Mindful Chess (Paperback)

EXCLUSIVE: copies signed by Paul van der Sterren
The first 100 customers ordering the hardcover will get a copy signed by the author

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?

Paul van der Sterren (1956) was a professional chess player for over twenty years. At the peak of his career, the Dutch grandmaster qualified for the Candidate Matches for the World Championship – and was only four victories away from the World Title. He is the bestselling author of Fundamental Chess Openings (Gambit Publishers). In 2023 New In Chess published his book In Black and White - a chess autobiography.

Reviews

GM Matthew Sadler (New In Chess magazine)
“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.”
(full review)

IM Gary Lane (Australian Chess)
“This intriguing pocket book is a quick read for those who wish to try meditation.”

Fernando Offermann (Berliner Schachverband)
“Mindful Chess is not a book that you read casually. It demands attention and thought - and gives all the more in return. A small but remarkable work for anyone who wants to deal with the psychological side of chess.”