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PAWN TO INFINITY

PAWN TO INFINITY. ACE, 1982. ISBN: 0-441-65482-7

Wherever man goes, his wars go with him. And every culture has expressed itself in games that play at war--games of nerve and strategy in which the winner is he who best foresees the twists of his opponent's mind. Chess, the "game of kings," carries this mock conflict to its most sophisticated extreme.

Here is a selection of stories from the finest writers of science fiction, all of whom understand how both glory and tragedy can be outlined on a checkered board.

Poul Anderson, THE IMMORTAL GAME

Fritz Leiber, MIDNIGHT BY THE MORPHY WATCH

George R.R. Martin, UNSOUND VARIATIONS

Joanna Russ, A GAME OF VLET

Fred Saberhagen, TO MOVE AND WIN (the first story of the Berserker saga, alternate title WITHOUT A THOUGHT)

Roger Zelazny, THE UNICORN VARIATION

Gene Wolf, THE MARVELOUS BRASS CHESSPLAYING AUTOMATON

Ruth Berman, A BOARD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION

Victor Contoski, VON GOOM'S GAMBIT

Daniel Gilbert, KOKOMU

Ambrose Bierce, MOXON'S MASTER

Robert Frazier, RENDEZVOUS 2062

Alfred Stewart, REFLECTIONS ON THE LOOKING-GLASS, AN ESSAY

Chess and fantastic fiction began an enthusiastic encounter with each other at least as far back as Lewis Carroll, and the mating is still in progress. Both contain strong elements of conflict and both are set in worlds where time and space are subject to transformation; the ordinary rules of human existence do not apply. Therefore both tend to appeal to the same kind of mind: an interest in the fantastic is very often a sign of interest in chess, and vice versa . . . -- Fred & Joan Saberhagen

The above taken from the cover and frontal page of the Ace, 1982 edition.