About this item
A chess grandmaster reveals the powerful teachings this ancient game offers for staying present, thriving in a complex world, and crafting a fulfilling life. Refined and perfected through 1,500 years of human history, chess has long been a touchstone for shrewd tacticians and master strategists. But the game is much more than just warfare in miniature. Chess is also an ever-shifting puzzle to be solved, a narrative to be written, and a task that demands players create their own motivation from moment to moment. In other words, as Grandmaster Jonathan Rowson argues in this kaleidoscopic and inspiring book, there are ways to see all of life reflected in those 64 black and white squares. Taking us inside the psychologically charged world of chess's global elite, Rowson mines the game for its insights into sustaining focus, quieting our inner saboteur, making tough decisions, overcoming failure, and more. He peels back the beguiling logic of chess to reveal the timeless wisdom underneath. This exhilarating tour ranges from learning how to love our mistakes to considering why people are like trees; from the mysteries of parenting to the beauty of technical details, to the endgame of death. Throughout, chess emerges as a powerful and accessible metaphor for the thrills and setbacks that fill our daily lives with meaning and beauty.
About the Author
Greetings!My most recent book, The Moves that Matter, is an attempt to make sense of what chess taught me about life in a way that might be useful for others. It's an accidental memoir and an unconventional self-help book, animated by dispatches from the chess world. I would like to think it's about chess in the same way that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is about motorcycle maintenance; chess informs the setting but is incidental to the plot. I hope you like it, and I would be very grateful if you can leave your feedback here.More generally, I'm a philosopher, chess Grandmaster and father, who hails from Aberdeen in Scotland but now lives in London. My USP is that I am chess Grandmaster, and I was British Chess Champion from 2004-2006, but chess feels more like my past than my future. I have degrees from Oxford, Bristol and Harvard universities, and I was formerly Director of the Social Brain Centre at the RSA and an Open Society Fellow. These days I am the co-founder and Director of Perspectiva, a research institute that examines the relationship between complex global challenges and the inner lives of human beings. I am also a father of two sons and generally busier than I would like to be, but grateful for the problems I have.Warm wishes, Jonathan.
