Counterplay: An Anthropologist at the Chessboard

Desjarlais probes the many uses and forms of chess, with extensive research in the U.S. and abroad. Drawing on interviews with dozens of players, authors, and teachers, as well as on online journals, and blogs, Desjarlais finds "a sense of the sacred" in chess rituals. He contrasts the slow pace of correspondence and e-mail chess with high-speed "blitz chess." The book is packed with player profiles and anecdotes, along with a look at the use of chess in education to develop cognitive skills. He also probes the philosophical and psychological aspects of chess, noting that during "intersubjective encounters" of conflicting wills and intentions, a player "finds he grasps something of another's life." He looks at the impact of computers on the game, such as "analysis engines" that calculate the strengths of different moves. Chess clubs have lost members to online games, the author finds, and, as in other areas of life, chess on the Internet is "increasingly removed from flesh-and-blood encounters." Desjarlais, a professor of anthropology at Sarah Lawrence, adds a glossary of chess terms to this informative and penetrating survey of the game today. (Mar. 7)