CHECK & MATE

When Mallory was a young girl, she adored chess and the addictive feeling of winning. Because her dad was a grand-master, he taught her a lot of tips and tricks. She was supposed to start competing in tournaments when she turned 14, but things didn’t go as planned. Around that time, she caught her dad cheating on her mom with a lady arbiter (chess tournament official). She told her mom about the affair, who then kicked Mallory’s dad out of the house. 

 

Three years later, Mallory’s dad died from a drunk driving accident. Unfortunately, Mallory’s mom (a freelance writer) also began suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis, and because she doesn’t have a stable job with benefits, money is tight. She can’t afford high-quality meds, and a lot of other bills (mortgage, groceries, utilities, Mallory’s younger sister’s roller derby fees, Mallory’s other younger sister’s pet hamster’s food, etc.) fall onto Mallory. For the past few years, Mallory has been working as a car mechanic at the garage that her uncle used to co-own (before he sold his shares to the rude guy named Bob who manipulates customers by up-selling).

 

Mallory blames herself for everything. She has convinced herself that if she didn’t tell on her dad, then her mom never would have kicked him out, and he never would have had a reason to drive alone drunk on the night that he crashed and died. So Mallory pushes herself to pick up extra shifts when she can, and she decides not to go to college (since scholarships can pay you to go to college, but won’t pay for a mortgage and other bills). 

 

One day, Mallory’s best friend (Easton) convinces her to play at a charity tournament. At this tournament, Mallory beats the #1-ranked player in the world, Nolan (aka “The Kingkiller”). She is offered the opportunity of a 1-year fellowship to get paid to study chess, but she initially declines (so that she can focus on looking at long-term career options). But when Bob fires her (for honestly telling a customer that a car flush wasn’t necessary when he was trying to make the customer pay for it), Mallory doesn’t have a lot of options. She accepts the fellowship, thinking that she’ll just make it through the year, not think about chess outside the 9-5 hours, and look into other jobs when the year is up.

 

To avoid resurfacing difficult memories, Mallory tells her family that her new job is working at a senior center. She has to stretch this story when she travels places, such as to the Philly Open and the Chess Olympics. (Her family later secretly finds out anyways, as Mallory breaks headlines on Good Morning America, and distant relatives call about the exciting news).

 

At the Philly Open, Mallory was supposed to have a rematch with Nolan, but her previous opponent (a rude guy named Koch, who does whatever he can to get under his opponent’s skin, such as asking Mallory if the only reason she won against Nolan was “because she was wearing a low-cut top”) cites her for “cheating”. During Koch’s turns, she was doodling a picture of a hamster on a piece of paper that was only supposed to be used to record moves. There’s no way a doodle of a hamster could give her notes for planning out future moves, but rules are rules and she loses by default. (Although she still wins $10,000 for making it to the semi-finals, making her rethink chess as a viable career option.)

 

At a later match that’s supposed to determine who challenges Nolan for the World Champion title, Koch actually cheats during his match with Mallory. He doesn’t initially get caught, but when reviewing the footage, someone discovers that he was discreetly referencing his smartwatch. So Mallory challenges Nolan for the title. They draw the first few matches, then she finally wins. 

 

Mallory’s family comes clean to her that they know about her chess success, and Mallory’s mom lets her know that she shouldn’t blame herself for the family’s current situation. The fact that she told on her dad didn’t change the fact that he was the one choosing to be unfaithful. He also had a history of DUIs, so he was bound to get into an accident anyway. Mallory’s mom had thought that not going to college was what Mallory wanted, not what she felt like she was forced to choose. But thankfully, with Mallory’s chess winnings, Mallory’s mom can afford new meds and not worry about finances.

 

Fast-forward to the next World Championship, and Mallory is ranked #5 in the world (even though she’s the current World Champion). Nolan wins The Challengers, so he is going to be the person who challenges Mallory for the title back.

 

…………………..

 

QUOTES

​

“FIDE, the World Chess Federation (Why isn’t the acronym WCF? Not sure, but I suspect the French language is involved)” (22).

 

“The fact is, competitive chess is a sport, and like other sports, there’s little room at the top. Everyone knows who Usain Bolt is, but no one gives a shiitake mushroom about the fifteenth-fastest person in the world -- even though they’re still pretty damn fast” (54).

 

“It is a stupid board game, but it’s yours. I see the way you look at the pieces. It’s your world, isn’t it? The one you choose for yourself, well within your boundaries. You can be the queen in it. The king. The knight. Whatever you want. There are rules, and if you learn them well enough, then you’ll be able to control it. You’ll be able to rescue the pieces you care about. So unlike life, huh?” (172).

 

“When I’m with you, Mallory, everything is different. When I’m with you, I want to play more than I want to win” (339).

 

“If you ‘ship them hard’ and ‘want to believe,’ you might enjoy this little clue: three weeks ago, at a charity event, Nolan Sawyer -- who is a notoriously bad loser -- did not stop to take questions from journalists, But eyewitnesses reported that when asked how he felt about the possibility of Mallory Greenleaf occurring enough points to take the No. 1 spot from him, he simply smiled before walking away” (346-347).

 

………………………..

 

Mallory’s mentor (Defne) explains how the gender gap once had discouraged her from studying chess, until she learned about a study that proves that women have the capability to play chess as well as guys if you remove the stereotype. She even got a tattoo on her arm of a winning chess play between a female player and a sexist male player.

 

“You probably narrowly missed the interesting part. When kids grow up, start looking to the greats, and find out that Kasparov, their fave, once said that no woman could ever sustain a prolonged battle” (199)

 

“Some scientist in Europe took a bunch of women and had them play online chess against male opponents in their same bracket. When the female players didn’t know the gender of their opponent, they won fifty percent of the games. When the female players were led to believe that their opponent was a woman, they won fifty percent. When they were told that they were playing against men, their performance dropped. But in truth, their opponents were always the same” (200). 

 

Tattoo: “Moscow, 2002. The final position of the game Judith Polagr won against Garry Kasparov. Despite that pesky thing he once referred to as her ‘imperfect feminine psyche’” (201).