The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Genuises Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team

I first heard of this book in a New York Times book review that praised the author's deft touch and vigorous reporting. That was more than enough for me. Not only am I an incompetent chess player (a.k.a., a "wood pusher"), I was also the teacher advisor of one of Oregon's state champion teams. (This team went to the Supernationals multiple times under the tutelage of parent volunteer extraordinaire Dan Sharp [www.sharpinvestments.com]). So that pulled me into this book, but Michael Weinreb did all the heavy lifting from there. The story's diverse cast of characters from Edward Murrow High School in Brooklyn lends this tale built-in interest, and Weinreb masterfully builds on it with investigative work and style. How do these kids view their talents? Their peers? Education? And as many are from immigrant families, America itself? By not delving too deeply into the minutia of chess technique, and staying focused on his subjects, Weinreb creates a general interest book of a fascinating subculture. That is, even if I didn't have an interest in chess, I'd have enjoyed this book. Sidelight: One of the current featured reviews dismisses having a team advisor/teacher who is inferior to his or her team's players as "unhelpful." Not so; the teacher is in charge of serving as a liaison to the school and other teams, as well as organizing events and practices, and so forth. Among these duties would be bringing in a local Master level player to provide instruction. Rare is the teacher with a 1600+ rating who can hang with the best homies on the chessboard.

Michael Weinreb has created a wonderful fairy-tale come true story of a lineup of students--my students--who have had difficulties fitting in as teenagers. But, because of their strength in chess, they all came together and became heroes to their school, community, city, state and nation. Spanning over the course of several years, it really is a modern-day, "Stand & Deliver" type story, although Murrow's long-standing success has spanned 20 years. I wasn't sure what to expect when Weinreb began this project, but his portrayal was accurate and true. Weinreb describes the history of the school, the school personnel and the various chess programs in the NYC area with clarity, humor and wit, making it very enjoyable to read. From the team's trip to the Oval Office, to their learning about the Holocaust in Whitwell, Tennessee, to a tour of the Jack Daniels distillery, Weinreb takes you on an excursion through the lives of a fascinating group of oddballs, misfits, geeks and geniuses. You feel as if he literally got into the minds of these kids. When writing his book, he lived their lives for almost three years. Weinreb is a master writer and storyteller, and I am looking forward to his next book, as well as the updated paperback version, including the 2007 National Championships. --Eliot Weiss, head coach, Murrow High School chess team

The Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn has been a successful progressive school, whether despite or because of its mixture of Puerto Rican and black students along with immigrants from Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. It has been a radical experiment in public education, allowing pupils to skip classes and to make up their own schedules, curricula, or independent study projects. There has been a high level of student graduation and subsequent enrollment in college. The school might now be succumbing to No Child Left Behind mediocrity because it is being forced to admit students who are refugees from neighboring schools that have been closed due to failing their evaluations, but one of its brightest successes has been its chess team. The team won its first NYC championship in 1989 and has gone on to national championships. This meant that they were up against lots of other schools with teams that could afford tutors or chess camps during the summers. _The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team_ (Gotham Books) thus has the dependable appeal of a David vs. Goliath story, as sportswriter Michael Weinreb followed the striving, scrappy students while they aimed toward another national championship. Though the book conveys excitement in the competition, as any sports book ought to, it is most rewarding in its picture of awkward teens being able to fasten onto something meaningful before turning into adults. The Murrow team is the brainchild of Eliot Weiss, a former hockey player, ski instructor, beer vendor, and taxi driver who more than anything else wanted to be a math teacher. He does some coaching and teaching, but plenty of his students are far better players than he is. He works at organizing trips to tournaments, and a lot of what he does is drumming up money for the travel and for entry fees and for pizza to recharge the players. The kids are the heart of the book. Weinreb spends some pages on each of the main players, telling about their backgrounds and families. There is Oscar Santana, a Puerto Rican prodigy who is a whiz at chess but can't focus on his schoolwork. He does, however, bring home a straight A report card. Unfortunately, he did so by hacking the Board of Education computer and boosting his grades. Oscar brings home chess trophies so regularly that his family can't display them; they started storing them in garbage bags, and then started throwing them away. Also winning trophies is Alex Lenderman, a little Russian émigré, the second-highest rated 15-year-old chess player in America, but he knows that big trophies are just something else to lug through the subway system. What Alex, and the others, really want is to win some money, which they can do in a small way through tournament prizes, and in a larger way though wagering on games, often "blitz" chess played in lightning-fast games timed by a chess clock set to three minutes or eve

A Great New York Success Story! You can't help falling in love with the eclectic group of teenagers profiled in The Kings of New York by Michael Weinreb. Weinreb, an award winning sportswriter, follows the championship chess team at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn and chronicles their lives as chess players. Not being a chess player myself I wasn't certain if I would relate to this story. I wanted to read it because I enjoy a public school success story. I also admire the dedication of public school teachers who are grossly underpaid but devote themselves to their students in a way that is above and beyond the call of duty. Shortly into the book I realized that knowledge of chess was not a pre-requisite. What truly makes this book interesting is that these students are not children of privilege. They do not have expensive chess coaches or the benefits that a private school can offer. They rely on their intelligence and perseverance as well as a dedicated math teacher who does double duty as their chess coach and constant supporter. What also sets these chess champions apart is that they are not all highly motivated, well-rounded honor students. They are truly a "mixed bag." There is Sal, the Ukranian born International Master who despite being gifted as a chess player is often arrogant and impatient like many teens. There is Shawn, the beefy, tough guy from Crown Heights who enjoys few of life's luxuries but can make mincemeat out of his opponents on the chessboard. There is Ilya the self-deprecating high-achiever who just wants to be rich and successful someday. And, there is Oscar, who would rather play cards in the hallway than work toward receiving stellar grades. You really get to know these individual students through Weinreb's intuitive but non-intrusive observations of the time he spent with the team. You find yourself inspired by the recent immigrants, who have so quickly learned to speak the language, are successful in school and who are brilliant on the chessboard. You also find yourself rooting for the inner-city kids who have had few opportunities but who display their genius as they shine in the King's game. You just want to see this group of geeks and oddballs make something of themselves. You feel hopeful that if this group of teens from varied ethnic backgrounds and religions can forge a bond and work together to form the most winning high school chess team in America then there is hope for all of us. A great read!