Archive · 27 Oct 2025
A Chess Story: Zweig's Novella Explores Freedom and Solitude
A Chess Story is about a world chess champion named Czentovic who meets a mysterious man, Dr. B, on a ship.
Dr. B is a secret chess expert who plays against the champion.
The story then flashes back to how Dr. B was held in a Nazi prison.
To stay sane, he learned to play chess in his mind using a book he stole.
The book was a detailed collection of chess matches, and Dr. B used it to keep himself occupied.
Back on the ship, Dr. B's mental chess skills are put to the test when he faces the world champion in a match.
The story shows how chess can be a source of both obsession and freedom.
A Chess Story, by Stefan Zweig, follows a world chess champion.
The story involves a chess match on a ship from New York to Buenos Aires.
A second match involves a man named Dr. B, a chess expert.
Dr. B recounts his experience in a Nazi prison.
The novella explores themes of freedom, solitude, and the human psyche.
- Who
- Stefan Zweig (author) and characters Mirko Czentovic and Dr. B
- What
- Exploration of freedom and solitude through chess matches
- When
- Set during WWII era; the story was written in 1942
- Where
- A steamship and a Nazi prison
- Why
- To explore the human condition and the impact of confinement and persecution
- Author
- Stefan Zweig
- Original Publication
- 1942
- Setting
- Steamship from New York to Buenos Aires and Nazi prison
- Translated by
- Alexander Starritt (Pushkin Press)
- Main Characters
- Mirko Czentovic (World Chess Champion), Dr. B