King’s Gambit

[John Henry]

Who has read King’s Gambit by Paul Hoffman? I would be interested in any comments,Thankyou

[Sid Belzberg]

Who has read King’s Gambit by Paul Hoffman? I would be interested in any comments,Thankyou

I just bought the Kindle version of it. It looks intriguing. Paul was on our company chess team for the Bankers Chess League some years ago. We won the championship handily against teams like the Grandmaster-stacked Goldman Sacs team. Of course, in addition to Paul and myself, it helped to have GM Pascal Charboneau on our team and WGM Irina Krush!

[Stephen Wright]

This subject came up just over a year ago https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...ead#post218599

[Roger Patterson]

Who has read King’s Gambit by Paul Hoffman? I would be interested in any comments,Thankyou

I quite liked it. An enjoyable read. Plus, there is a fair bit of Canadian content.

it’s not a book about variations or how to play but about various chess personalities and what it’s like to be a chess player.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Who has read King’s Gambit by Paul Hoffman? I would be interested in any comments,Thankyou

I read while ago, don't recall much. I think it was interesting to see chess world from a different viewpoint. Though many things have changed over ~20 years, and it would a historical trip back.

[Kerry Liles]

I bought the Kindle edition and have finished it several months ago. As others have said it is more a recollection of a life lived as a chessplayer and the characters met along the way. Some very interesting anecdotes and observations about chess and life. A pleasant read. I did find that it struggled in places but quickly moved ahead once again. I have to believe it is historically accurate since the author follows his journey and I think he was very transparent about what happened and how and why. I recall several people on chesstalk were raving about it - not sure I would classify it quite that highly but it was a decent read.

[Hans Jung]

I think it is a brilliant book. I had read it a while ago and couldnt remember details so I borrowed it again today from the library (arent libraries wonderful places? I cant afford to buy all the books I like) to refresh and its an even better read second time round. Just in the acknowledgements (first written page) the asterick is about Bogoljubov - absolutely true as I have eyewitness reports to attest - great stories.
On page 2 great descriptions of Washington Park. Page 3 I can believe the description (wonderfully so!) of Rossolimo. Page 6 the thrown clock incident. I recall a clock thrown against a wall in a Toronto tournament and smashed to pieces. Page seven sounds just like the Nigel I know. He visited in Kitchener and is famous for his stories. What a wonderful description of the insight into a grandmasters thinking and the analogy to dancing by Pascal from pages 7 to ten.
Just the first ten pages are worth the price of admission. Paul doesnt pull any punches but I have heard far worse (story telling wise from John Fedorowicz and other grandmasters). If there are any embellishments I havent found them yet.
Congratulations to Paul Hoffman on a fine piece of writing.

[John Henry]

Thx guys,I like the book- personalities,stories,good writing- only 40% through….