Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Move by Move: Life Lessons on and off the Chessboard


Move by Move is an engaging book full of insightful philosophical ruminations on life and chess by Grandmaster Maurice Ashley. Released 2nd April 2024 by Chronicle on their Prism imprint, it's 176 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. 

The author has decades of experience and engagement at every level of the chess world and the longevity to have acquired a lot of lessons. He has a friendly and down-to-earth style of writing and this small book is full of accessible takeaways about life, learning, the philosophy of art and learning, friendship, and chess' unique ability to bridge differences in culture, class, religion, gender, age, and wealth. Chess is the ultimate equalizer.

The hardcover edition is lovely, with a foil embossed cover and would make a nice gift. It should be noted that this is *not* a how-to guide for chess. There are no puzzles or tutorials included here (he covers a lot of chess theory in his other books and commentary/videos). This is a general book on philosophy and life.

Four stars. It would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, or gift giving.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

No comments:

Post a Comment