Customer Reviews

Game of Kings: A Year Among the Oddballs and Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top HighSchool Chess Team

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn has been a successful progressive school, whether despite or because of its mixture of Puerto Rican and black students along with immigrants from Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. It has been a radical experiment in public education, allowing pupils to skip classes and to make up their own schedules, curricula, or independent study projects. There has been a high level of student graduation and subsequent enrollment in college. The school might now be succumbing to No Child Left Behind mediocrity because it is being forced to admit students who are refugees from neighboring schools that have been closed due to failing their evaluations, but one of its brightest successes has been its chess team. The team won its first NYC championship in 1989 and has gone on to national championships. This meant that they were up against lots of other schools with teams that could afford tutors or chess camps during the summers. _The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team_ (Gotham Books) thus has the dependable appeal of a David vs. Goliath story, as sportswriter Michael Weinreb followed the striving, scrappy students while they aimed toward another national championship. Though the book conveys excitement in the competition, as any sports book ought to, it is most rewarding in its picture of awkward teens being able to fasten onto something meaningful before turning into adults.

The Murrow team is the brainchild of Eliot Weiss, a former hockey player, ski instructor, beer vendor, and taxi driver who more than anything else wanted to be a math teacher. He does some coaching and teaching, but plenty of his students are far better players than he is. He works at organizing trips to tournaments, and a lot of what he does is drumming up money for the travel and for entry fees and for pizza to recharge the players. The kids are the heart of the book. Weinreb spends some pages on each of the main players, telling about their backgrounds and families. There is Oscar Santana, a Puerto Rican prodigy who is a whiz at chess but can't focus on his schoolwork. He does, however, bring home a straight A report card. Unfortunately, he did so by hacking the Board of Education computer and boosting his grades. Oscar brings home chess trophies so regularly that his family can't display them; they started storing them in garbage bags, and then started throwing them away. Also winning trophies is Alex Lenderman, a little Russian émigré, the second-highest rated 15-year-old chess player in America, but he knows that big trophies are just something else to lug through the subway system. What Alex, and the others, really want is to win some money, which they can do in a small way through tournament prizes, and in a larger way though wagering on games, often "blitz" chess played in lightning-fast games timed by a chess clock set to three minutes or even one minute. Alex's foe is blond Lithuanian Sal Bercys; the two players dislike each other but have mutual respect. When they are pitted against each other in tournaments, they choose to play out staged (and not strictly legal) draw games, but afterwards go at each other seriously in blitz versions. Sal grows throughout the book, becoming a stronger player by accepting his weaknesses. There are plenty of other supporting characters, and like the main ones, they wear baggy and unsupported pants, they love hip hop music, they can't figure out girls, they can't get enough pizza , or they keep ear buds firmly in place at all times.

As Weinreb asks, what is the point of these kids continuing to play an infuriating and exacting game, when they get almost no recognition, especially compared to kids who win spelling bees or even hot-dog-eating contests? The "notion of chess as a charity, as an educational tool, as a cultural equalizer in underprivileged neighborhoods" is a relatively new one, and holds considerable potential for social change. About a kid named Shawn who plays brilliant blitz chess but can't display energy for much of anything else, a teacher asks, "Where would Shawn be _without_ chess? What would his life be like then?" And maybe some of them are going to get a sort of living from the game, but more realistically they might get benefits like scholarships, so there must be some value to the endeavor. Weinreb, however, quotes a chess instructor who points out that they already have gotten the value, in becoming mentally tougher, more creative, more acute at solving problems: "The benefit will last the rest of their lives." They live in a strange world of their own, and don't worry if you don't know about chess, for it is all explained at a layman's level here and requires no previous expertise. Weinreb's gift is that he has been able to invite us into that world and make us care about the oddballs that live there.

When I received a review copy of this book I will admit I was nervous of a couple things. First, there were some odd reviews here at Amazon that mentioned negativity and second I had to wonder between Waitzkin's 'Searching For Bobby Fischer' and Sawaski's novel 'The Chess Team' could the author bring me something new and different about scholastic chess. Weinreb really had his work cut out for him when I openend the book. In the end though, he met or exceeded all of my expectations and comes out with a rating of 5 stars! I'm not sure where the negativity originated, posssibly rivals of Murrow (the school depicted in the book) or what not, but Weinreb is clearly a darn good writer. There were a couple of typos in the manuscript, however, certainly nothing that blocked the flow or anything like that. His writing is clear, concise and he has an entertaining voice. The book was highly original. Nobody has ever followed a high school chess team before. Weinreb not only follows the team on chess tournaments, he digs in deep. He tells about the school and all the people around the school. Further, he tells about the chess world these kids are involved in and many of the figures and personalities it accompanies as well. He explains things that may not be clear to newcomers and he gives a solid history of what has happened to not just the players, but for scholastic chess in general. I have been a scholastic chess player and chess coach for almost three decades of my life and even I learned a thing or two about Murrow's process. The only tick I had with the book was some of the profanity that was used. Although it was done tastefully, and is correct journalism and Weinreb did his job keeping things 'real' ... This is a very minor opinion, but I just wasn't sure it should have been in the book because we're dealing with minors in general. In all though, Weinreb did an outstanding job with this book and I give it my full recommendation. If you have any attraction to scholastic chess whatsoever, then you will enjoy reading this book. I would not be surprised if this book won some sort of journalism award.

This is not a book about chess; this is a book about a teacher, a mild obsession, the impact of a profound interest on a city school, and how all of that can come together to make a huge difference.

It is also a prime example of how good writing can take an interesting story and turn it into a gripping book. This is the Stand and Deliver of board games, and it is great fun (especially if you like chess and/or you are from Brooklyn, and/or you grew up there). I had a great time reading it.

I first heard of this book in a New York Times book review that praised the author's deft touch and vigorous reporting. That was more than enough for me. Not only am I an incompetent chess player (a.k.a., a "wood pusher"), I was also the teacher advisor of one of Oregon's state champion teams. (This team went to the Supernationals multiple times under the tutelage of parent volunteer extraordinaire Dan Sharp [www.sharpinvestments.com]).

So that pulled me into this book, but Michael Weinreb did all the heavy lifting from there. The story's diverse cast of characters from Edward Murrow High School in Brooklyn lends this tale built-in interest, and Weinreb masterfully builds on it with investigative work and style. How do these kids view their talents? Their peers? Education? And as many are from immigrant families, America itself?

By not delving too deeply into the minutia of chess technique, and staying focused on his subjects, Weinreb creates a general interest book of a fascinating subculture. That is, even if I didn't have an interest in chess, I'd have enjoyed this book.

Sidelight: One of the current featured reviews dismisses having a team advisor/teacher who is inferior to his or her team's players as "unhelpful." Not so; the teacher is in charge of serving as a liaison to the school and other teams, as well as organizing events and practices, and so forth. Among these duties would be bringing in a local Master level player to provide instruction. Rare is the teacher with a 1600+ rating who can hang with the best homies on the chessboard.

Michael Weinreb has created a wonderful fairy-tale come true story of a lineup of students--my students--who have had difficulties fitting in as teenagers. But, because of their strength in chess, they all came together and became heroes to their school, community, city, state and nation. Spanning over the course of several years, it really is a modern-day, "Stand & Deliver" type story, although Murrow's long-standing success has spanned 20 years. I wasn't sure what to expect when Weinreb began this project, but his portrayal was accurate and true. Weinreb describes the history of the school, the school personnel and the various chess programs in the NYC area with clarity, humor and wit, making it very enjoyable to read. From the team's trip to the Oval Office, to their learning about the Holocaust in Whitwell, Tennessee, to a tour of the Jack Daniels distillery, Weinreb takes you on an excursion through the lives of a fascinating group of oddballs, misfits, geeks and geniuses. You feel as if he literally got into the minds of these kids. When writing his book, he lived their lives for almost three years. Weinreb is a master writer and storyteller, and I am looking forward to his next book, as well as the updated paperback version, including the 2007 National Championships.
--Eliot Weiss, head coach, Murrow High School chess team

Background: Michael Weinreb spent a year with the chess team of Edward Murrow High School in New York City, NY, USA. The school chess team is quite strong and has been for a number of years. Weinreb relates the story of one year's squad and their season to the finals at the National Scholastic Championships. This is a public high school, that is, it is not private and accepts students from its geographical area. Schools in the USA which are public suffer often from underfunding, overcrowding and lack of supplies and support. The school actually is fairly advanced in allowing a lot of self-organized time for the students. Unfortunately not all of the students have the organization and focus to make the most of these freedom. Many of the kids come from tough backgrounds and chess for many of them represents a very positive example of something they can do with their minds, will, and ambition - something which is recognized and in some cases tangibly rewarded. Weinreb does a nice job capturing the us versus them feeling of the some of the team members and the sharp contrast between these kids, whose parents work and toil for a living and kids who attend the expensive private schools in Manhattan. It aspires to be like Feinstein's "Season on the Brink" as an insider's view into NY City Scholastic chess.

Good Points: Gives a nice feel for the personal rivalries and touchy egos among the players. Also helps explain why there are actually two different philosophies at work - sometimes allied, sometimes at odds. There are educators who hope chess will serve as an example of how hard work, study and focus can show kids that their minds can be developed and become a way to a either better paying jobs in life or a deeper and better appreciation of the world around them. There is also a competitive group which would like to see strong young players develop and have the opportunity to become top level grandmasters - two goals which are not always the same. In a way it shows chess in schools have become successful enough to suffer from the same ills as other forms of competitive sports, which pushes competitive results over the other benefits of the game. Weinreb reviews the major figures on the NY City Scholastic Chess scene and does a nice job capturing the flavor of these contests.

Bad Points: Weinreb is not a master or even a serious player and it shows. There are numerous howlers of errors in the text in regard to chess positions and moves, which won't bother casual readers but for those who do play chess, it just grates. An example is when describing a game, he writes that in response White's initial move of 1.c4, Black played "knight to f7". Perhaps this is typo but there are many others. (FYI - in the initial position, Black knights can only move to f6, h6, c6 or a6) Had a serious player or the kids on the team reviewed the final draft these types of typos and errors would have been instantly caught. The choice of diagrams also seemed odd and he does not explain why the position is bad or the move an error to a sufficient degree for beginners to understand. Finally it would have been nice to have more pictures.

Summary: a good brisk read for those curious about the scholastic chess scene, but one should accept some errors; hence, the three stars.

A Great New York Success Story!


You can't help falling in love with the eclectic group of teenagers profiled in The Kings of New York by Michael Weinreb. Weinreb, an award winning sportswriter, follows the championship chess team at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn and chronicles their lives as chess players. Not being a chess player myself I wasn't certain if I would relate to this story. I wanted to read it because I enjoy a public school success story. I also admire the dedication of public school teachers who are grossly underpaid but devote themselves to their students in a way that is above and beyond the call of duty. Shortly into the book I realized that knowledge of chess was not a pre-requisite. What truly makes this book interesting is that these students are not children of privilege. They do not have expensive chess coaches or the benefits that a private school can offer. They rely on their intelligence and perseverance as well as a dedicated math teacher who does double duty as their chess coach and constant supporter. What also sets these chess champions apart is that they are not all highly motivated, well-rounded honor students. They are truly a "mixed bag." There is Sal, the Ukranian born International Master who despite being gifted as a chess player is often arrogant and impatient like many teens. There is Shawn, the beefy, tough guy from Crown Heights who enjoys few of life's luxuries but can make mincemeat out of his opponents on the chessboard. There is Ilya the self-deprecating high-achiever who just wants to be rich and successful someday. And, there is Oscar, who would rather play cards in the hallway than work toward receiving stellar grades. You really get to know these individual students through Weinreb's intuitive but non-intrusive observations of the time he spent with the team. You find yourself inspired by the recent immigrants, who have so quickly learned to speak the language, are successful in school and who are brilliant on the chessboard. You also find yourself rooting for the inner-city kids who have had few opportunities but who display their genius as they shine in the King's game. You just want to see this group of geeks and oddballs make something of themselves. You feel hopeful that if this group of teens from varied ethnic backgrounds and religions can forge a bond and work together to form the most winning high school chess team in America then there is hope for all of us. A great read!

"The Kings of New York" is an outstanding ensemble drama that grows in intensity and pathos as it moves forward. It's a story of teenage outsiders who find an unlikely connection in an unlikely place, chess prodigies in an inner-city public school who comprise a dynasty. In the hands of a less talented writer, this might have become a flimsy tale with an easy, feel-good payoff. Instead, author Michael Weinreb's deadeye reporting and quality of language and semidistant wry observation spiral upward with a combination of authority and compassion. Chess, yeah. But this is at its heart a vital story about contemporary high school life, vivid and unsparing.

This book has much of the flavor of Word Freak (about Scrabble)--a year
or so following a group of competitors around the circuit--a high school
chess team, in this case. You'll meet the players, the personalities,
the coaches, and the competitive environment--much as in Word Freak.
Many years ago I played on a high school chess team--albeit one with much
less intensity than the one in the book--and so I found that the book
brought back many memories. One of the problems is that the high-school
coach is not as good a player as many of his students, and so while he
can help them with their mental preparation, he cannot help the good ones
improve on their chess skills. Most of the students on the team are
not native-born, and almost all are in that particular high school in
order to play on the team--kind of an odd juxtaposition to athletes who
might attend a school for, say, rugby.

Fatsis, in Word Freak, was an avid Scrabble player, and describes in
his book the efforts he made to improve his rating--this made for great
reading. Unfortunately here, Weinreb is not a chess player and so
doesn't have an intuitive feel for the nuances. People explain things to
him, which is fine, but this is where the book takes a small hit in
comparison to Word Freak. If one of the good chess writers--Pandolfini,
say--had written the book, it probably would have had a very different
flavor to it.

This book was a running commentary into the life of the top chess team in America. The book was void of sex, drugs, and other issues in the typical America high school. The book provided insight into the America education system, into the chess culture in America, and into the world of a genius. One would believe that these geniuses would be top students in high school, but most of them struggle with staying engaged in school. These young people are bored with school which does not motivate them. They are more motivated to win money playing chess. The challenge of chess is greater than the challenge that school presents. It makes me wonder about the policy of "no student left behind" because it seems that really it is "no student gets ahead." Students like these need a challenge or they will disengage from school. How can you care about school when the really test is against another grandmaster chess champion. Most people would not enjoy this book unless you enjoy chess. The book is incredibly well written. It makes the basic story a flowing narrative.