Leonard Barden on Chess

Many chess biographies are anodyne and technical, skirting controversy. The Stress of Chess by six-time US champion Walter Browne (New in Chess, £21.50) is more combative. The blitz specialist who glared at opponents and banged down the pieces in his frequent time pressure often has a gripe about a tournament from long ago, and makes sharp criticisms of some rivals.Browne in his youth had seemed set for stardom. He worked intensively on chess in his teens, studying master games and openings a...