Deadline Grandmaster

This is the autobiography of chess grandmaster and journalist Andy Soltis, one of the very few grandmasters who had a professional career outside of the game, and a prolific author of chess-related nonfiction. It describes how chess and journalism fought for his time for more than 50 years and how he managed to score coups and make blunders in each field. Among his distinctions: He is the only person who has both interviewed Donald Trump and played chess with (and nearly beat!) Bobby Fischer.

About the author

Grandmaster Andrew Soltis, nine times champion of the Marshall Chess Club, New York Post editor and Chess Life columnist, is the author of dozens of chess books. He lives in New York City.

Preface: Duke and Dukelsky 1

 1—Opening Irregular 3

 2—Patterns Recognized 24

 3—Tempo Accelerated 35

 4—Waiting Moves 52

 5—Symmetrical Variations 64

 6—Boomed 87

 7—Book Moves 106

 8—Hobbyism 126

 9—Repositioning Moves 154

10—Desperado Time 184

11—Middlegame Deferred 202

12—Grand Irony 216

13—Bearing Up 230

14—Amateur Professional 248

15—Continuations Dubious 269

16—Perpetual Risks 289

17—Beyond Calculation 304

18—Dinosaur in a Cyber World 316

19—Seeking a Favorable Endgame 335

Chapter Notes 355

Index of Openings—Traditional Names 359

Index of Openings—ECO Codes 360

Index of Opponents 361

General Index 362