22.02.2007
A.KENTLER. CROSSROADS: CHESS IN THE NEWS AND IN ETERNITY
In one of his interviews an author of the “Elista show”, a well-known Bulgarian manager, has expressed the opinion, that due to scandals the interest to chess would grow and that afterwards the chessplayers would be grateful to him, S.Danailov, for his “work”. Ainur Sofieva, the President of Azerbaijan chess federation, is, in all probability, also waiting for thank-yous after her call to search the villains, who has masterminded T.Radjabov’s robbery, among his opponents.
If we add to all this not even just the ever-increasing number of persons who have acquired international ranks not in line with their real chess strength, but the fact, that these same persons get involved in the organization and refereeing of chess competitions, then the picture gets still sadder and even more bitter.
To counterbalance all this serves the never-drying-up streamlet of children entering the chess sections and the fact that some of the best chess books are published today. I would like to say some words about one of these books.
Last year in the “Ripol Classic Publishers” there appeared the book by Genna Sosonko “The Dialogues With Chess Nostradamus”. It is original even in its idea to continue the conversations given by Hejn Donner (1927-1988), a well-known Dutch GM, journalist and author, in the scope of the given subjects.
Before us appears the image of Donner, which at first arouses sympathy for the easy way of expressing his thoughts and his attitude to life, and then turns into a wheelchair-bound author.
After each Donner’s tale there follows an essay by Sosonko himself written in the same key, and they have words, feelings and empathy in common.
A variety of subjects and only one hero - a Human Person playing chess, whether he is great or average, pro or amateur.
"The main principle I have followed in remembering those people, - writes G.Sosonko in the preface, - is the singularity of their destinies and characters; and sometimes I used to catch myself at the thought that I had been viewing small chessplayers through a magnifying glass and great ones – through a diminishing one”.
In truth, as it seems to me, that is not the matter; the issue is that both Donner and Sosonko are the persons in love with chess who have devoted all their lives to the Game, and, having been blessed with a talent to write, they have been doomed to pass to mankind their feelings about it expressed in words. And in that they differ from the other authors who, writing on chess subjects, have been interested in the players only from a clinical point of view.
A little man playing chess can, thanks to Hejn and Genna, becomes striking and interesting; a reader discovers in himself a desire to meet a great chessplayer beyond the chessboard. Each of them can arouse both enthusiastic and utterly negative emotions (just like people of any other creative trade), but he leaves no-one indifferent.
I would like to recommend reading this book by all means to everyone – to those who love chess and to those who hate its guts, either to refresh the feelings or to get a kind of understanding for those who “waste” their lives on this pursuit. You will never regret it – the essays collected in the book are brilliant. It is especially flattering for us that “Chip”, “The Branded One” and “The Grand Slam” have for the first time appeared in Russian on our site.
When they write that Genna Sosonko’s books are the most outstanding events in chess literature, this is, of course, the exact truth. But still more important is the fact that after many years people will judge chess by his books.
And that will raise both the world of chess and its inmates.
