When it is discovered that the reigning world chess champion, Mirko
Czentovic, is on board a cruiser heading for Buenos Aires, a fellow
passenger challenges him to a game. Czentovic easily defeats him, but
during the rematch a mysterious Austrian, Dr B., intervenes and, to the
surprise of everyone, helps the underdog obtain a draw. When, the next
day, Dr B. confides in a compatriot travelling on the same ship and
decides to reveal the harrowing secret behind his formidable chess
knowledge, a chilling tale of imprisonment and psychological torment
unfolds.
Stefan Zweig's last and most famous story, 'A Game of Chess' was written
in exile in Brazil and explores its author's anxieties about the
situation in Europe following the rise of the Nazi regime. The tale is
presented here in a brand-new translation, along with three of the
master storyteller's most acclaimed novellas: Twenty-four Hours in the
Life of a Woman, The Invisible Collection and Incident on Lake Geneva.