The Moves that Matter
A Chess Grandmaster on the Game of Life
1st Edition
Published on 14. November 2019
352 pages
978-1-5266-0383-8 (ISBN)
Description
'A nuanced and witty meditation on confronting the challenges life throws at us all' Oliver Burkeman
Jonathan Rowson's competitive success as a chess Grandmaster and work as an applied philosopher have given him a unique perspective on why the great game is more important than ever for understanding the conflicts and uncertainties of the modern world.
In sixty-four witty and addictive vignettes, Rowson takes us on an exhilarating tour of the game of life, from the psychology of gang violence, to the aesthetics of cyborgs, the beauty of technical details, and the endgame of death. Chess emerges as a singularly powerful metaphor for the thrills and set-backs that invest our daily lives with meaning and complexity.
Jonathan Rowson's competitive success as a chess Grandmaster and work as an applied philosopher have given him a unique perspective on why the great game is more important than ever for understanding the conflicts and uncertainties of the modern world.
In sixty-four witty and addictive vignettes, Rowson takes us on an exhilarating tour of the game of life, from the psychology of gang violence, to the aesthetics of cyborgs, the beauty of technical details, and the endgame of death. Chess emerges as a singularly powerful metaphor for the thrills and set-backs that invest our daily lives with meaning and complexity.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
ISBN-13
978-1-5266-0383-8 (9781526603838)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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05/2020
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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11/2019
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
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Person
Jonathan Rowson is a writer, philosopher and chess Grandmaster who was British Chess Champion from 2004-6. He holds degrees from Oxford, Bristol and Harvard Universities and is an Open Society Fellow. Formerly Director of the Social Brain Centre at the RSA, in 2016 he became co-founder of Perspectiva, where he leads research on the interplay of systems, souls and society.
Content
- Cover
- Praise Page
- Dedication Page
- Other books by Jonathan Rowson
- Title Page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Prologue
- Introduction
- ONE Thinking and Feeling
- 1. Freedom in captivity
- 2. Time
- 3. Your case is an unusual one
- 4. Open secrets
- 5. Asking pertinent questions
- 6. Making plans
- 7. The right kind of difficulty
- 8. Disconcerting moods of uncertain origin
- TWO Winning and Losing
- 9. How the strong weaken the weaker
- 10. Being wounded
- 11. The difference between excellent and exceptional
- 12. The reality of talent
- 13. Spontaneous combustion
- 14. Ceasing hostilities
- 15. One step at a time
- 16. Synchronicity
- THREE Learning and Unlearning
- 17. The love of mistakes
- 18. The need for evidence
- 19. How to give praise
- 20. The joy of teaching
- 21. Finding the testing room
- 22. Boredom
- 23. Why does the devil have all the best tunes?
- 24. Following the rules
- FOUR Cultures and Counter-Cultures
- 25. Being a cultural orphan
- 26. The essence of sport
- 27. Hustle
- 28. Tragic safety
- 29. Elitism
- 30. Being a substitute
- 31. The importance of shaking hands
- 32. Men and women
- FIVE Cyborgs and Civilians
- 33. Human error
- 34. The aesthetics of cyborgs
- 35. Simplicity is not simplistic
- 36. Pulling the strings
- 37. The animal inside
- 38. Vegetarian eats tiger
- 39. Confirmation bias
- 40. Watching
- SIX Power and Love
- 41. Changing nappies
- 42. Gratitude
- 43. Bad chocolate crispies
- 44. Coming out of hibernation
- 45. Being at home
- 46. Soft power
- 47. Hierarchy
- 48. Race, colour and creed
- SEVEN Truth and Beauty
- 49. The nature of intellectual beauty
- 50. Finding beauty in beautiful places
- 51. The tyranny of numbers
- 52. Luck
- 53. The love of wood
- 54. Keeping it real
- 55. The things that make sense
- 56. The middle way
- EIGHT Life and Death
- 57. One moment in time
- 58. Hotel breakfasts
- 59. Grave situations
- 60. Courage
- 61. The existence of God
- 62. The meaning of sacrifice
- 63. Feeling your age
- 64. Facing up to death
- Moving On
- Acknowledgements
- Appendix: Algebraic Notation
- Notes
- Index
- Copyright Page
