Description
Book SynopsisDrawing on his lifelong fascination with the game, the author 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.'
Trade Review"The subject of chess boasts more books than any other game, but this one is special, crafted for the general reader as well as the aficionado... Like the game itself, Counterplay is an enjoyable mental exercise." -- E. James Lieberman Foreword "Desjarlais draws from his backgrounds in ethnographic research and amateur tournament chess to nimbly explore the game's social, philosophical, aesthetic, psychological, and technological quirks." -- Will Wlizlo Utne "An informative and penetrating survey of the game today." Publishers Weekly "Desjarlais brings to Counterplay a social scientist's eye for broader themes and implications, a researcher's exhaustive annotation, and a chess junkie's passion and respect for the game." -- Wayne Lee Santa Fe New Mexican/ Pasatiempo
Table of Contents1. Blitzkrieg Bop 2. Notes on a Swindle 3. Psych-Out 4. Sveshnikov Intrigues 5. Son of Sorrow 6. Ambivalence 7. Cyberchess 8. 24/7 on the ICC Endgame Appendix 1. Note on Chess Annotation Appendix 2. "Life is touch-move" Notes Glossary Acknowledgments Index
