • A Game of Chess • Robert Barr • ss Pearson’s Magazine (US) Mar ’00
* 163 • A Set of Chessmen • Richard Marsh • ss The Cornhill Magazine Apr, 1890
* 180 • The Haunted Chessmen • E. R. Punshon • ss The Novel Magazine Mar ’16; Weird Tales Mar ’30
* 193 • Bishop’s Gambit [as by Stephen Grendon] • August Derleth • ss Avon Fantasy Reader 3, ed. Donald A. Wollheim, Avon Book Co., 1947
* 205 • The Immortal Game • Poul Anderson • ss F&SF Feb ’54
* • III: BLOOD CHESS
* 222 • A Chess Problem • Agatha Christie • ss The Sketch Feb ’24
* 234 • Checkmate • Alfred Noyes • ss The Hidden Player, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1924
* 248 • Professor Pownall’s Oversight [“The Unseen Player”] • H. Russell Wakefield • ss The Royal Magazine Mar ’28
* 260 • The Cat from Siam • Fredric Brown • nv Popular Detective Sep ’49
* 291 • Fool’s Mate • Stanley Ellin • ss Stanley Ellin’s Mystery Magazine, 1948
* 306 • A Better Chess-Player • Kenneth Gavrell • ss AHMM Nov ’89

s

Kuala Lumpur

Joined
28 Dec 05
Moves
467
29 Mar 06
1 edit

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will definitely try out some of the suggested titles.

By the way, are there any autobiographies on the chess greatests? Would be interesting to know about their lives which revolves around chess.

m

Joined
20 Sep 02
Moves
4815
29 Mar 06

The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal is a great book please see http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857442024/002-8027413-4502412?v=glance&n=283155

dsR

Big D

Joined
13 Dec 05
Moves
26380
29 Mar 06

"My Chess Career," J.R. Capablanca
"Chess is my life," Viktor Korchnoi
"Chess is my life," Anatoly Karpov
"Test of Time," Gari Kasparov

Hinesville, GA

Joined
17 Aug 05
Moves
12481
29 Mar 06

Originally posted by stanloh
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will definitely try out some of the suggested titles.

By the way, are there any autobiographies on the chess greatests? Would be interesting to know about their lives which revolves around chess.
My Greatest Predecessors by Gary Kasparov. He covers every great player. I even found one copy in the library. It's covered - however - in more than one volume. One book I loved and is no longer printed, but is the best chess book I've ever read is entitled, "The Grandmaster of Chess" by Harold C. Schonberg. It's the best biographical book written on the chess greats up Bobby Fischer. It's fascinating, and chess player would voraciously read this book. I could not stop reading it. It was so very interesting! You may be able to find it in a library by chance, but most likely not. It's no longer printed, like I said. It's also a collector's book. It's an antique now. Another book - aside from a chess book that I read - which is considered an antique now also is called "Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective." I do not know how I lucked into reading these two great books which are basically considered antiques now. But, I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. If you find these two books anywhere in whole, you have truly found two needles in a haystack!