Illinois Curiosities
Illinois Curiosities

Author: Richard Moreno

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2011-02-08

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 0762774975

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Whether you’re a born-and-raised Illinoisan, a recent transplant, or just passing through, IllinoisCuriosities will have you laughing out loud as Richard Moreno takes you on a rollicking tour of the strangest sides of the Prairie State. Take a date to the World’s Largest Laundromat, a 13,500-square-foot facility in Berwyn with 153 washers and 148 dryers in nearly constant use. Enter Chicago’s “sub” culture with a museum visit to the U-505, the only German submarine in the United States. Visit the site in Carthage where Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith was murdered on June 27, 1844. Learn about the strange case of H. H. Holmes’ notorious Murder Castle and the sad tale of Burr Oak Cemetery.

Philosophy Looks at Chess
Philosophy Looks at Chess

Author: Benjamin Hale

Publisher: Open Court

Published: 2012-03-30

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0812698185

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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.

Curious Chess Facts
Curious Chess Facts

Author: Irving Chernev

Publisher: Ishi Press

Published: 2013-03

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 9784871875714

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Curious Chess Facts is Irving Chernev's first book. Published in 1937, it is his famous collection of chess anecdotes. The facts in this book are so famous that they have become part of chess lore, repeated thousands of times, published in countless books and magazine articles by many different authors, such that it is almost forgotten that this book is the original published source. Here are some examples: At a dinner somebody gave a toast to the World Chess Champion. Both Steinitz and Zukertort stood up. (They played a match to determine the real world champion. Steinitz won the match but Zukertort had finished three points ahead of him in London 1883.) This is Curious Chess Fact Number 197 in this book. One that I use that often helps me remember chess history is that Steinitz was World Champion for 28 years. His record was not quite equaled by Lasker who was world champion for 27 years. This is Curious Chess Fact Number 21. Since I remember that Lasker lost the world title to Capablanca in a match in 1921, I can calculate back to determine the year in which Lasker won the world championship by defeating Steinitz in a match. Then, going back another 28 years I can calculate the year that Steinitz defeated Adolf Anderssen who some consider to have been the first world chess champion. Another example is that Marshall won a famous game by a queen sacrifice that was so brilliant that the spectators showered the board with gold pieces. This is Curious Chess Fact Number 9. The moves of the game itself with the spectacular queen sacrifice are to be found in almost every anthology of famous chess games. The story that the spectators showered the board with gold pieces is always included with the moves. The list goes on any on. There are so many of them that you just have to read this book to see and recall them.

Kingwalks
Kingwalks

Author: Yasser Seirawan

Publisher: SCB Distributors

Published: 2021-06-20

Total Pages: 539

ISBN-13: 1949859398

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The Fearsome Fascination of Kingwalks! Marching your king across the board – at times right through or into enemy lines – may be both exhilarating and terrifying. Nothing may be quite as satisfying as a majestic kingwalk across the board which brings you glorious victory. And nothing as tragicomic as a needless journey ending in epic failure. Chessplayers are fascinated by kingwalks, perhaps because of their inherent contradiction and even implausibility. The most important – and vulnerable – chess piece does something other than trying to remain safe. Topics include: Kingwalks to Prepare an Attack; Kingwalks in Anticipation of an Endgame; Kingwalks to Defend Key Points; Kingwalks to Attack Key Points or Pieces; Mating Attacks; Escaping to Safety Across the Board; Escaping to Safety Up the Board; Kingwalks in the Opening; Kingwalks in the Endgame; Double Kingwalks; and Unsuccessful Kingwalks. For sheer entertainment as well as instructive value, the kingwalk is transcendent! Executing a successful kingwalk has the power to make a chessplayer happy and the same can be said about playing over the many beautiful examples in this book. Enjoy! – From the Foreword by Hans Ree About the Authors American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan is a four-time U.S. champion. He also won the World Junior Championship in 1979. He is one of the best-selling chess authors and is considered one of the top commentators for games broadcast on the web. Canadian master Bruce Harper has been champion of British Columbia many times and has also participated in several Canadian championships. He is the co-author with Yasser Seirawan of the highly acclaimed three-volume series, Chess on the Edge, chronicling the career of Canadian grandmaster Duncan Suttles. He is also co-author, with American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, of Bullet Chess: One Minute to Mate.