[Die Schachnovelle]
Year:
1942
Type:
Public:
Publisher:
NYRB Classics
Year of publication:
2005
Pages:
104
Moral assessment:
Type: Literature
Nothing inappropriate.
Some morally inappropriate content.
Contains significant sections contrary to faith or morals.
Contains some lurid passages, or presents a general ideological framework that could confuse those without much Christian formation.
Contains several lurid passages, or presents an ideological framework that is contrary or foreign to Christian values.
Explicitly contradicts Catholic faith or morals, or is directed against the Church and its institutions.
Literary quality:
Recommendable:
Transmits values:
Sexual content:
Violent content:
Vulgar or obscene language:
Ideas that contradict Church teaching:
The rating of the different categories comes from the opinion of Delibris' collaborators
Dr. B. is a discreet Austrian lawyer who is arrested by the Gestapo to extract information from him. To prevent his mind from giving in to torture, the doctor devotes himself to memorizing 150 chess games. While this memorization exercise will almost lead him to madness, it will eventually help him get free. Some time later, during a boat trip, Dr. B meets Mirko Czentovicz, world chess champion. Thanks to one of the passengers, both players end up facing each other. In this way Chess Story presents us with the clash of two antagonistic natures, reflecting the resilience of the human being who is subjected to extraordinary pressure. The book demonstrates Stefan Zweig's mastery to write a novel full of tension and intrigue in a few pages.
Author: Jorge Gaspar, Portugal
Update on: Mar 2025