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A Chess Classic: 'The Immortal Game'
David Shenk chronicles the history of chess in <em>The Immortal Game</em>.
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Even in this era of Game Boys and PlayStations, you can still read an account of Hezbollah's raid across the Israeli border as "Nasrallah's gambit," and you can find descriptions of the response it provoked as "Israel's endgame."
Chess vocabulary forms a metaphorical bridge between a harmless board game of strategy and the strategies of real-life war.
The history of chess is recounted in The Immortal Game, a new book by David Shenk.
To serious chess players, the book's title has an obvious double meaning: It refers to the game itself and also to a particular match that was played by two masters -- Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky -- in London in 1851.
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Shenk weaves the story of that match, move by move, throughout the larger story.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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