by John S. Hilbert, Hardcover, 282pp. (2002 Moravian Chess)

From the author’s Introduction: “Marshall’s early career, examined in detail, offers much to casual readers as well as dedicated chess historians alike. In later years, Marshall was known for his inconsistent tournament and match performances. Yet few know that evening his earliest battles, Marshall endured a similar path of ecstatic highs and utter lows. The story of Marshall’s earliest chess years is a story full of drama, and, above all, struggle. Struggle in the face of setbacks. Struggle in the face of superior players. Struggle in the face of long and hard study. In short, the struggles each of us face, chessplayer and chess historian alike, in the course of our own lives, both on and off the board. Yet in Marshall’s case, of course, the chess victories and the failures are writ large, almost larger than life. They are here, now, for chess readers willing to take the time to learn of them. And the are here for all who wish to be entertained through observing the mystery and mastery of chess. For both abound in the early story of Frank Marshall.”