Bookshelf

| browse books |
books
 

| book details |

Checkmate: Genius, Scandal and the Billion-Dollar Rise of Chess

By (author) Ben Mezrich





This book is currently unavailable. Enquire to check if we can source a used copy


| book description |

‘Mezrich’s books are the sort of engrossing reads you pick up in the airport then find the blockbuster film on the plane’ – Evening Standard From the bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House comes this cinematic true story about the biggest scandal in modern chess. In September 2022, the chess world watched in disbelief as Magnus Carlsen, widely considered the greatest player in history, faced an unthinkable defeat against the nineteen-year-old American upstart, Hans Niemann. Within days, Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating – a bombshell allegation that rocked the chess world. As the scandal spiralled, Chess.com – the dominant force in online chess – launched a high-stakes investigation igniting a global media firestorm. But Checkmate is about more than a cheating scandal. It’s the story of a teenager willing to risk everything to rise to the top; a reclusive genius suddenly fighting to protect his legacy; and a centuries-old game transforming into a billion-dollar industry fuelled by streaming, sponsorships, and Silicon Valley power players. With exclusive access to the central figures, Ben Mezrich takes readers deep inside the weird, wild, and cutthroat world of competitive chess – where genius collides with ambition, and the wrong move could be your last.

| product details |



Normally shipped | Enquiries only
Publisher | Pan Macmillan
Published date | 4 Jun 2026
Language |
Format | Hardback
Pages | 304
Dimensions | 234 x 153 x 0mm (L x W x H)
Weight | 0g
ISBN | 978-1-0350-7045-9
Readership Age |
BISAC | games / chess


| other options |


| your trolley |

To view the items in your trolley please sign in.

| sign in |

| specials |

Exiles: Times book of the month 'Stanley Kubrick meets MR James'

Mason Coile
Paperback / softback
224 pages
was: R 520.95
now: R 468.95
Forthcoming

A terrifying locked-room mystery set in a remote outpost on Mars.

The Correspondent

Virginia Evans
Hardback
288 pages
was: R 495.95
now: R 445.95
Forthcoming


Theory & Practice

Michelle de Kretser
Hardback
192 pages
was: R 415.95
now: R 373.95
Available from overseas. Dispatched in aprox 4-8 weeks as local supplier is out of stock


Broken Country: AMAZON'S BOOK OF THE YEAR - THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER

Clare Leslie Hall
Paperback / softback
320 pages
was: R 395.95
now: R 355.95
Available from overseas. Dispatched in aprox 4-8 weeks as local supplier is out of stock

An epic love story with the pulse of a thriller that asks: what would you risk for a second chance at first love?