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Buy it if: 'Searching for Bobby Fischer' is your all time favorite movie
Don't But it if: You want a light collection of chess vignettes to discuss at cocktail parties.
I may be the world’s worst chess player. I mean, I haven’t played against nearly enough other crappy players to confirm this, but I suspect that it’s at least a possibility. Perhaps I lack the patience to study it, the will to seek out help or simply a brain that is wired with circuitry even mildly suited for the challenge. No matter the reason, I suck.
But for those in the world who do not, the draw of competitive chess seems to be remarkably strong, with the best players also subject to some very harsh bouts of living. It’s ironic that such physical and mental strain could be exacted by a metaphorical battle, a symbolic aggression between wooden pieces. And yet, Paul Hoffman’s King’s Gambit makes a strong case for the sincere and serious nature of this ‘game.’
In a style recalling wine writer Natalie Maclean, Hoffman places historical narratives within the context of personal anecdotes. Himself a very strong player, he is hardly an outsider when it comes to studying/playing/writing chess. Doubtless many readers will share my conclusion that – given his druthers – the author might have preferred a career of chess greatness to any other. But just as great sportswriters are often culled from failed athletes, Hoffman’s relative lack of success on the square board may have been precisely what led him to this volume.
Rest assured, however, that a thorough knowledge of the game is hardly a prerequisite. While being able to at least envision a few basic chess moves might get you going a bit faster in the beginning, even those amongst you who remain completely ignorant of the pastime will not find yourself struggling to understand complex lingo or chess vernacular. If anything, those with a thorough chess knowledge may find some explanations a bit remedial, though none are nearly long-winded enough to really bog down the writing.
And the writing is interesting, if perhaps a little thematically scattered. Admittedly, I tend to favor books that feature a few interwoven narratives tied together with common themes and denominators, but in this case Hoffman may have tried to shoehorn a bit too much, with the overall theme a minor casualty. From the brief history of chess to the intrigue at the modern championship level, from the lives of journeymen players to a big glance at the lineage of the world championship, there was more than enough to fill the pages. Sadly, the addition of his own memoirs and tenuously placed vignettes about his relationship with his father seemed a bit superfluous and forced. Not altogether uninteresting, but it reminded me of those tests you take in elementary school where four objects are grouped together and you’re asked to pick the odd one out. In this case, the father/son tale just didn't fit.
But though this slant detracts from the book overall, it's still loaded with fascinating tidbits. From the personal intensity of Gary Kasparov to the oddball names of popular ‘openings’ – ‘King’s Gambit,’ ‘Queen’s Indian’ – there is quite the smorgasbord a pure trivia interlaced with characters that seem to have wandered off the pages of a Chuck Palahniuk novel. For those looking for an easy read to wander away with, Kings Gambit might be a little too scattered and intense, but if you feel like putting in a bit of work, you could be rewarded with a very large portion of fascinating facts about the ‘Game of Kings.’ It’s not for everyone, but then, neither is chess itself.
