Engaging Pieces: Interviews and Prose for the Chess Fan contains interviews with some of the most fascinating personalities of the chess world, poignant short fiction that uses chess as a metaphor, and in-depth reviews and editorials. This is writing that entertains and makes you think. Michael de la Maza explains the importance of chess tactics and how he improved his USCF rating from Class-D to Expert in two years. Jen Shahade talks about her book, Chess Bitch, and the controversial topic of women's chess. Hikaru Nakamura confides what it's like to be a teenage chess star. Mig Greengard, arguably the world's most charismatic chess journalist, waxes philosophic on everything from the immaturity of professional chess players to promoting chess as a sport. Hydra's programmers, designers of the world's best chess computer, explain the computer science behind their monster. Mark Glickman demystifies every detail of the USCF rating system, and as the Boston Globe says, "It is the best summary...we have seen." Greg Shahade talks about the nascent United States Chess League. Plus interviews with Paul Hoffman (chess journalist and writer), Charles Katz (former Vice president of Edge TV), Joe Block (from Beauty and the Geek), David Shenk (author of The Immortal Game), and Michael Weinreb (author of The Kings of New York). The fiction is a poignant and entertaining collection of stories that consistantly develop chess as a metaphor. The book is rounded out with a thought provoking series of in-depth reviews and editorials covering a selection of topics relevant to the chess world today. An appendix lists every novel and fiction anthology published between 1932 and 2007 that uses chess as a major narrative element. - from Amzon