Checkmate: Scandal, cheating and the billion-dollar rise of chess
Daily Maverick | 07.10.2026 14:00
In a world where the strongest minds collide across a chequered battlefield, Magnus Carlsen has emerged as the undisputed kingpin, enjoying a 12-year uninterrupted reign as the highest-ranked chess player on earth. But when Carlsen suffers an abrupt defeat at the hands of the audacious and brash American teenager Hans Niemann, the kingdom begins to wobble. Here is an extract from Checkmate by Ben Mezrich.
