My brother-in-law came over with the family for New Years as usual. And everytime he comes we play “a friendly game” of chess. But really it is all very serious. It is about pride.
This year he bought a chess set and a book for beginners for his elder daughter. But I suspect the book was for himself more than anything. But there is nothing wrong with that. You need to study chess, like anything else, to improve. I have a dozen books on chess myself and I still do not consider myself strong at all. But, at least, I am stronger than I would have been if I didn’t read them.
Flicking through the book I found it surprisingly good. It included all the basics and a little bit more to get you started. The book was by Miyoko Watai. The name caught me by surprise. Not because she is the head of the Japan Chess Association, but rather she was the one Bobby Fischer was living with when he returned to our consciousness from hiding in 2004.
Using Amazon Japan I discovered there are only 87 books on chess in Japanese. Whereas Amazon US lists 65,700 titles for chess books in English. This just goes to show how little interest there is in chess in Japan. Anyway, I recommend the book to any Japanese interested in chess. It is as good as any beginner’s guide to chess written in English. I can safely say Ms. Watai does knows her chess.
I am really looking forward to the next match with my brother-in-law.
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