Chess Book For Kids

This week I have a book where kids face off in the ultimate competition.  It's head to head, winner take all.  Only the strong survive and battles can take place over hours or be lost in minutes.  If you don't have the mental toughness you won't make it through the three days it takes to become the ultimate victor.  Oh, and did I mention .... it's chess!

Don't forge to Like One Great Book on Facebook or Twitter for all the books where the ultimate throw down is Black Bishop's Pawn to C5 - otherwise known as the Sicilian Defense!  Ok, I may have sort of made that up, but I had you going for a minute ... didn't I?

Title:       Grandmaster

Author:   David Klass

Target:    Grades 5 and up

Series:     No

What this book is about: 
Daniel is a freshman at a private high school.  In middle school he used to be good at lots of things.  Now he is mediocre at everything he once enjoyed.  He joins the chess team in an attempt to make new friends, but chess at this high school is no laughing matter and the most popular kids run the club.  They corner him into entering a father/son chess tournament in New York City when they find out Daniel’s father is a Grandmaster, the highest rank in chess.  The problem - Daniel never even knew his father played chess.  This will weekend will be filled with high stakes chess games and eye opening experiences.

Why I love this book: 
Chess is cool!  Any author who can make a chess tournament an edge of your seat competition is a hero in my book.  Winning is everything and annihilating your competition is encouraged,   The chess sequences were a whole lot of fun and the rivalry was intense.  

There are of course also lessons about father and son relationships and how to treat others which made the book a bit predictable for an older audience  If I have one criticism it would be that I wish the ending hadn’t been so neatly wrapped up, but all in all this book was so good at making chess a riveting game, that I can easily forgive the other.  I couldn’t put it down.

Who this book is for:
You do not have to be a Grandmaster to appreciate this book.  The chess is not overly complex so kids can really enjoy it with simply a basic understanding of the game.  Kids who are not fans of chess will not be able to help being caught up in this competition.  In fact, it may open their eyes to the game.

Final thoughts: 
A competition with athletes of the mind can be just as compelling as a physical battle.  The intensity makes it a can’t put down read.  I made my kids watch Searching For Bobby Fischer after this book.  A great movie!

To purchase this book:
Click on the following link to connect to Amazon: Grandmaster  A portion of each purchase goes to support this blog at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support.