Amatzia Avni

I was so disappointed with this but then, it was published by Batsford.

At least a lot of it is quotes (thus justifying the footnotes), mostly from top chess players, and some of these are great. But even then, the author doesn't understand them:

Another variation on the same theme is to treat setbacks as a decree of fate. People divide into those who believe they have control over their actions, and those who attribute success or failure to external forces, like God or Fate. It seems to recomment the adoption of the latter attitude (external locus of control, in psychological jargon), but some people find comfort in it:

He goes on to quote GM Sosonko:

"After I had lost a game in Tilburg many years ago, I asked my friend Smyslov 'what went wrong? What should I have done? Why did I lose?'...He replied 'you had better not look for an explanation. Yesterday the position of the stars in the sky did not favour you. There was nothing you could have changed'"

To me it appears that the author doesn't understand the quote. Smyslov is merely stating a simple truth: there are times when you play somebody and have no chance whatsoever, the stars, if you like, are against you. Whatever game you play, you will have had occasion to be faced with somebody who is walking on water. Accepting that this is so, scarcely means that you do not believe you have control over your actions. It means having control over your actions is not necessarily sufficient.… (mehr)