Chess The Hard Way

[Craig Sadler]

Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy of this online? I can't find anything at CFC's "Amazon" store

[Douglas Ryan]

Re: Chess The Hard Way

There's one for sale on abebooks.com

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...rd+way&x=0&y=0

You might try labatechess.com as well

[Ken MacDonald]

Chess The Hard Way

There were two editions, 1953 from Pitman and 2000 by CFC.

[Craig Sadler]

Re: Chess The Hard Way

do you know if the 2000 edition was algebraic?

[Ken MacDonald]

Chess The Hard Way

It was algebraic and was published in a SC. It sold out quickly and a few pricey eBay auctions took place after that.

Can anyone tell me how many copies were printed?

That price on abebooks.com looks decent! It depends on the condition, of course.

[Neil Sullivan]

Re: Chess The Hard Way

It was algebraic and was published in a SC. It sold out quickly and a few pricey eBay auctions took place after that.

Can anyone tell me how many copies were printed?

That price on abebooks.com looks decent! It depends on the condition, of course.

The 2000 edition differs from the original in that it has a part II: The Later Years 1952-1996 and has been converted to figurine algebraic. It's also a paperback as Ken points out.

It's the type of book that's absolutely required if a nation is going to preserve its history. I don't remember how much it sold for, but it illustrates the lesson that he who hesitates is lost. If you see a book you like, grab it! Otherwise it may not be there when you change your mind. Of course this could just be a rationalization to cover book purchases.

I looked at the 2000 - 2001 GL's, but there is no mention of the number of copies printed.

[Tony Ficzere]

Re: Chess The Hard Way

I was one of many who worked on the 2000 release of this book. I converted all the games and notes. I can't recall the exact number of copies printed, but the number 500 sticks in my head.

[Ken MacDonald]

"Grab it!" Says Neil

I agree completely. For example, I have a "subscription" to the yearly bound volume of British Chess Magazine. On inquiring about it this year (for 2008) I was told that those on the list would get their copy, but there could be no extra sets bound because the BCM sold out of the "Fischer Death" (my words) issue, February, 2008, and could not bind any extra volumes.

[Neil Sullivan]

Re: "Grab it!" Says Neil

I agree completely. For example, I have a "subscription" to the yearly bound volume of British Chess Magazine. On inquiring about it this year (for 2008) I was told that those on the list would get their copy, but there could be no extra sets bound because the BCM sold out of the "Fischer Death" (my words) issue, February, 2008, and could not bind any extra volumes.

Isn't the 1972 bound BCM also rare because the Fischer-Spassky match generated increased magazine sales? At the end of the day, there weren't that many left over to be bound as sets.

Ken, I'd love to read some of your collecting anecdotes if you're ever of a mind to offer them up.

[Ken MacDonald]

Chess Collecting Stories

Just to be clear, an anecdote does not have to be funny!

an⋅ec⋅dote
/ˈænɪkˌdoʊt/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [an-ik-doht]
–noun
a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical.

Also,
Synonyms:
story, yarn, reminiscence.


Alas, unlike most serious collectors, I kept almost no records regarding where I purchased my books NOR how much I paid. Sometimes, I came across some item in my collection (e.g., when I was cataloging the collection) and wondered, "Where on earth did I get that?"

I have found bunches of stuff that brought no memories back.

I have been collecting since late 1988 (having sold an earlier collection).

I only care about:

a) Correspondence Chess Publications;
b) Russian Chess Magazines;
c) Canadian Chess Publications;
d) Novels with a Chess Theme;
e) Chess Problem Publications;
f) Chess Study Publications;
g) Chess Humour (only a few);
h) Chess Tournaments and Matches;
i) Chess Biographies;
j) Harrie Grondijs’ books;
k) Bibliographical Reference books, many of which are by REFORDIS;
l) British Chess Magazines (BCMs) complete from 1881 to current.

More information to follow.....

[Ken MacDonald]

New Fischer Reference (?) Book.......

For the fan with cash!

David DeLucia is a very serious collector of chess memorabilia and publications. He has already published three books on his collection, in general.

He is about to publish a new book on the Fischer items in his collection.

As usual, it will be a very large HC book with tons of colour pictures inside on glossy paper of high quality. One cannot overestimate the quality of the production. A seller has told me that a Fischer fan may not enjoy all of the book, but would certainly see some unusual items!

It sells for $US350 to $US400 and a limited number of copies will be produced, somewhere close to 125. I am not sure there are any available, but I could ask if anyone was interested. Two copies that I am aware of are coming to Toronto.

Anyone interested could ask me about a contact. I am at jkm@iprimus.ca

Not an anecdote but the information may be of interest to someone that reads CT.

[Ken MacDonald]

A Collecting Story

For a long & interesting read on collecting, go to:

www.chessbookshop.com

On the left, is a button for Collector's Corner. Click on this and then you will see 8 parts of "A Letter to Bert" which totals 160 pages about collecting. Mostly about chess problem book collecting, but the story is quite interesting.

I enjoyed it so much that I printed the whole story and had it bound.

BTW, Karel Mokry is a really honest and nice chess book dealer. I have dealt with him for years and bought many boxes of stuff from him.

[Neil Sullivan]

Re: A Collecting Story

For a long & interesting read on collecting, go to:

www.chessbookshop.com

On the left, is a button for Collector's Corner. Click on this and then you will see 8 parts of "A Letter to Bert" which totals 160 pages about collecting. Mostly about chess problem book collecting, but the story is quite interesting.

I enjoyed it so much that I printed the whole story and had it bound.

BTW, Karel Mokry is a really honest and nice chess book dealer. I have dealt with him for years and bought many boxes of stuff from him.

Thank you very much for taking the time to share Ken. Clearly there is collecting and there is COLLECTING! :) What I do doesn't really count against the serious collectors.

My biggest weakness is games collections. I can't pass them up. Other than that, my only rule is that I will enjoy reading the book and could look Nicole right in the eye and tell her how much it cost without ducking.

I take far more pleasure from a book like Streetfighting Chess than I would from an obscure 18th century volume I'll be afraid to open. I think the technical term for collectors like me is wannabees. :D

From time to time I toy with the idea of starting a Facebook group for chess book discussion. Then again, I toy with a lot of things!

Here's a shot of part of my books. It pretty much shows the chaotic state of the shelves.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...6&id=599838689

[Gordon Taylor]

Re: Chess The Hard Way

I think 500 is about right for the 2000 edition. I was the 2nd to last person who worked on this; at least 13 others had preceded me, not including Abe Yanofsky himself! Before 1999 it had just about gotten to the point of going to the printer when Herb Langer's hard disk crashed and all his work was lost. I was asked to carry the baton by Les Bunning during the North Bay Open in '99 and received the varied pages and disks in early November. Most of the work had been done by that point; I mostly did a proofreading of part II and lot of formatting throughout so that the work had a consistent feel. I was basically done by the end of Nov '99. I still have the emails I exchanged with Abe Yanofsky asking him five small questions and his response dated 23 Nov '99. The problem I had was that the CFC could not provide me with any printing specifics, e.g. page size, single or double column, approx. number of pages (font size), etc. After a number of emails to Maurice Smith, then CFC President, I decided to take advantage of this. If the CFC could not tell me what they wanted then I would decide on what they would get. In late Nov '99 I delivered a completed manuscript to Troy Vail, then CFC Executive Director, in MS Word and PDF formats, but single column (lots of white space). Halldor Palsson eventually found a printer and converted the manuscript into a double column format. The printers did one strange thing: to better fit the text to their page size they stretched the font vertically. The text looks OK but the diagrams are noticably higher than wide. I eventually secured a copy. Not a thank-you copy for all my work, but in barter for some consulting work I did for the CFC. And a few years after I got another call from the CFC asking about a possible 2nd printing. I told them there were a few typos that could be corrected but that I did not hold the double column version and they should talk with Halldor. That was my last association with Chess the Hard Way.

[Ken MacDonald]

A Collecting Story

I agree, Neil, about the old dusty books.

I have none of the pre-late 1800s stuff at all.

Recently, I was in Manhattan and had lunch with a collecting friend who was surprised that I had no really old books. He said that a few serious books would elevate the value of the whole collection.

I do buy stuff that is old, but I have to get some pleasure from looking inside the books. Other than a very few things to fill some holes, I buy only what I can read and enjoy and I don't have to explain to Nicole!

I am always looking for Canadian stuff that I lack, especially bulletins that will never see the light of day unless someone rescues them.

Recently, Tony Ficzere and Stephen Wright have helped in that regard.