 |
 What? JUST PUBLISHED: Mindful Chess JUST PUBLISHED: In Black and White De wereld van de schaakopening/Fundamental Chess Openings Zwart op wit/In Black and White Your first chess lessons/Leer schaken in 10 lessen Kings of the Chessboard/Koningen van het schaakbord Paul's first two books were De opening deel 1B en 1A (Queen's Gambit), which were updates of two older books in the legendary series Theorie van het Schaakspel by the former world champion Max Euwe. These books were published by Het Spectrum in 1981 and 1984. A single volume German translation was published in 1985. Then came a number of tournament books. First he wrote the official book on the Hoogoven tournament in 1983, published bij Van Spijk and a year later he did the same again for Public Relations Hoogovens. In both these books he wrote round-by-round reports and analyzed a large number of the most important games. In 1994 and 1995 Paul was a collaborator on the tournament books of the VSB tournaments, held in Amsterdam, analyzing all games from the 1994 tournament and half of the 1995 edition in great depth. These books were publications of the Stichting VSB Fonds. After Paul stopped playing tournaments he had plenty of time to devote himself fully to writing. From 2004 onwards he published a new book almost every year. The first of these were books about chess, but later he also began to write about his experience with vipassana meditation and non-duality.
A single volume English translation, slightly updated and expanded, was published by Gambit in 2009 under the title Fundamental Chess Openings. This book has also met with immediate success and has remained a very popular introduction to the theory of chess openings to this day. Also available as an e-book and an app-book. more info & reviews "If this book is truly mastered, it is probably all a club player would ever need." - Edward H. Baker
In 2011 Van der Sterren's autobiography, Zwart op Wit, was published by New in Chess (Reprint, Brave New Books 2021). In this book Paul looks back on his life as a chess player. While presenting a great number of annotated games and fragments he also paints a vivid background containing some of the most penetrating psychological self-analysis in the whole of chess literature. As a result the reader is presented with an unusually honest and rounded picture of the mind and life of a chess player. This makes the book of interest not just for chess players but for anyone interested in sports or indeed in the condition humaine. "Unfortunately there is no Book of the Year Award in Holland. If there was, Van der Sterren would have no competition. Zwart op wit is a great book that every chess player should read." - Gert Ligterink "It is the most detailed and intimate self-portrait ever written by a professional chess player (..) his honesty really shocked me." - Hans Ree
JUST PUBLISHED!!! In Black and White The Chess Autobiography of a World Champion Candidate This is the English translation of Zwart op wit From the back cover: "In Black and White is probably the most honest autobiography ever published by a chess grandmaster. It covers Paul van der Sterren's rise to the chess elite, but above all, his struggle to become a better player, his insecurities and the difficulties he encountered. This book provides a hugely illuminating insight into the life of a chess professional, but there is a lot in his story that will resonate with players of any level. From his first moves on the chessboard to his Candidates Match against Gata Kamsky, only four steps away from the World title - everything is described in great detail and with the utmost frankness by the Dutch grandmaster. The story doesn't end there - the book's final part describes the slow decline of an ageing pro and his eventual shift to meditation and mindfulness. The Dutch edition of In Black and White, which contains more than 300 deeply analyzed games and fragments, was published in 2011/2021 and has achieved cult status. With this English translation, it will finally get a well-deserved wider audience." "I wasn't expecting to be so overwhelmed by it. I think it's simply the finest chess book I've ever read." Matthew Sadler "It's hard to choose a favorite but I'd like to mention a book that's ridiculously good: Zwart op Wit (In Black and White) by Paul van der Sterren. The most honest description of a chess career I've ever come across." Peter Doggers In Black and White impacted me as if it were a novel or film, rather than a chess games collection. A brilliant and moving book! Ben Johnson Listen to Ben Johnson's podcast on perpetualchesspod.com
JUST PUBLISHED!!! Mindful Chess The Spiritual Journey of a Professional Chess Player In this, his latest book Paul writes about both his chess and his meditation experiences, comparing the two and making sense of the differences. From the back cover: "The Dutch Grandmaster Paul van der Sterren was a professional chess player for over twenty years. At the peak of his career, he qualified for the Candidate Matches for the World Championship - and was only four victories away from the World Title. In Mindful Chess, you will get his long and short answer to whether meditation or mindfulness will help your chess. As a boy Van der Sterren became fascinated by chess and became a gladiator at the chess board. To quote Theodore Roosevelt, he met with both victory and defeat, much joy and suffering. When, later in life, he discovered vipassana meditation, he met again with joy and suffering - and approached these issues with the same total devotion as he had brought to chess - thousands and thousands of hours on the cushion and studying Buddhist literature. The reader will follow the two journeys through chess and meditation. And find answers to questions such as: What is chess? What is meditation? Who am I? What is I? Or will the answer elude you, is too much inexplainable and unknowable?" I surprised myself by really enjoying this book, which I think is a tribute to the quality of Van der Sterren's writing which manages to make difficult (impossible!) subjects seem (almost) accessible and to the fresh perspective that you get on key moments from his chess career. Matthew Sadler
In October 2016 Paul published a manual of chess pure and simple, Your First Chess Lessons (Gambit Publishers). This little book assumes no previous knowledge of the game. It explains the rules and the basic elements of practical play and in so doing draws the reader into the world of chess. "Grandmaster Paul van der Sterren comes with a brilliant guide for beginners, where the rules of the game can be learned in no time!", John Elburg "This is a book I can - and will - take into class and use to make points to my beginners. Quite often I want to reach for a book to lend to a beginner and actually that can be quite tricky. This book has filled that void for me and I look forward to more people learning to play our great game because of it", Carl Portman's Book Reviews more info
The Dutch version of Your First Chess Lessons did appear in December 2016. Leer schaken in 10 lessen is published by Thinkers Publishing. This book is in full color and is illustrated with drawings by Mieke Mertens. It also contains an extra chapter on endgame studies. more info
Kings of the Chessboard In June 2019 Kings of the Chessboard was published by Thinkers Publishing as a translation of Koningen van het schaakbord, which was published half a year earlier. In this book Paul provides an overview from the World Champions starting with François-André Philidor in the eighteenth century until Magnus Carlsen in the twenty-first. The book also explores how both the term "World Champion" and the World Championship itself have developed over time. Each World Champion is given a short biography illuminated by a few characteristic games. This book is aimed at readers from beginner's level up to strong club players.
In 2012 Paul wrote a book about something completely different, Verlichting in een lege verpakking (Enlightenment in an empty box). This book is based on the years when Paul intensively practiced vipassana meditation and studied Buddhism, between 1998 and 2006. Inspired by Tony Parsons he takes Buddhism into the completely concept-free world of Advaita or Non-Duality. This book is in Dutch (still looking for an English publisher!), but for English readers the lecture (in English) he gave on this subject during the Science and Non-Duality Conference, Europe 2013 may be of interest.
In 2013 Paul wrote another book about non-duality, Over het brein, non-dualiteit en vrije wil (The brain, non-duality and free will). Ancient Eastern wisdom (Advaita) is compared to modern Western scientific insights into the functioning of the brain. The surprising conclusion is that these are actually two different languages saying the same thing. Again this book is looking for an English publisher.
In 2014 Paul reverted to writing about chess. Terug in het strijdperk (A return into the arena) is a collection of short stories written after his partial comeback into the chess arena in 2010. This makes it a sequel to his chess autobiography Zwart op wit. He gives his views on how he himself has changed as a chess player and how he has found the chess world completely different from the one he left behind in 2001. The book also contains portraits of some of the greatest chess players of all time: Fischer, Kortchnoi and Karpov.
In December 2016 a third book on non-duality appeared, again in Dutch. Gedachten over het ondenkbare (Thoughts on the unthinkable) is yet another attempt to say something about that which is inexpressible. An attempt which is bound to fail and in so doing succeeds! more info |
