Looking back, I still have no regrets. The mental exertions of chess honed my analytical imagination (pretty useful for a professor). Even more, the monk-like dedication of the chess player kept me from many of the behavioral trainwrecks of my teenage peers. Stories of ascent may have appeal beyond adolescence. In chapter 2, I give the backstory of this book. In essence, I view this book as the “protagonist” in a plot of ascent. The book (personified!) struggles to achieve mature expression (or at least adolescent vocalization) of the embryonic idea conceived shortly after my father’s funeral
...more
