The nation's gambit

There are just not enough novels with a chess theme. The nation's gambit (Original title: En nasjon i sjakk) is an exception. I heard about the book when it came out, but since I usually don't like crime novels, I paid little attention to it. During a book sale, I found the book at a very low price, and decided to give it a chance. Surprisingly, I ended up enjoying it.

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What can you expect from this book?

The nation's gambit is the debut novel by Norwegian author Johan Høst. The original title "En nasjon i sjakk" literally translates to "a nation in check", which is a play on words; being in check vs in shock. In Norwegian, the word for chess and check is the same, which puts chess directly in the title. This doesn't work as well in English, which probably explains why the English title is a bit different.

The outline of the book is that the Norwegian prime minister has been kidnapped and put in a cage in front of the parliament building. The cage is rigged with a timed bomb, and the kidnapper/terrorist challenges the government to a game of chess. But what's the catch?

This chess game has higher stakes than your normal game. Every time the terrorist captures a piece, someone dies. If the king falls (checkmate), the prime minister will be blown to bits. If the authorities don't make a move, the time will run out, and the prime minister will be blown to bits. Apart from the bomb, you'll recognize this plot from the 90's series Twin Peaks in which Windom Earle challenges agent Cooper to a game with similar premises.

When playing a chess game with stakes at this level, you need help. So the authorities turn to the strongest chess player in the country: Magnus Carlsen. Only problem is, he is not available – bummer! So they turn to the unknown (but equally famous) Sven Øen, who is also a top level player.

In the book, we follow the drama on the chess board in parallel with how the government officials and the police piece together the clues. As more pieces come off the board, more people fall victim to the terrorist, and more information is made available to reveal the identity of the terrorist.

Overall, I think this is a fun take on the crime genre. I don't think the authorities would agree to play a chess game against a terrorist – at least not with these conditions. But apart from that, it's a good story and a very entertaining read – even for someone like me who don't usually like crime novels.

Who should read this book?

This is a crime novel and not a chess book. Although the chess has a central role in the book, no chess knowledge is required. So this is a book for anyone - more or less. Being a crime story, it has a bit of violence and murder, which makes the book unsuitable for children. Apart from that, I would recommend this as a light read to anyone.

About this book

Author:	Johan Høst
Title:	The nation's gambit / En nasjon i sjakk
Type of book:	Miscellaneous
Level:	Any

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