by Amatzia Avni, 236pp. (Mongoose Press, 2011)

 

The legendary Baron Munchausen was famous for telling incredible stories about his astounding happenings and astonishing feats. Munchausen was both a fearless, bold adventurer and a fun, inspiring companion. Now, imagine the Baron playing chess!

 

This book presents a series of extraordinary chess tales, describing Munchausen's captivating chess adventures, as told by the great Baron to Amatzia Avni, his diligent biographer. Prepare to be amazed as the Baron engages in chess battles with a range of extraordinary creatures and characters, some of them -- quite literally -- out of this world!

 

The reader will accompany Munchausen to Heaven and to Hell; watch him play on a full board and on half a board; in simultaneous exhibitions, Internet and live chess; battling on land, sea and in the air; outsmarting a Cyclops; conversing with a talking horse and much more.

 

The Amazing Chess Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a compendium of the very best episodes first seen in the British periodical CHESS Monthly, together with a plethora of previously unpublished tales. Instructive, entertaining and sometimes simply baffling, the Baron's adventures are guaranteed to enrich the chess lives of all chess fans.

 

Amatzia Avni is an Israeli psychologist, specializing in the fields of training and personnel selection. He holds the FIDE Master title in both over-the-board chess and composition. A former editor of the Israeli chess Magazine Schahmat and a frequent contributor to various chess magazines and websites, the author has written a number of original, thought-provoking and entertaining chess books, including Creative Chess (1991, 1997) and The Grandmaster's Mind (2004).