Sometimes books just come to you by accident. In my case, I came across an unknown book on an online second-hand book store. A chess novel by GM Jesse Kraai. What? Why have I not heard about this? I felt obliged to check it out. And chances are you are not familiar with the book either. So why not read my review to find out more?
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What can you expect from this book?
As you probably can guess from the title of the book, Lisa is the name of the main character in this book. And the book describes her experience of learning chess while growing up. I may have missed it, but I don't think Lisa's age is given specifically, but she goes to school and seems to be curious about alcohol and boys, so my guess is that she is in her mid to late teens.
Lisa comes from a broken home, she doesn't like school very much and her mother works too much. In order to keep her daughter occupied, Lisa's mother put her in chess class. The book takes us through Lisa's journey towards becoming a chess player. In her first encounters with the game (and throughout), we get a taste of the author's philosophical approach to the game (maybe related to his PhD in philosophy).
"Lisa could see the friendship of her pieces. Rains would come, the geography would shift, and the group would have to foresee new ways to hold hands across the mounds, rivulets and pits. Lisa could feel her pieces warming each other, with the familial coziness of mammals, but without the mammalian need to turn on each other. They were consonant." (p. 8)
At her first chess tournament, Lisa learns about players who talk to their pieces. Fascinated by this concept, she is curious to learn how to do this herself, and she seeks the help of a coach. Enter grandmaster Igor Ivanov.
Ivanov is a stereotypical grandmaster; he is a Russian emigrant, highly eccentric, and (of course) speaks with a thick Russian accent. Igor's lines in the book are even written with a Russian accent - if that's even possible. Here's an example of his feedback to Lisa on one of her games (p. 44):
"Lisa materialist. She win games by taking, always taking - take, take, take - never give. Zen Lisa trade off pieces of opponent, until king frightened and lonely. This truth of game Lisa understand without Igor's help."
In my mind's eye, Igor bears a strong resemblance to Alexander Grischuk - both the accent and the mannerisms seem to be quite similar.
Igor has retired from chess, and only after som persuasion, he reluctantly agrees to coach Lisa. He gives her homework from Polgar's 5334 problems and gives her some homework: Do the first five hundred mate-in-two and come back tomorrow. That's some heavy Russian-school-of-chess for you! In subsequent lessons, they play training games and analyze them, and they spend a lot of time going through the Tal-Botvinnik match from 1960. He also teaches her about proper conduct in the chess community and assists her in a number of tournaments - both on and off the board.
Unlike the Queen's Gambit, this is not a story about the discovery and development of an unstoppable super-talent. Rather, it's the story about a young woman discovering the game and becoming a competent chess player. The story gives equal weight to Lisa's development as a chess player and her struggle to get through her late teens while tackling numerous challenges related to family, friendships and school. All in all, I think it's a fairly realistic depiction of the inner workings of the chess community and the experience of learning the game from scratch.
I found this to be an entertaining book. It does have some chess content. A few game snippets and positions here and there, and some philosophical digressions related to chess.
Who should read this book?
This is not your typical chess book. As the title clearly indicates, it's a novel! And it seems to be written specifically for chess players or people who are curious about what it's like to be a part of the chess community. So if you are looking for an easy and entertaining book while still maintaining a link to chess, this might be a good choice for you.
About this book
Author: Jesse Kraai
Title: Lisa - a chess novel
Type of book: Miscellaneous
Level: Any
Hi,
Igor Ivanov was a fictional version of the very real Soviet IM (later GM) of the same name who defected to Canada before eventually moving to the US. He played in multiple US championships and once defeated Karpov. He was also a talented and highly trained pianist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Ivanov_(chess_player)