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Reviewed by:
  • Grandmaster by David Klass
  • Elizabeth Bush
Klass, David. Grandmaster. Foster/Farrar, 2014. [240p]. ISBN 978-0-374-32771-2 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 6-10.

Freshman Daniel Pratzer, a self-taught chess player, is making modest progress in his high school chess club, but he’s nowhere close to matching the abilities of the two senior officers. He’s therefore amazed when Eric and Brad invite him to participate in a high-profile chess tournament in Manhattan, in teams that will comprise a trio of father-son partners. The guys are frank with Daniel—it’s not his skills they’re after, but those of his grandmaster father. Grandmaster? That’s news to Daniel, who promptly confronts Dad for confirmation. It’s true, and Dad has no intention of returning to the game. However, he agrees on the condition that this is a one-off, and it will be played for the sake of father-son camaraderie rather than winning. In the course of the tournament, however, Dad faces off with an old, desperate rival who knows how to push all his buttons and induce a repeat of the breakdown that drove him from competitive chess years ago. Klass is in excellent control of his plot, moving swiftly to the tournament action, exploring the prickly behavior of Mr. Pratzer under pressure, and steadily closing in on the final showdown and likelihood of tragedy. Although much of the action revolves around Mr. Pratzer, Daniel is a credible narrator, by turns resentful, puzzled, and proud of his father’s hidden past. This will be a fine companion piece for Rich Wallace’s Perpetual Check (BCCB 4/09).

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