Players and Pawns
How Chess Builds Community and Culture
A chess match seems as solitary an endeavor as there is in sports: two minds, on their own, in fierce opposition. In contrast, Gary Alan Fine argues that chess is a social duet: two players in silent dialogue who always take each other into account in their play. Surrounding that one-on-one contest is a community life that can be nearly as dramatic and intense as the across-the-board confrontation. Fine has spent years immersed in the communities of amateur and professional chess players, and with "Players and Pawns" he takes readers deep inside them, revealing a complex, brilliant, feisty world of commitment and conflict. Opening with a close look at a typical tournament in Atlantic City, Fine carries us from planning and setup through the climactic final day's match-ups between the weekend's top players, introducing us along the way to countless players and their relationships to the game. At tournaments like that one, as well as in locales as diverse as collegiate matches and community chess clubs, players find themselves part of what Fine terms a "soft community", an open, welcoming space built on their shared commitment to the game. Within that community, chess players find both support and challenges, all amid a shared interest in and love of the long-standing traditions of the game, traditions that help chess players build a communal identity. Full of idiosyncratic characters and dramatic gameplay, "Players and Pawns" is a celebration of the ever-fascinating world of serious chess.
Contents:
Prologue: A Tournament Revealed
Introduction: First Moves
Chapter One: The Mind, the Body, and the Soul of Chess
Chapter Two: Doing Chess
Chapter Three: Temporal Tapestries
Chapter Four: Shared Pasts and Sticky Culture
Chapter Five: The Worlds of Chess
Chapter Six: Status Games and Soft Community
Chapter Seven: Chess in the World
Conclusion: Piece Work
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
About the Author
Gary Alan Fine is professor of sociology at Northwestern University and the author of numerous books, including "Everyday Genius: Self-Taught Art and the Culture of Authenticity"; "With the Boys: Little League Baseball and Preadolescent Culture"; and "Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds", all published by the University of Chicago Press.
Reviews
"Fine demonstrates above all that chess is not an individualized activity, but rather a communal one. The logic of chess is not impersonal, but embodied and social. It is not merely a game, but an important part of the way that many people make their lives together. It is a significant and masterful achievement" – Mark Jacobs, George Mason University
"Whether you are a casual player or a grandmaster you will find something of interest in this book, which takes a bemused look at the extensive activity that goes into making chess communities. Even if you have never played chess, you will still learn a lot about social life from this book, the best yet by this prolific author" – James M. Jasper, author of "The Art of Moral Protest"
