With tongue in cheek and laughter aforethought, Jerry Sohl takes his readers on a merry romp through all the deceits and tricks of one-upmanship as it is practiced in the game of chess. Drawing from his own experiences, he sets out in amusing detail a host of put-offs, come-ons, psychological maneuverings, lures, and frauds to accomplish checkmate. All illustrated with drawings by artist Roy Schlemme. The author's inventiveness is limitless. All kinds of ploys are carefully described: the amazing effectiveness of reverse polarity; adopting some of Bobby Fischer's tactics; the Freudian gambit; the Blencher; the Hassled Castle; befuddling rule fanatics; talking your way to victory; coffeehouse counter-gambits; when and how to lose; advanced duplicity; and chess of the last resort. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1: THE FIRST MOVE 2: PRELIMINARIES AND PREPARATIONS 3: THE PROPER SPIRIT 4: HOW TO TALK A GOOD GAMBIT 5: HOW TO BEFUDDLE RULE FANATICS 6: HOW TO PLAY AGAINST WEIRDOS 7: COFFEEHOUSE CHESS COUNTERGAMBITS 8: WHEN TO LOSE 9: ADVANCED DUPLICITY 10: DESPERATE MOVES CHESS OF THE LAST RESORT APPENDIX: USEFUL TRIVIA

A chess match seems about as solitary an endeavor as there is in sports: two minds, on their own, in fierce opposition. But is this the case? Inevitably these two minds are in dialogue, and perhaps might be better understood as partners in play. And surrounding that one-on-one contest is a community life that can be as dramatic and intense as the across-the-board confrontation. Gary Alan Fine has spent years immersed in several communities of amateur and professional chess players--children and adults--and in Players and Pawns he takes readers deep inside these worlds, revealing a complex, brilliant, feisty world of commitment and conflict. Opening with a close look at a routine, yet financially troubled, tournament in Atlantic City, Fine carries us from planning and setup through the climactic final day's match-ups between the weekend's top players, introducing us along the way to countless players and their relationships to the game. At tournaments like that one, as well as in locales as diverse as collegiate matches and cash games in Manhattan's Washington Square Park, players find themselves part of what Fine terms a soft community, an open, welcoming space built on their shared commitment to the game. Within that community, chess players find both support and challenges, all amid a shared interest in and love of the long-standing traditions of the game, traditions that help chess players build a communal identity.

In the tradition of The Professor and the Madman, Longitude, and The Orchid Thief, Hallman transforms an obsessive quest for obscure things into a compulsively readable and entertaining weaving of travelogue, journalism, and chess history. In the tiny Russian province of Kalmykia, obsession with chess has reached new heights. Its leader, a charismatic and eccentric millionaire/ex--car salesman named Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is a former chess prodigy and the most recent president of FIDE, the world's controlling chess body. Despite credible allegations of his involvement in drug running, embezzlement, and murder, the impoverished Kalmykian people have rallied around their leader's obsession---chess is played on Kalmykian prime-time television and is compulsory in Kalmykian schools. In addition, Kalmyk women have been known to alter their traditional costumes of pillbox hats and satin gowns to include chessboard-patterned sashes. The Chess Artist is both an intellectual journey and first-rate travel writing dedicated to the love of chess and all of its related oddities, writer and chess enthusiast J. C. Hallman explores the obsessive hold chess exerts on its followers by examining the history and evolution of the game and the people who dedicate their lives to it. Together with his friend Glenn Umstead, an African-American chessmaster who is arguably as chess obsessed as Ilyumzhinov, Hallman tours New York City's legendary chess district, crashes a Princeton Math Department game party, challenges a convicted murderer to a chess match in prison, and travels to Kalmykia, where they are confronted with members of the Russian intelligence service, beautiful translators who may be spies, seven-year-old chess prodigies, and the sad blight of a land struggling toward capitalism.

Are you a dove or a hawk? Is your natural instinct at the chessboard for caution and strategy or do you crave adventure and confrontation? This question may be more important than you think because being aware of your personal style (and that of your opponent) is essential in your development as a chess player. As a 10-year-old boy, Cyrus Lakdawala realized to his horror that he was a dove when his chess teacher reprimanded him for playing an unnecessary defensive move instead of banging out a better and aggressive one that was not so difficult to find. Since then, Lakdawala has devoted an important part of his efforts as a player to trying to resist his natural tendency to over-solidify positions and avoid complications. Chess for Hawks is the fascinating and often hilarious story of Lakdawala’s struggle to release his inner hawk. It is also a highly instructional guide that will make you think about questions you may not have thought about before: why do you miss opportunities to win a won game?, does deliberately breaking a rule come easy to you?, how good are you at ignoring a threat?, and at refusing a draw offer?, are you able to distinguish between patience and apathy?, do you hate to trade queens?, do you find it difficult to weaken your structure in exchange for initiative or attack?, do you like games with opposing wing castling? and do you know when to trade in initiative for material? Cyrus Lakdawala does something no other chess writer has done before: he makes you reflect deeply about your style of play and its consequences. After reading Chess for Hawks you will be a stronger player because you have mastered an essential but neglected skill: you will know how to obey the position’s requirements instead of your natural inclination.

The average contemporary English speaker knows 50,000 words. Yet stripped down to its origins, this apparently huge vocabulary is in reality much smaller, derived from Latin, French and the Germanic languages. It is estimated that every year, 800 neologisms are added to the English language: acronyms (nimby), blended words (motel), and those taken from foreign languages (savoir-faire). Laid out in an A-Z format with detailed cross references, and written in a style that is both authoritative and accessible, Word Origins is a valuable historical guide to the English language.