Chess came into my life many years ago. Like many Russian boys and girls in the Soviet Union, I played chess at home, took part in competitions, and red many chess books and books about Russian and international grandmasters. I still can not decide what I love more – chess or books. After I have got a book “Chess in art” this question is even more difficult for me to answer.
To me, the history of chess started at the end of the 19th century when the first World Chess Championship took place between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort in 1886. Next month we can celebrate precisely 135 years since Wilhelm Steinitz became the first official Chess Champion on 29th March 1886.
How wrong I was about the history of chess during all my years. Yes, I knew over a thousand years of chess history, I knew about chess history in India and Persia, but knowledge without visualisation is weak. I am grateful to “Chess in art” for presenting history in the most powerful way – in the visual way when paintings of ancient artists tell their stories about people and their life while they are playing chess.
There are six periods of time covered by the book from 1100 to 1900. It is a great idea and a beautiful implementation of the idea. Big thanks to the publishers for 269 pages full of art and for the additional 21 pages with each artist’s short biographies.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to say “sorry” to my friends. I would not pass this book to them as a present even if we used to say that “book is the best present” in Russia. My friends can make the right move and to buy this book online at https://chessinart.com. I am going to keep the book “Chess in art” for myself and my kids. It helps me to present the depth and wisdom of chess to my children and gives me another reason to open this book with my friends when they visit me at home…
Sergey Stanovkin 