Review: This Crazy World of Chess

The late Larry Evans was a living legend in US chess, having won five US Championships and served as Bobby Fischer's second as he battled the former Soviet Union. He was also a long time columnist for Chess Life and This Crazy World of Chess (by GM Larry Evans, 2007) pulls together 101 of those columns.

This book has it all. Well, except for chess instruction. You'll find a few game scores and chess positions sprinkled about but none of them are presented for instruction.

This book isn't about improvement. Pick it up when you need a break from studying Rook endings or one more Sicilian line. 

Instead of instruction, you'll get several hours of entertainment and a bit of chess history (at least post-1950's history). There's some Fischer, Kasparov, Kamsky, Korchnoi (even a deceased Alekhine makes an appearance) and all the other colorful players of recent decades (up through the early 2000's, at least).

Being a bit of a "say it like it is" personality, Evans didn't shy away from calling out silly or outrageous situations in the chess world, whether from Kamsky's father, FIDE or the defunct PCA (Professional Players Association).

Grab a beer (or pour some tea) and sit back and enjoy some of the lighter (or at least more head-shaking) shades of chess.