Everything Is Chess

EVERYTHING IS CHESS

About the Book

This book is about everything.  It is an amusing collection of essays on how the world copes with taxes, regulations, elections, jobs, population growth, climate change, languages, cultures, holidays, sports, robots, oil and gold prices, names, numbers, and more.  Be prepared to see the world through the eyes of an avid chess player with wit and cynicism.  

Do you want to know if world population will outstrip the food supply?  Does Australia have more kangaroos than people?  Do male bees sting?  Are elephants obese?  Are bananas in crisis?  Do Popes play chess?  Are there national holidays for Columbus in Italy and Napoleon in France?  Does Russia tax beards?  What do U.S. voters really want? 

If you spend hours traveling or waiting for doctors and dentists, this book is for you.  No home or restroom should be without it.  It is fun in small doses.

For chess fans, the book includes 79 puzzles.

Introduction

“Everything Is Chess” is an amusing collection of essays on current events and world history as seen through the eyes of an avid chess player with a sense of humor.  It is mostly non-fiction and explores a wide variety of diverse subjects, including the following.

• Celebrating holidays --- Christmas deliveries are complicated for Santa; not everyone lives in a detached single family home with a chimney.
• Naming and numbering wars --- If armies had better technology, the Hundred Years War could have been completed in 100 days or less.
•  Re-naming the Redskins --- If we called them the Red Kings, only monarchists would be offended.
•  Collecting taxes --- It seems almost sacrilegious that the tax code is now 5 times larger than the Bible.
• Strengthening sanctions on Russia --- Obama could forbid Putin from dancing with Michelle at international social events and Germany and France could do the same for Angela Merkel and Christine Lagarde.
• Remembering the Titanic --- While the band played and the ship went down, chess games continued in the game room.
• Surviving for a week on a cruise ship stranded at sea --- Investigators discovered that the ship was not adequately equipped with chess sets for use during such an emergency.
• Discovering dinosaur bones --- Even Endangered Species Legislation could not have saved them.
• Counting world population --- There are more sheep than people in New Zealand.  Whose fault is that?

It asks (and sometimes answers) impertinent questions. 

• Does chess cause wars?  (Although chess is full of strategic planning, traps, trickery, attacks and captures, there is no evidence that it incites violence.)

• Do Popes play chess?  (Chess is not one of the requirements for the Papacy.)
• Which U.S. President was the best chess player?  (Except for his assassination and skills at chess, President Garfield is known only for his picture on a 20-cent postage stamp.)
• How can American presidential election campaigns be simplified?  (Have the candidates play each other in a chess tournament.) 
• Is Columbus Day celebrated in Italy? (Italy favors Columbus over Rossini, Michelangelo, and Gina Lollobrigida, none of whom has a holiday of his or her own.)
• How could General Petraeus have avoided a scandalous love affair?  (He should have played chess instead.)

Some questions are more directly linked to chess.

• Is chess better than baseball?  (You don’t need eighteen people and acres of land to play chess.)
• How should one dress for chess?  (You need not wear a helmet or other protective gear.)
• How can chess be modernized? (Instead of Kings and Queens, the pieces can be transformed into corporate executives or professionals--- CEO, COO, CFO, doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.)
• Is there a word for checkmate in Esperanto? (Mortigas is the word for checkmate (to immobilize) and chess is sako (pronounced shahko)).
• How is chess treated in the media?  (Chess never made it on radio);
• Why should we be thankful for chess? (One of the ten reasons is that it gives us something to teach our grandchildren when they teach us how to use mobile electronic devices.) 
• Is chess kosher? (Unless it is edible or touches food, chess need not be kosher.)