A Game of Chess and Other Stories

When it’s discovered that world chess champion Mirko Czentovic is aboard a cruise ship bound for Buenos Aires, a fellow passenger can’t resist challenging him to a game. Czentovic wins effortlessly—until a rematch is interrupted by a mysterious Austrian, Dr. B., who unexpectedly guides the amateur to a draw. Intrigued, the passengers press for answers, and the next day Dr. B. confides in a fellow countryman, revealing the harrowing story behind his uncanny mastery of the game—a chilling account of solitary confinement, psychological torment, and a desperate battle to preserve his sanity.

Stefan Zweig's last and most famous story, 'A Game of Chess' was written in exile in Brazil and captures the author’s deep unease over the collapse of European humanism in the shadow of Nazism. This edition features a fresh new translation, accompanied by three more of Zweig’s most acclaimed novellas: Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman, The Invisible Collection, and Incident on Lake Geneva—each a testament to Zweig’s unparalleled skill at probing the depths of human emotion and obsession.