Chess Stories – now in English!

by ChessBase - 12/12/2024

The book was originally published in German, has now been published in English by ChessBase India. The luxury hard cover version, printed in full colour, is available for less than $12, and the eBook version for just $9.50 – with all proceeds going to the HelpChess Foundation. Advanced copies of the book were given to former World Champions and other notable personalities in Singapore. Read on for more information about the book, authors, content, pricing, and more. Photos: ChessBase

Recently the German publisher Droemer Knauer published an unusual chess book: Schachgeschichten was written by two authors: Frederic Friedel, described by the publishers as "the grey eminence of the international chess world"; and Christian Hesse, a mathematics professor and chess expert, who has written over twenty popular books.

Now Chess Stories has been published in English, by none other than ChessBase India. It is a one-to-one translation – by the bilingual authors themselves – and is, unlike the German edition, in full colour, with many additional pictures.

An important feature of the book is that all quoted games and positions (as well as video interviews) are given as QR codes. This means you simply show the page to your mobile phone or tablet to replay the game on a graphic chessboard, will all the functions of an advanced replay app or video player. There is even an engine that will help you analyse the game. Soon all chess books and magazines must include this functionality.

It was introduced to the chess community at the TATA Steel tournament in November, and then at the World Championship in Singapore. Two eminent subjects of the book, who received two of the very first copies, have said the following for the blurb of the cover:

For a number of decades, Frederic Friedel was the ultimate confidant for the top chess players. I have stayed in his house many times and everyone else in the top visited regularly. This intimacy allows him to give you an entertaining peek into that world. Christian Hesse has already published two bestselling books on chess, and in this one adresses the relation between chess and mathematics in a most delightful way. Both of them love chess and are insiders, whilst being detached enough to see a bigger picture. Looking on as a science journalist and mathematician respectively, they can well convey the strange world of chess to the audience. I am confident you will love the book. – Viswanathan Anand, five-time Chess World Champion

Frederic Friedel and Christian Hesse have written an unusual chess book. Its breadth of content ranges from personal encounters with world champions since Euwe, to logical chess studies. Frederic is a master story-teller with a passion for the human side of the chess world. Christian shows himself as a narrator of brilliantly composed mathematical chess puzzles, presenting them in his newly-created art form as Zen logicals. Their story lines tell you how simple reasoning allows to construct a big picture out of only a few pixels of information. The book is full of both types of stories that leave you wanting more. – Magnus Carlsen, highest-rated player in the World

The Authors

Frederic Friedel describes his encounters and friendship with World Champions: Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen – and one he calls a future world champion, whom he has known since he was twelve. For Gukesh and the incredible Indian super-talents, whom Frederic has supported, he has written a special chapter for the English edition of Chess Stories.

Christian Hesse has created some amazingly deep and entertaining connections between chess and mathematics, spanning the range from the first appearance of Fermat's last problem in chess to a magic trick on the chessboard based on Fibonacci numbers. He has also created an entirely new genre of chess problems, the Zen Chess Logicals, that have been described by Garry Kasparov as adding a whole new dimension to chess studies and logic.

Purchase Options

1. The print edition of Chess Stories, which is 280 pages long, can be purchased directly from the publisher ChessBase India. The price is Rs.999.00 (= $11.80 or €11.20).

2. The book can also be bought from Amazon India.

3. The Kindle eBook version is available for Rs.799 (= $9.47 or €8.98)

These are the countries in which the Kindle version is available.

Note: the authors will donate all proceeds to ChessBase's India HelpChess foundation, which has zealously contributed to the ascent of India to the status of chess superpower.