Psychoanalytic Psychology

xiv+198 pages with bibliography and index. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6 1/4") bound in original publisher's green cloth with gilt lettering to spine in original jacket. With typed card laid in by Reuben Fine. First edition.

Reuben Fine (October 11, 1914 - March 26, 1993) was an American chess grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mid 1930s into the early 1950s. Fine won five medals (four gold) in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S. Open Chess Championship all seven times he entered (1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1939, 1940, 1941). He was the author of several chess books that are still popular today, including important books on the endgame, opening, and middlegame. Fine was regarded as a serious contender for the World Chess Championship. Initially accepting his invitation to participate in the six-player 1948 World Championship, which was organized to determine the World Champion after the 1946 death of reigning champion Alexander Alekhine, he withdrew on the eve of the tournament, citing professional commitments, and virtually retired from serious competition around that time, although he did play a few events before exiting in 1951. He earned a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York in 1932. After World War II, he earned his doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California. He served as a university professor, and wrote many successful books on psychology. After receiving his doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California, Fine abandoned professional chess to concentrate on his new profession. Fine continued playing chess casually throughout his life (including several friendly games played in 1963 against Bobby Fischer, one of which is included in Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games). In 1956 he wrote an article, "Psychoanalytic Observations on Chess and Chess Masters", for a psychological journal. Later, Fine turned the article into a book, The Psychology of the Chess Player, in which he provided insights steeped in Freudian theory. Fine is not the first person to have examined the mind as it relates to chess: Alfred Binet, the inventor of the IQ test, had studied the mental functionality of good chess players, and found that they often had enhanced mental traits, such as a good memory. He went on to publish A History of Psychoanalysis (1979) and a number of other books on psychology.

Condition: Typed index card from Fine laid-in. Edges and corners bumped. Jacket Spine end with small chips, cover lightly soiled, else a better than very good copy in like jacket.