# Books About Chess **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751 "2008-06-22T03:38:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/1 "2008-06-22T03:38:45Z")
Can anyone recommend a book about chess (or where chess is used as a plot device)? I’m not looking for tutorials, analysis of players or games, innumberable “White mates in five” puzzles, or other types of chess books. I’m looking for things like _Searching for Bobby Fischer_ which was partly about chess but more about the relationship between a father and his son. ideas would include biographies of famous players (without in-depth analysis of their play), books about the role of chess in society, etc. Fiction or non-fiction, I don’t have a preference. TIA ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/2 "2008-06-22T03:43:48Z")
[The Turk](http://www.amazon.com/Turk-Famous-Eighteenth-Century-Chess-Playing-Machine/dp/0802713912/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214106025&sr=8-1). I found it fascinating, at least. I found [this on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Fiction-Worth-Reading/lm/271RCLMWB1FP0), which might lead you to a couple things. In fact, I think I might have to look a couple up myself… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/3 "2008-06-22T04:17:18Z")
_Alice Through the Looking Glass_ ? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/4 "2008-06-22T05:53:23Z")
Try “The Flanders Panel” by Arturo Perez-Reverte. I don’t want to spoil any of the story, but it was well worth my time. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/5 "2008-06-22T05:58:39Z")
Also Amy Tan’s short story “The Rules of the Game” - a young Chinese girl (surprise!) becomes a local chess champion but also has to deal with family loyalties. ---
**Author:** ![Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Full\_Metal\_Lotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Full_Metal_Lotus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/6 "2008-06-22T06:39:34Z")
A rather cheesey, but quite well written “summer beach” book is “The Eight” that tries to tie a lot of mystical and mysterious stuff into the International Chess Competition. Not so much about chess or chess theory, but more of a fictional exploration of what “makes” a chess master… don’t put it first on your list, but feel free to include it link: [The Eight by Katherine Neville book review](http://www.ram.org/ramblings/books/the_eight.html) FML ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/7 "2008-06-22T08:09:01Z")
Well, for chess as a plot device, there’s [Queenmagic, Kingmagic](http://www.amazon.com/Queenmagic-kingmagic-Ian-Watson/dp/0312015038) by Ian Watson, a fantasy set in a world that works more or less according to the rules of chess. It’s been a long time, but I recall it as pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/8 "2008-06-22T13:02:31Z")
[The Queen’s Gambit](http://www.amazon.com/Queens-Gambit-Novel-Walter-Tevis/dp/1400030609) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-about-chess/453751/9 "2008-06-22T19:05:23Z")
_Unicorn Variations_, by Roger Zelazny, is a wonderful short story. Humorous and lighthearted, my favorite character is the griffin that drinks beer, Rael, Punches open a can with his claw and chugs!