Skip to product information
1 of 1

Acantilado

Chess Story

Chess Story

Our Review

Don't let the title fool you! You don't need to know how to play chess for this book to hook you and not let go until the last page. It is a story about obsession as a refuge and as a condemnation. Zweig tells us how the human mind can fracture under the pressure of absolute isolation (Nazi torture) and how chess becomes the only lifeline.

The Acantilado edition is, as always, simple and perfect: impeccable translation, cream-colored paper that is a pleasure to touch, and the sobriety that a classic of this caliber demands.

At Casa Drojan, we consider it required reading to understand the 20th century and the human psyche. It reads in an afternoon, it's remembered for a lifetime.

💡 FUN FACT: This is Stefan Zweig's literary testament, written shortly before his suicide, and the urgency and mastery in every sentence are evident.

Book Details

Synopsis

On an ocean liner traveling from New York to Buenos Aires, the world chess champion, Mirko Czentovic, an unusual man, faces a mysterious passenger, Mr. B. What begins as a simple game to pass the time turns into a brutal psychological duel. Mr. B. is not a professional player, but a survivor of Gestapo prisons who learned to play in the emptiness of his cell to avoid losing his mind. Zweig weaves a masterful plot about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of barbarism.

About the author

Stefan Zweig (Vienna, 1881 - Petrópolis, 1942) was one of the most important and influential writers of the first half of the 20th century. An essayist, biographer, and novelist, his work is a hymn to European humanism and peace. Fleeing Nazism, he ended his days in Brazil. He is the author of masterpieces such as The World of Yesterday, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and Decisive Moments in History.

Technical Sheet

  • Author: Stefan Zweig

  • Publisher: Acantilado

  • Translation: Manuel Lobo

  • Binding: Paperback

  • Pages: 94

  • Edition: 2025

Regular price €11,40 EUR
Regular price €12,00 EUR Sale price €11,40 EUR
Sale Sold out
Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.
Please select a gift wrap

Escribe aquí tu nota especial (Opcional):

View full details

Our Philosophy

Reading and book selection

Our philosophy is very simple: we read and select every title we offer for sale.