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Book Review: Not Only Chess

Not Only Chess: A Selection of Chessays. Gerald Abrahams. George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1974. 264 pp. Descriptive notation.

"Not only Chess"? Indeed, not only, but mostly; and in so far as the book has any interest for most readers, it will lie in the chess content. Gerald Abrahams (1907-1980) was, like Dr. Tarrasch, a true amateur. If he didn't approach the "Praeceptor Germaniae" in strength, still he was one of the best British players of his day. Back in the 1950's, the BBC's Third Programme devoted half an hour a week to chess. Abrahams was one of the regular contributors to these broadcasts, and this book collects some of his scripts for the radio; some bits and pieces of his chess journalism; and a selection of his more memorable games. It's out of print, I suppose, but worth picking up if you can find it.

Table of Contents

Part One IN THE CHESS ATMOSPHERE

1 Chess meditation
2 Sportsmanship and gamesmanship in chess
3 Psychiatry, lunacy and chess
4 Chess players on the larger board

Part Two MENTAL PROCESSES AND ATTITUDES

5 What is hard about chess (I)
6 What is hard about chess (II)
7 Ideas in chess
8 Is black a bad colour?
9 Imagination in chess
10 Memory in chess
11 What the computer teaches us about chess
12 Mental processes in chess and bridge

Part Three CHESS PERSONALITIES

13 World champions I have known
14 Assessment of Alekhine
15 Assessment of Lasker
16 Quo vadis, piscator? (c 1962)
17 Quo vadis, piscator? (1972)
18 What Achilles saw among women

Part Four TECHNIQUE AND BEYOND

19 Habits of mind and technique
20 Endings — didactic and epicurean

Part Five A TALENT OF JEWS

21 Why are Jews good at chess?
22 From Passover to Tabernacles
23 A Day out in the life of an Ilui

Part Six SLAVONIC NIGHTS

24 The capital of chess
25 Laugther and the Russian gods

Part Seven FORGET-ME-NOTS

26 History of the Abrahams defence
27 My favourite game
28 A score of my scores

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