Subject
Nabokov and Chess (fwd)
Date
Body
I received the following information from Tom Delehanty
<geeker@my-deja.com> which I think will be of interest to a number of you:
_______________
The most important chess problem construct employed by Nabokov in his
fiction appears to be the *solus rex* theme, where Black's King is the
only Black piece on the board. Solus rex problems tend to be waiting-move
constructions, or "waiters". The White forces cannot directly force
checkmate, so White makes an aesthetically pleasing "waiting move", which
compels the Black King to move into a ruinous position. Nabokov seems
never to have composed any solus rex chess problems.
A good article, which goes into some relevant problem themes and contains
a useful bibliography, is Daniel Edelman, "Cooks, Forks and Waiters:
Chess Problems and Vladimir Nabokov's *The Defense*", American Chess
Journal *3*, 44-58.
__________________
Lynne Walker
dlwalker@u.washington.edu