Chess books to read after ‘The Queen’s Gambit’
Hooked on Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit”? Here are four great chess-centric novels to read when you’re done with the cinematic adaptation — starting, of course, with the book that inspired the series.
1 ‘The Queen’s Gambit’
The Netflix series is based on Walter Tevis’ 1983 coming-of-age novel, which tells the tale of chess prodigy Beth Harmon, from her childhood in an orphanage to her rise through the chess ranks, accompanied by turmoil and addiction issues. In a 1983 interview with The New York Times, the San Francisco-born author called the book “a tribute to brainy women.” Tevis, who died a year after publishing “The Queen’s Gambit,” also wrote “The Hustler,” “The Color of Money” and “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”
2 ‘The Royal Game’
Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig wrote “The Royal Game” in 1941, and published it as the centerpiece of a short story collection. All five stories are brilliant explorations of psychological extremes, from romantic obsession to madness, as befits a writer who moved in the same Viennese cultural circles as Sigmund Freud. The title novella’s Nazi-era tale of an imaginary chess game played for survival is haunting.
3 ‘The Eight’
Bestselling author — and former San Francisco Bank of America VP — Katherine Neville made her writing debut with this chess-centric 1988 thriller that revolves around computer expert Cat Velis and a legendary chess set, once guarded by Charlemagne, whose pieces were hidden in 1790, lest their power be unleashed. There’s a sequel, “The Fire” (2008), but the globe-trotting, time-jumping, headspinning “The Eight” is the one to read.
4‘The Flanders Panel’
A chessboard in a 15th-century Flemish painting holds the key to a 500-year-old murder in this 1994 thriller by Spanish author Arturo Perez-reverte. It isn’t just one centuries-old murder, either. When an art restorer discovers a strange inscription — “Who killed the knight?” — in a corner of the painting, it sets off a slew of modern-day murders as well, in this heady literary mix of chess, art and mystery.