Chess Novel Tops Goodreads Awards

Chess has found its way back into the spotlight―this time through the lens of a new female protagonist. Check & Mate, written by New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood, won the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction.

The novel follows the reluctant prodigy, Mallory Greenleaf, whose struggling family has a tragic background with the ancient game. As Greenleaf plays in what she intends to be her last tournament, she achieves a stunning upset victory vs. the reigning world champion, opening unexpected doors and sweeping her into the world of competitive chess. 

Choosing to write anonymously, Ali Hazelwood is the author’s pen name. She is also a neuroscience professor, and her stories primarily focus on women in STEM fields. After crafting storylines about a biologist, a neuroscientist, a theoretical physicist, and a variety of engineers, Hazelwood added chess player to her ever-growing list of astute female protagonists. 

Check & Mate Is Hazelwood's debut in young adult fiction. Why did she set it in the world of chess? In an interview with Bookselling This Week, the author shared:

Professional chess players, though, have always fascinated me, mostly because of the discipline and dedication necessary to rise to the top, and I’d been wanting to write a story centering them for a while. Plus, my undergraduate research mentor had run several studies that used chess as an environment to examine how gender stereotypes affect performance, so it’s a sport that always felt close my heart.

It's a sport that always felt close to my heart.

―Ali Hazelwood

How does Hazelwood connect the age-old strategy game with a modern young adult romance story? The book embraces the appeal of the hard work and dedication it takes to improve. Here's the description of the male lead, Nolan Sawyer:

He wakes up earlier, falls asleep later, works harder than anyone I’ve ever seen. The rigors he puts himself through, the single-minded, indefatigable stubbornness as he stares at the engines, dissecting, retracing, combining, projecting. He’s tireless, unshakable. Driven in an indomitable, near-obsessive way. This iron-hard tenacity of his is an oddly attractive quality.

Hazelwood herself isn’t a competitive chess player, and it’s apparent in the occasional technicality. Yet, the chess theme isn’t just there for decoration, the book explores real elements of the game, such as the rigorous training it takes to compete at the top levels and why chess players work so hard to improve:

Because we hate feeling like we did anything less than our absolute best.

―Ali Hazelwood

“I should’ve played rook c6. She could have had me three times… I cannot believe I am even allowed within ten feet of a chessboard.”
“You won, Mallory.”
“It was a disaster. It qualifies for federal relief—I didn’t deserve to win.”
“Lucky for you, in chess deserving and undeserving wins count the same.”
“You don’t understand. I messed up so many—”
Defne puts a hand on my shoulder. I quiet. “This. This feeling you have right now? Remember it. Bottle it. Feed it.”
“What?”
“This is why chess players study, Mallory. Why we’re so obsessed with replaying games and memorizing openings.”
“Because we hate to draw?”
“Because we hate feeling like we did anything less than our absolute best.”

The book also delves into an ongoing significant issue in chess―recently revisited by GM Judit Polgar―gender stereotypes about ability. Early in the story, the main character, Greenleaf, initially overlooks that the female chess club host could also be a grandmaster:

“I’m supposed to meet one of the GMs, and—”
“That’s me.”
“Oh.” I flush. “I—I’m so sorry. I didn’t think you were—” A GM. I flush some more. Why did I not think that? …Because she’s a woman? There are tons of women GMs. 

God, is this what Easton means when she talks about internalized misogyny?

As Greenleaf navigates her way through a fictionalized yet similar version of the chess world, the novel explores the challenges that women competitors face. It also cites a real-life study of the effect of stereotypes in chess. One of the major characters even has a tattoo of the final position from GM Judit Polgar's pivotal victory vs. GM Garry Kasparov in 2002.

Moreover, Check & Mate is inclusive of other underrepresented identities in the chess community. In addition to featuring a female protagonist, the book’s main character and her best friend each have orientations within the LGBTQ umbrella. 

Check & Mate has also thrived on Amazon, currently ranking as number two in Teen & Young Adult Sports Fiction and number one in two eBook categories, Teen & Young Adult Sports Fiction eBooks and Teen & Young Adult Romantic Comedy eBooks.