Fascism had an antagonist movement, Resistance. The story is deepened by these events: it becomes an intense story, even if short, and a symbol of the writer’s life, aspirations, dreams and pains. However he couldn’t overcome the pain caused by losing “his” world, which he had so deeply described and embodied. In 1942 he went even farther, taking a ship through the ocean (maybe he had the idea of the set from this experience) and escaped with his second wife to Brazil, where he wrote this short story. In the 30’s Nazism advanced and violently destroyed everything Zweig believed in. He wrote a lot, especially essays, biographies and research texts. He embodied the spirit of Central Europe. Stefan Zweig was a really famous writer in Europe in the 20’s and 30’s.

It is important to understand who wrote this short story and when he did it. The suspense is so high that you can’t stop reading till you reach the last page. The match on the chessboard is a narrative metaphor the Author uses to convey the conflict between the Central-Europe civilization and Nazism. Czentovic’s protagonist/antagonist only appears after many pages, giving life to the core of the short story. The narrator is a passenger who just plays this (after all secondary) role. Zweig mixes reality and fantasy and puts together the names of real past champions with his fictional ones.

Additional info Author Stefan Zweig Title Chess Story Translator Joel Rotenberg Publisher New York Review of Books, 2005 Info 84 pages, £10.36Ī ship travels through the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to Buenos Aires, a small closed world where some peculiar characters live and, among others, a baseborn great chess champion stands out, “the” reigning chess champion, Mirko Czentovic.

Chess book stefan zweig