A Chess Story

Chess champion Mirko Czentovic is travelling on an ocean liner to Buenos Aires. Dull-witted in all but chess, he entertains himself on board by allowing others to challenge him in the game, before beating each of them and taking their money. But there is another passenger with a passion for chess: Dr B, previously driven to insanity during Nazi imprisonment by the games played in his imagination. In agreeing to take on Czentovic, what price will Dr B ultimately pay?

Stark, intense, overpowering, A Chess Story is a grandmaster’s examination of madness and the power of a mind willing to sacrifice everything to win.

Translated by Alexander Starritt