Walter Tevis - The Queen's Gambit (Dell, 1983). 359 pp.

New scan. Searchable pdf (clearscan) with contents in bookmarks, accurate pagination and metadata, etc.


Excellent popular novel about a woman chess prodigy. Anyone interested in how to write fiction for story should read this book; it's beautifully crafted. Michael Ondaatje said: "The Queen's Gambit is sheer entertainment. It is a book I reread every few years--for the pure pleasure and skill of it."


description:

Eight year-old orphan Beth Harmon is quiet, sullen, and by all appearances unremarkable. That is until she plays her first game of chess. Her senses grow sharper, her thinking clearer, and for the first time in her life she feels herself fully in control. By the age of sixteen, she's competing for the U.S. Open championship. But as she hones her skills on the professional circuit, the stakes get higher, her isolation grows more frightening, and the thought of escape becomes all the more tempting. Engaging and fast-paced, The Queen's Gambit speeds to a conclusion as elegant and satisfying as a mate in four.