The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab – 384 pages
Book Blurb:
Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid chess player, and, as a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a young woman brave beyond her years. Captured by the Gestapo, she is imprisoned in Auschwitz, but while her family is sent to their deaths, she is spared. Realizing her ability to play chess, the sadistic camp deputy, Karl Fritzsch, decides to use her as a chess opponent to entertain the camp guards. However, once he tires of exploiting her skills, he has every intention of killing her.
Befriended by a Catholic priest, Maria attempts to overcome her grief, vows to avenge the murder of her family, and plays for her life. For four grueling years, her strategy is simple: Live. Fight. Survive. By cleverly provoking Fritzsch’s volatile nature in front of his superiors, Maria intends to orchestrate his downfall. Only then will she have a chance to evade the fate awaiting her and see him punished for his wickedness.
As she carries out her plan and the war nears its end, she challenges her former nemesis to one final game, certain to end in life or death, in failure or justice. If Maria can bear to face Fritzsch—and her past—one last time.
My Review: 4.5 stars
The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab is an engaging and compelling story about the cost of survival, letting go of guilt, life during the war, and of course, chess. Chess has become “trendy”, if you will, since the book and Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit came out. Chess is a game of strategy, forward thinking and risk. In this book, Not only does Maria (our protagonist) play to survive, but she also attributes the rules and lessons of chess as a means to move forward.
This story spans from the early1940s through 1982, which is just enough to complete the arc of Maria’s storyline. We watch her grow from a young girl with her family in Poland to a resistance worker to a horrific existence in Auschwitz and beyond. The friendships and alliances she makes along the way are a welcome counter to the despicable guards she encounters in the camps.
It is evident that the author did extensive research. In the lengthy author’s note, you’ll learn how several character’s actions are mirrored from real experiences during the war. If this debut is typical of her writing, I look forward to see what she comes up with next. Readers of WWII fiction will enjoy this one.
Quotes I liked:
True freedom comes from bravery, strength, and goodness. The only one who can take those from you is you.”
“In a place like this, even false hope is better than no help at all.”
“It’s a mother’s responsibility to fuss, Gentile or Jew.”
“My body was starving, yet my soul was starving even more. Starving for kindness, compassion, love, everything I once took for granted.”
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