{"product_id":"the-chess-artist-genius-obsession-and-the-worlds-oldest-game-paperback","title":"The Chess Artist: Genius, Obsession, and the World's Oldest Game - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJ. C. Hallman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e In the tradition of \u003ci\u003eThe Professor and the Madman\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Longitude\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Orchid Thief\u003c\/i\u003e, Hallman transforms an obsessive quest for obscure things into a compulsively readable and entertaining weaving of travelogue, journalism, and chess history. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the tiny Russian province of Kalmykia, obsession with chess has reached new heights. Its leader, a charismatic and eccentric millionaire\/ex--car salesman named Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is a former chess prodigy and the most recent president of FIDE, the world's controlling chess body. Despite credible allegations of his involvement in drug running, embezzlement, and murder, the impoverished Kalmykian people have rallied around their leader's obsession---chess is played on Kalmykian prime-time television and is compulsory in Kalmykian schools. In addition, Kalmyk women have been known to alter their traditional costumes of pillbox hats and satin gowns to include chessboard-patterned sashes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Chess Artist\u003c\/i\u003e is both an intellectual journey and first-rate travel writing dedicated to the love of chess and all of its related oddities, writer and chess enthusiast J. C. Hallman explores the obsessive hold chess exerts on its followers by examining the history and evolution of the game and the people who dedicate their lives to it. Together with his friend Glenn Umstead, an African-American chessmaster who is arguably as chess obsessed as Ilyumzhinov, Hallman tours New York City's legendary chess district, crashes a Princeton Math Department game party, challenges a convicted murderer to a chess match in prison, and travels to Kalmykia, where they are confronted with members of the Russian intelligence service, beautiful translators who may be spies, seven-year-old chess prodigies, and the sad blight of a land struggling toward capitalism.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJ. C. Hallman\u003c\/b\u003e is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University. His work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eGQ, Boulevard, Prairie Schooner\u003c\/i\u003e, and a number of other journals and anthologies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 14, 2004\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51759291040032,"sku":"9780312333966","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/a4fdaec1d15e0db3015bf56f660ecf4f.webp?v=1780148263","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-chess-artist-genius-obsession-and-the-worlds-oldest-game-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}