THE
HUMAN COMMEDY OF CHESS
by Hans Ree
Dutch
Grandmaster Hans Ree is one of the most respected writers in the chess world
today. A graduate of the University of Amsterdam where he specialized in the
study of mathematics, Ree soon decided that he preferred the life of a
professional chessplayer. Champion of The Nether- lands four times, now he is
much more active as a writer than as a player. He is a columnist on both chess
and general affairs for the leading Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. He is also
a regular contributor to the international magazine New In Chess and on the
world wide web at The Chess Café. The Human Comedy of Chess is Ree’s tenth
book, the fifth about chess and his first to appear in English.
”(This)
is more than a book about chess politics or leaders in the chess world. It is above
all a declaration of love for the game, with an elegant collection of odes to
the greater and lesser personalities that evolve around the 64 squares. Ree
personally knows many of the people he writes about. That leads to beautiful and
striking portraits.”
– Algemeen
Dagblad, reviewing the original Dutch edition
”This
is a collection of Ree’s longer articles, where he takes the time to elaborate
and reflect. These articles give the reader an excellent overview of the diverse
events of the last decade. Though Ree can be a hard-hitting polemicist, his tone
is well considered and his views are nuanced. Ree also takes a few trips into
the past, where he compares anecdotes and stories from different sources. All
this makes for excellent reading. I hope the book will give you as much pleasure
as it has given me.”
– Jan Timman