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The Complete Chess Course by Fred Reinfeld Generations of chess players have grown up on Fred Reinfeldâe(tm)s books. He has a way of reducing the most intricate, complicated combinations to their basic components. After Reinfeld explains a combination, it makes sense. Reinfeld not only taught us how to play the game well, but also implanted in us his enthusiastic passion for learning. His books are peppered throughout with words and phrases in italics to emphasize ideas. Moves are punctuated with single, double, and even triple exclamation marks and question marks to span the entire spectrum of emotions the moves conjure up. The Complete Chess Course is filled with advice on how to play better chess, regardless of how strong or weak a player you may be. It begins with the most fundamental ideas, reviewing the basic moves of the pieces and pawns, and continues with fantastic examples from the very best players. We are taken through a full course of chess strategy and tactics; he introduces us to the nine bad moves and how to refute them as well as how to avoid making them.We learn how to handle the white pieces and how to fight back with the black pieces. We get a much-needed lesson on how to win the game when we have gained a big advantage, and another, equally important lesson on how to put up the stiffest resistance when in an inferior position. We get treated to a full spectrum of the many ways to make the most of whatever position we get in one of the best chapters of any book Iâe(tm)ve seen: Book Six on How to Fight Back. Fred guides us through some master games, revealing the secrets of their struggles to overcome strong resistance. These secrets include how to meet the crisis; how to simplify; and the point of no return.Finally, we are treated to an introduction to the major openings, including what to strive for in gambits, classical structures, hypermodern structures, as well as off beat lines. Hint: play to control the center and develop your pieces.Absorb the material included in this volume and you will play chess at a fairly high level. Or read through it all and enjoy Fredâe(tm)s masterful explanations. In either case, you will be entranced by his enthusiasm for the intricate relationships the pieces experience in the context of a game or even a standout plan or combination.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess by Patrick Wolff; Christopher Chabris Teaches readers quick and easy strategies for learning chess basics. It contains essential information on basic openings and basic endgames to tips on reading your rival's moves, enabling readers to be armed and ready to take on their next opponents.

Man vs. Machine by Karsten Müller; Jonathan Schaeffer Man vs. MachineTechnology continues to advance at a rapid pace. It may sound quaint today, but not so long ago, computers battled humans for supremacy at the game of chess. The challenge of building a computer program capable of defeating the best of human-kind at chess was one of the original grand challenges of the fledgling field of artificial intelligence. On one side were dedicated scientists and hobbyists who invested decades of effort developing the software and hardware technology; on the other side were incredibly talented humans with only their determination and preparation to withstand the onslaught of technology.The man versus machine battle in chess is a landmark in the history of technology. There are numerous books that document the technical aspects of this epic story. The human side is not often told. Few chess players are inclined to write about their man-machine encounters, other than annotating the games played. This book brings the two sides together. It tells the stories of many of the key scientists and chess players that participated in a 50-year research project to advance the understanding of computing technology."Grandmaster Karsten Müller and Professor Jonathan Schaeffer have managed to describe the fascinating history of the unequal fight of man against machine in an entertaining and instructive way. It evoked pleasant and not so pleasant memories of my own fights against the monsters. I hope that their work gives you as much pleasure as it has given me." - From the Foreword by Vladimir Kramnik, 14th World Chess Champion

A Cultural History of Chess-Players by John Sharples This inquiry concerns the cultural history of the chess-player. It takes as its premise the idea that the chess-player has become a fragmented collection of images, underpinned by challenges to, and confirmations of, chess's status as an intellectually-superior and socially-useful game, particularly since the medieval period. Yet, the chess-player is an understudied figure. No previous work has shone a light on the chess-player itself. Increasingly, chess-histories have retreated into tidy consensus. This work aspires to a novel reading of the figure as both a flickering beacon of reason and a sign of monstrosity. To this end, this book, utilising a wide range of sources, including newspapers, periodicals, detective novels, science-fiction, and comic-books, is underpinned by the idea that the chess-player is a pluralistic subject used to articulate a number of anxieties pertaining to themes of mind, machine, and monster.

Chess Not Checkers by Mark Miller As organizations grow in volume and complexity, the demands on leadership change. The same old moves won't cut it any more. In Chess Not Checkers, Mark Miller tells the story of Blake Brown, newly appointed CEO of a company troubled by poor performance and low morale. Nothing Blake learned from his previous roles seems to help him deal with the issues he now faces. The problem, his new mentor points out, is Blake is playing the wrong game. The early days of an organization are like checkers: a quickly played game with mostly interchangeable pieces. Everybody, the leader included, does a little bit of everything; the pace is frenetic. But as the organization expands, you can't just keep jumping from activity to activity. You have to think strategically, plan ahead, and leverage every employee's specific talents--that's chess. Leaders who continue to play checkers when the name of the game is chess lose. On his journey, Blake learns four essential strategies from the game of chess that transform his leadership and his organization. The result: unprecedented performance!

Chess in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age by Daniel E. O'Sullivan (Editor); Daniel E. O'Sullivan (Editor) Die neue englischsprachige Reihe zur Mediävistik strebt eine methodisch reflektierte, anspruchsvolle Verbindung von Text- und Kulturwissenschaft an. Sie widmet sich den kulturellen Grundthemen der mittelalterlichen Welt aus der Perspektive der Literatur- und Geschichtswissenschaft. ,Grundthemen' sind die kulturprägenden Denkbilder, Weltanschauungen, Sozialstrukturen und Alltagsbedingungen des mittelalterlichen Lebens, also z. B. Kindheit und Alter, Sexualität, Religion, Medizin, Rituale, Arbeit, Armut und Reichtum, Aberglauben, Erde und Kosmos, Stadt und Land, Krieg, Emotionen, Kommunikation, Reisen usw. Die Reihe greift wichtige aktuelle Fachdiskussionen auf und stellt ein Forum der interdisziplinären Mittelalter-Forschung dar. Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture steht Sammelbänden ebenso offen wie Monographien. Intention ist immer, kompendienhafte Werke zu zentralen Fragen der mittelalterlichen Kulturgeschichte vorzulegen, die einen soliden Überblick über einen geschlossenen Themenkreis aus der Perspektive verschiedener Fachdisziplinen vermitteln. Im Ganzen bietet die Reihe so eine Enzyklopädie der mittelalterlichen Literatur- und Kulturgeschichte und ihrer Hauptthemen. Es werden ca. zwei Bände pro Jahr erscheinen.

Chess Metaphors by Diego Rasskin-Gutman; Deborah Klosky (Translator) How the moves of thirty-two chess pieces over sixty-four squares can help us understand the workings of the mind. When we play the ancient and noble game of chess, we grapple with ideas about honesty, deceitfulness, bravery, fear, aggression, beauty, and creativity, which echo (or allow us to depart from) the attitudes we take in our daily lives. Chess is an activity in which we deploy almost all our available cognitive resources; therefore, it makes an ideal laboratory for investigation into the workings of the mind. Indeed, research into artificial intelligence (AI) has used chess as a model for intelligent behavior since the 1950s. In Chess Metaphors, Diego Rasskin-Gutman explores fundamental questions about memory, thought, emotion, consciousness, and other cognitive processes through the game of chess, using the moves of thirty-two pieces over sixty-four squares to map the structural and functional organization of the brain. Rasskin-Gutman focuses on the cognitive task of problem solving, exploring it from the perspectives of both biology and AI. Examining AI researchers' efforts to program a computer that could beat a flesh-and-blood grandmaster (and win a world chess championship), he finds that the results fall short when compared to the truly creative nature of the human mind.

Chess Pieces by David Solway From handling of the chessmen you infer the secret springs of human character. To pluck the enemy chessman between your fingers and replace it with your own reveals the cultivated, well-bred killer who cannot stand the sight of blood; knock the chessman over with a small click of wood on wood tells of an aesthetic craving for the fatal instrument, of one more passionate than violent; to push the piece from its intended square is signal of aggressive character and plainly indicates that power is the motive for committing murder; some will hold the captured piece and caress it nervously: these kill from cowardice; those who seem apologetic, taking pawns reluctantly, kill for noble reasons; and he who clears the board with one great sweep of his hand will kill from lack of hope, defeated by the prospect of defeat, as did my father only death could mate.

Chess and Machine Intuition by George Atkinson With the ability to conceive of and construct ever more complicated machinery, expectations increase that we may yet comprehend, and perhaps even duplicate, some of our own mental abilities. In examining how we tackle such tasks as problem solving, we obtain an increased appreciation of our own minds and potentials. Through an overview of machine chess, a history of the game, and a discussion on human and machine intuition, the author attempts to increase readers' appreciation of their own minds, as well as that of computers.

Counterplay by Robert R. Desjarlais "Chess gets a hold of some people, like a virus or a drug," writes Robert Desjarlais in this absorbing book. Drawing on his lifelong fascination with the game, Desjarlais guides readers into the world of twenty-first-century chess to help us understand its unique pleasures and challenges, and to advance a new "anthropology of passion." Immersing us directly in chess's intricate culture, he interweaves small dramas, closely observed details, illuminating insights, colorful anecdotes, and unforgettable biographical sketches to elucidate the game and to reveal what goes on in the minds of experienced players when they face off over the board. Counterplay offers a compelling take on the intrigues of chess and shows how themes of play, beauty, competition, addiction, fanciful cognition, and intersubjective engagement shape the lives of those who take up this most captivating of games.

Philosophy Looks at Chess by Benjamin Hale (Editor) Chess, the ancient strategy game, meets the latest, cutting-edge philosophy in this unique book. When 12 philosophers weigh in on one of the world's oldest and most beloved pastimes, the results are often surprising. Philosophical concepts as varied as phenomenology and determinism share the page with a treatise on hip-hop chess tactics and the question of whether Garry Kasparov is, in fact, a cyborg. Putting forth a remarkable array of different views on chess from philosophers with varied chess-proficiency, Philosophy Looks at Chess is an engaging read for chess adherents and the philosophically inclined alike.

Chess Periodicals by Gino Di Felice This comprehensive reference work presents detailed bibliographical information about worldwide chess periodicals past to present. It contains 3,163 entries and many cross-references. Information for each entry includes year and country of publication, frequency, sponsors, publisher, editors, subject, language, alternate titles, mergers, continuations, and holdings in chess libraries. Includes an index of periodicals by country and a general index of periodical titles.

How Life Imitates Chess by Garry Kasparov One of the most highly regarded strategists of our time teaches us how the tools that made him a world chess champion can make us more successful in business and in life. Garry Kasparov was the highest-rated chess player in the world for over twenty years and is widely considered the greatest player that ever lived. In How Life Imitates Chess Kasparov distills the lessons he learned over a lifetime as a Grandmaster to offer a primer on successful decision-making: how to evaluate opportunities, anticipate the future, devise winning strategies. He relates in a lively, original way all the fundamentals, from the nuts and bolts of strategy, evaluation, and preparation to the subtler, more human arts of developing a personal style and using memory, intuition, imagination and even fantasy. Kasparov takes us through the great matches of his career, including legendary duels against both man (Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov) and machine (IBM chess supercomputer Deep Blue), enhancing the lessons of his many experiences with examples from politics, literature, sports and military history. With candor, wisdom, and humor, Kasparov recounts his victories and his blunders, both from his years as a world-class competitor as well as his new life as a political leader in Russia. An inspiring book that combines unique strategic insight with personal memoir, How Life Imitates Chess is a glimpse inside the mind of one of today's greatest and most innovative thinkers.