A Game of Chess and Other Stories (Alma Classics Evergreens) - Softcover

Stefan Zweig

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847495818 ISBN 13: 9781847495815

Publisher: Alma Classics, 2016

Synopsis

When it is discovered that the reigning world chess champion, Mirko Czentovic, is on board a cruiser heading for Buenos Aires, a fellow passenger challenges him to a game. Czentovic easily defeats him, but during the rematch a mysterious Austrian, Dr B., intervenes and, to the surprise of everyone, helps the underdog obtain a draw. When, the next day, Dr B. confides in a compatriot travelling on the same ship and decides to reveal the harrowing secret behind his formidable chess knowledge, a chilling tale of imprisonment and psychological torment unfolds.Stefan Zweig's last and most famous story, 'The Game of Chess' was written in exile in Brazil and explores its author's anxieties about the situation in Europe following the rise of the Nazi regime. The tale is presented here in a brand-new translation, along with three of the master storyteller's most acclaimed novellas: 'Twenty-four Hours in the Life of a Woman', 'The Invisible Collection' and 'Incident on Lake Geneva'.

About this title

Review:

Perhaps the best chess story ever written, perhaps the best about any game. --The Economist

A perfect introduction to Zweig. --The Jewish Chronicle

It is somehow progressively thrilling, yet consistently still and calculated. With barely a note out of tune, this is a short story masterclass. --The Big Issue

About the Author:

One of the most prominent European writers of the 1920s and 1930s, Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) left his native Austria in 1934 following the rise of Nazism, committing suicide in exile in Brazil.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alma Classics
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1847495818
• ISBN 13: 9781847495815
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320