Chess Nuts by Julia Lawrinson

This is a book for chess players and non chess players. I am not a chess player and have no real interest in this game but I did enjoy this simple story about friends and sport and rivalries.

In this school, Phoenix Primary, there are the sport heroes and the chess players and the two groups do not mix. Then one day Jackson walks into the chess practice room “Jackson wanted to come back in, sit down, and blitz them all, but how could he? Everyone knew Jackson was the best athlete in the school, and why would someone like that hang around the chess room?”

At the heart of this story is friendship and self-discovery. Both Anna, the number one chess player, and Jackson have a lot to learn about themselves and each other, about prejudices and stereotypes and most of all about trust.

This book is a quick and enjoyable one especially if you don’t think deeply about character motivations or the strange parent child relationships. If you like chess then in this book you will also find game diagrams and quotes from famous chess players. If you are keen on sports then in this book you will find great scenes of swimming carnivals and cross country running.