I’ve decided not to review all the fifty-something publications I acquired last year as I once thought I would, but will instead review those publications that are worthy of attention, and take excerpts from others with notable content. This brings me to what was my companion whilst playing truant at school: The Complete Chess Addict, Mike Fox and Richard James. I adored this publication when I was young and took it everywhere I went. Reading it again, some 25 years on is a different experience of course, and if I were to review the text, I would only end up repeating myself by saying things like the dominant form of history in chess is oration. Paper brings profit, which is why we now have collections of tales in printed form, of which: The Complete Chess Addict is one. If you only want entertainment, you would struggle to beat it, here’s a proof, a chess joke:
Two scientists, one at the north pole, the other at the south pole, were engaged in a game of correspondence chess. Every four months one or the other would receive a move, borne by a sledge drawn by a dog across the ice. The game had been in progress for several years and a critical position had been reached in the early middle-game of a Sicilian Defence Poisoned Pawn Variation. North, playing black, was eagerly awaiting south’s next move. But after four months he had heard nothing. The fifth month elapsed, then the sixth month. Still no sign of a move. The days, weeks and months passed, and the tension was increasing daily. Then, one day, after nine months, he heard the distant sounds of the husky’s paws and the runners of the sledge crunching the ice. Soon it came into view, and eventually reached him. With hands trembling and heart pounding, he reached for the envelope containing South’s next move. The suspense was unbearable. Finally, he managed to open the envelope and read the message inside: J’adoube’
MJM
McCreadyandChess 