Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Immortal Game

  • A History of Chess
  • By: David Shenk
  • Narrated by: John H. Mayer
  • Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (36 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Immortal Game cover art

The Immortal Game

By: David Shenk
Narrated by: John H. Mayer
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Endgame cover art
The Moves That Matter cover art
Chess Queens cover art
Discover Your Genius cover art
Science Friction cover art
Chess for Beginners cover art
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World cover art
The Hustler cover art
Chess Strategy cover art
The Talhoffer Society cover art
The Workshop and the World cover art
In Search of the Dark Ages cover art
A History of the World cover art
It All Adds Up cover art
Sophie's World cover art
Bounce cover art

Summary

A surprising, charming, and ever-fascinating history of the seemingly simple game that has had a profound effect on societies the world over. 

Why has one game, alone among the thousands of games invented and played throughout human history, not only survived but thrived within every culture it has touched? What is it about its 32 figurative pieces, moving about its 64 black and white squares according to very simple rules, that has captivated people for nearly 1,500 years? Why has it driven some of its greatest players into paranoia and madness, and yet is hailed as a remarkably powerful educational tool? 

Nearly everyone has played chess at some point in their lives. Its rules and pieces have served as a metaphor for society including military strategy, mathematics, artificial intelligence, literature, and the arts. It has been condemned as the devil’s game by popes, rabbis, and imams, and lauded as a guide to proper living by different popes, rabbis, and imams. 

In his wide-ranging and ever fascinating examination of chess, David Shenk gleefully unearths the hidden history of a game that seems so simple yet contains infinity. From its invention somewhere in India around 500 A.D., to its enthusiastic adoption by the Persians and its spread by Islamic warriors, to its remarkable use as a moral guide in the Middle Ages and its political utility in the Enlightenment, to its crucial importance in the birth of cognitive science and its key role in the new aesthetic of modernism in 20th century art, to its 21st century importance to the development of artificial intelligence and use as a teaching tool in inner-city America, chess has been a remarkably omnipresent factor in the development of civilization. 

Indeed as Shenk shows, some neuroscientists believe that playing chess may actually alter the structure of the brain, that it may for individuals be what it has been for civilization: a virus that makes us smarter. 

©2006 David Shenk (P)2006 Books on Tape
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"Those curious about chess and wishing to learn more about the game (but not too much more) will welcome this accessible, nontechnical introduction." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Immortal Game

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story of the power of chess

You would imagine that an audio book about chess is not easy to either devise or listen to. I thought that too until I downloaded The Immortal Game. I have returned to chess recently after playing the game in my youth. I have never been that good but have always loved playing. I wanted to find more about the history of the game and my interest was piqued when I saw this. I was amazed to hear how far back it actually goes (over 1,000 years) and that most of the great world leaders and thinkers have played to varying degrees of success. It is astonishing to think that today we can study games that happened hundreds of years ago and analyse the moves and the thought processes of the great players. The story is told against the backdrop of what is known as the "Immortal Game" which occurred in London played by Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky on 21 June 1851. It was not even part of a major tournament but it has been studied over the ages and shows that victory can be snatched from the jaws of defeat by strategic thinking and outwitting your opponent by placing them in a false sense of security about their position on the board.
The book also tells of the destructive power of chess and how it has enveloped the minds of several high profile players such as Bobby Fischer and serves as a cautionary tale to those who become too absorbed in the game. The power of chess, it seems, has a dark side.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

An enjoyable trip through chess history

Be warned, this is a book for anyone interested in chess history and not a book for anyone looking to improve their game play. As an amateur chess player, I really enjoyed it thoroughly and appreciated the authors gradual explanation of chess history and anecdotes, which are clearly aimed at the novice or uninitiated. I also enjoyed the way the book unfolds through the playing of an 'immortal' game of chess. A well written and well produced audio book for anyone interested in the story behind the game.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good listen

David Shenk provides a stimulating and concise history of chess both on and off the board.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I've listened to this book three times now...

...and will no doubt listen to it again. Superbly written and narrated. Highly recommended if you have any interest in chess.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, poor naration

I enjoyed the book but it was partially spoilt by the naration. it seems that for the first three quarters of the book the narrator was not engaging or maybe carring about the material being read. the narrator introduces too many pauses in the middle of sentences for no particular reason thus emphasising the wrong word in a sentence. He clearly is not respecting the punctuation and at times risks giving the text a different meaning. it manages to sound both pompous and boring while the text should be engaging. a real shame for the author of the book since, naturally, one comes to identify the him with voice of the audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!