Did You Come Here To Play Chess Or To Have Fun? (Paperback)

Did You Come Here To Play Chess Or To Have Fun? by Dana Mckenzie is an English-language paperback chess book that captures the game as most players know it: in club rooms, team matches, tournament trips and the conversations that unfold around the board.

What this book covers

Mckenzie selected forty of his favourite texts from an award-winning chess blog and brought them together as a collection of stories, reflections, training ideas and game analysis. This is not a dry manual, and it is not a string of opening lines without context. Instead, it focuses on the everyday chess most players know best, from state championships and club evenings to team events and travel to competitions.

The book also brings in the people who make that world feel real, from well-known names in chess to the distinctive local players you meet in your own club scene. That gives the writing a personal, lively feel and captures the atmosphere of amateur and ambitious club chess very well.

Inside the book

Alongside the stories and commentary, you also get concrete chess content. The book includes the Hook and Ladder Trick and an analysis of the author’s favourite opening, the Bryntse Gambit, with material that had not been published elsewhere. That makes it a good choice if you want more than light reading and would also like ideas you can take back to your own games.

One separate chapter is devoted to invitational chess meetings organised by Mike Splane in the San Francisco Bay Area. These monthly gatherings brought together masters and aspiring masters for discussion, challenge and close analysis, where a move had to stand up to sharp questions as well as practical play. It is a good example of the book’s wider approach: chess as conversation, debate, learning and shared thinking.

Why readers pick it up

The strength of this book lies in Mckenzie’s voice and the direct way he speaks to the reader, which is still uncommon in chess writing. The texts were chosen from a blog recognised by Chess Journalists of America as “Best Chess Blog of 2021”, and many were revised for the book edition. The result is a polished collection that still feels natural and close to the way chess players really talk.

Dana Mckenzie is the author, and the book runs to 272 pages. It is a paperback edition in English, designed for amateur players and ambitious club players who enjoy chess writing with personality, analysis and a clear sense of the game’s human side.

Key details

• Product type: paperback chess book
• Author: Dana Mckenzie
• Language: English
• Page count: 272
• Content: forty selected and partly revised blog texts
• Focus: everyday play, club meetings, team events, travel to tournaments and game analysis
• Included chess content: Hook and Ladder Trick; Bryntse Gambit analysis
• Format: paperback binding