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, leading Harold Dondis and GM Patrick Wolff of the Boston Globe to claim, “It is the best summary…we have seen.”
“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.”
From the Author’s Preface