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Chess

A Novel
By Stefan Zweig
Series: Penguin Modern Classics
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Check link for latest rating. ( 162,786 ratings, 13,296 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Chess by Stefan Zweig is a psychological novella exploring a tense, dramatic encounter between a chess grandmaster and an unlikely opponent on a transatlantic ship. The story delves into themes of obsession, resilience, and the human mind's capacity for strategy and survival. It encapsulates a high-stakes mental duel that reveals much about human nature and psychological depth.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$1700
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this fascinating exploration of psychological conflict and strategy, set against the backdrop of a tense chess competition. The narrative delves into themes of obsession and the human mind, making it especially appealing if you appreciate stories rich in psychological depth and dramatic tension.

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Chess

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Stefan Zweig's classic novella of obsession, madness and chess.

In 1941, a cruise ship is heading to Buenos Aires, and on board, a group of eager passengers challenge the reigning world chess champion to a match. At first, they lose pitifully, until a kind stranger aids them by whispering instructions. He is a masterful chess player, and as they play, the game itself draws the stranger closer and closer to its secrets.

Chess, by Stefan Zweig, is a disturbing, intensely dramatic depiction of the cost of obsession, set in a Central Europe traumatised by the psychological influence of Nazism.

Series: Penguin Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Chess by Stefan Zweig has been praised for its brilliant writing and celebrated as a prime example of his mastery in short storytelling. The book is lauded as perhaps the best story ever written about the game, with comparisons to literary giants like Maupassant and Chekhov. Its translation into English has brought joy to new audiences, revealing Zweig’s unique literary talent.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241305164

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 June 2017

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Translated by Anthea Bell
  • Translated by Anthea Bell

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 6.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 79g

Pages: 96

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Penguin Books Penguin Classics Series: Penguin Modern Classics Stefan Zweig

About the Author

Stefan Zweig was born in 1881 in Vienna to a wealthy Austrian-Jewish family. Recognition as a writer came early for Zweig; by the age of forty, he had already won literary fame. In 1934, with Nazism entrenched, Zweig left Austria for England, and became a British citizen in 1940. In 1941 he and his second wife went to Brazil, where they committed suicide. Zweig's best-known works of fiction are Beware of Pity (1939) and Chess (1942), but his most outstanding accomplishments were his many biographies, which were based on psychological interpretation.

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