SHORTLISTED: The English Chess Federation Book of the Year 2011 Award!

The Joys of Chess is an unforgettable intellectual expedition to the remotest corners of the Royal Game. En route, intriguing thought experiments, strange insights and hilarious jokes will offer vistas you have never seen before.

The beauty, the struggle, the culture, the fun, the art and the heroism of chess – you will find them all in this sparkling book that will give you many hours of intense joy.

Christian Hesse is a Harvard-trained professor of Mathematics who has taught at the University of California, Berkeley (USA), and since 1991 at the University of Stuttgart. He has written a textbook called 'Angewandte Wahrscheinlichkeitstheorie'.

Chess and literature are his main hobbies, and he also likes fitness and boxing. His heroes are the ones who fall to the bottom and rise again, fall and rise again…

World Champion Vishy Anand:
"Fantastic moves, beautiful combinations, historical blunders, captivating stories, and all this embedded into a plentitude of quick-witted ideas and contemplations as food for thought."

The Judges of the English Chess Federation Book of the Year 2011 Award:
"Nearly a hundred short essays, introduced by quotations from many sources cover almost every aspect of the game (..) All in all, a wonderful cornucopia."

Der Standard, Vienna:
"One of the most ingenious and enjoyable books ever written on chess."

Andy Soltis, New York Post:
"A bargain and a treat."

Gary Lane, Chess Moves Magazine:
"For sheer entertainment value the 'Joys of Chess' deserves a gold medal."

Peter Heine Nielsen, Skakbladet:
"It is well written, but it is the thorough research that makes it an absolute toplevel book."

Brian Almeida, ChessCafe:
"Intelligently written and a pleasure to read (..) It is accessible for everyone, from those with a passing interest in the game to the most passionate of chess aficionados."