This Crazy World of Chess (Paperback)

by Larry Evans (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Fascinating, intriguing, and controversial, the dean of American chess tells the never-before-told machinations and stories of world championship chess and what really goes on behind the scenes of the game at its highest level. If you think that chess and marbles are the only games free from politics, you can scratch that idea. These 101 entertaining dispatches from the front deal with the crazy world of chess ranging from politics, Fischermania (and Fischer's paranoid antics), the real deal behind the deep blue supercomputer that beat Kasparov, to just plain gossip and fun.

About the Author

Grandmaster Larry Evans is a 5-time USA champion, author of 25 books, and the ?dean? of American chess. His national syndicated column, Evans on Chess, has appeared continuously since 1971. He coached Bobby Fischer during his world championship run and is generally considered to be the most authoritative, astute and witty observer of the international chess scene.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Cardoza (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580422187
• ISBN-13: 978-1580422185
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #308,157 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertainingly Informative, October 23, 2007

By	Clark Savage, Jr. - See all my reviews

Grandmaster Larry Evans really was right in the thick of things during so many major chess events and scandals. With numerous jabs at the corrupt FIDE and many chapters about the eccentric Bobby Fischer, Evans covers a multitude of monumental happenings in the "Crazy World of Chess."

There are a few chapters in the book that were uninteresting to me or that I thought were irrelevant, like chess memorabilia being sold on eBay and a bit about handwriting analysis. But overall this book has way too much for that to even matter. The letters and interviews are invaluable and fascinating. His level of involvement is enormous and his interest and devotion to the game are very evident. A lot of work and research must have been put into this book.

Any chess fan out there needs to own this book. No argument about it. You might think you know a lot of the history and many of the scandals, but this covers them to a degree that only someone inside the circle of these famous players could expose. You think you know chess, but you ain't seen nothing yet!

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Crazy World of This Chess Book Buying Junkie, March 11, 2008

By	Markji (Greensboro, NC) - See all my reviews

At $9.95 and 294 pages, you, the chess afficionado, are contemplating purchasing a compilation of reprinted articles (circa 2002-2006), usually 1¼ pages in length at a bargain price of approximately . 03 cents per page.

Confronted with the often exorbitant price of chess books, Mr. Evans and the publishers at Cardoza are to be commended for their sensitivity to the decline of discretionary funds now available to consumers.

Oh! The content, I almost forgot: Fischer, Fischer, Fischer, Kasparov and Deep Blue, FIDE--a rehashing of information familiar to anyone cognizant of Mr. Fischer's idiosyncratic genius, Mr. Kasparov's self-important, less-than-civil interpersonal conduct and FIDE's megalomaniacal self-destructive activities.

Looking for a well-written and sensitive inside glimpse at the personality and conflicts of some current grandmasters and aspirants, consider Paul Hoffman's King's Gambit.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "This Crazy World of Chess" is a winner!, April 18, 2008

By	Knight Rider - See all my reviews

I grew up dining on "Evans on Chess" once a month in Chess Life.Grandmaster Evans would answer questions,comment on games and then unlike any other chess writer he'd pull away the curtain and expose us to the other side of chess.The politial side!The shady dealings,scandals, conspiracies,backroom politics and fascinating tidbits were revealed like no other chess writer before him!Whereas GM Evans once a month article is a meal;"This Crazy World of Chess" is a banquet!294 entertaining and intriguing pages featuring 101 articles exposing the "other side" of the world of chess!From Fischer to Karpov,Kasparov to Kramnik,and Chaplin to Bogart this book will keep you thoroughly entertained!My only regret is that there is no volume 2!!!