Love The Queen's Gambit? Readers share 100 books like The Queen's Gambit...

By Walter Tevis,

Here are 100 books that The Queen's Gambit fans have personally recommended if you like The Queen's Gambit. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Darwin's Radio

I. Graham Smith Author Of The Builder Awakens

From my list on underdogs overcoming great odds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I canā€™t help but smile when I read stories about the underdog and the weak rising in strength. The small things that are overlooked are often what is most important, and something in me just itches to watch that tiny mustard seed grow into a powerful entity in its own right. When I started writing in earnest, I didnā€™t intentionally set my feet along the same paths. Nevertheless, the stories I write have my DNA within them. Though these books vary in genre, Iā€™m excited to recommend them, and I expect that youā€™ll enjoy them as much as I did.

I. Graham's book list on underdogs overcoming great odds

I. Graham Smith Why did I. Graham love this book?

I found this book to be a fascinating science-fiction pandemic thriller that covers an epic time scale and some really crazy ideas. The writing captured my attention quickly, and I found this story to be an intense read. The plot surfaced moments in my imagination where I couldnā€™t help but question the likelihood of these events happening in our modern-day world.

I also relate to Christopher Dicken (the protagonist), a virus hunter who makes an unbelievable discovery. His attempts to uncover the truth about human evolution and save his family against what seems like every power on earth felt very real to me. Itā€™s a wild story that has stuck with me over the years, and itā€™s definitely worth reading again.

By Greg Bear,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Darwin's Radio as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A 2000 HUGO AWARD NOMINEE

Ancient diseases encoded in the DNA of humans wait like sleeping dragons to wake and infect again--or so molecular biologist Kaye Lang believes. And now it looks as if her controversial theory is in fact chilling reality. For Christopher Dicken, a "virus hunter" at the Epidemic Intelligence Service, has pursued an elusive flu-like disease that strikes down expectant mothers and their offspring. Then a major discovery high in the Alps --the preserved bodies of a prehistoric family--reveals a shocking link: something that has slept in our genes for millions of years is waking up.

Now,ā€¦


Book cover of Gateway

Jan Byron Strogh Author Of Act of God: In the Beginning

From my list on prescient scifi about artificial intelligence.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a graduate in computer science and electronics, I have had a successful career in the tech sector. I am interested in writing about the pattern of evolution that manifests in both humanity and machines. My books are based on science and contemplate the long history of human spirituality and how the two must someday converge.

Jan's book list on prescient scifi about artificial intelligence

Jan Byron Strogh Why did Jan love this book?

This book presents a not-uncommon theme of humans discovering wondrous alien technology. But rather than this technology being sequestered in top secret labs or carefully reverse-engineered, it is given to risk-takers and thrill seekers for the promise of riches.

I love the way Pohl builds his characters, both human and non-human. Set in a vastly overpopulated Earth, humans remain plagued by poverty, national barriers, class distinctions, and the full gamut of the best and the worst we have to offer. 

The gateway series offers two unique views of artificial intelligence. 

Early in the series, the story takes a deep dive into the actual psychology of the protagonist through an artificial intelligence therapist. It's easy to simply enjoy this subplot, but this theme deserves a good, hard look. Our world is rife with mental issues that range from personal questions to dangerous pathology. Human expertise and resources are inadequate to meetā€¦

By Frederik Pohl,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Gateway as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the very best must-read SF novels of all time

Wealth ... or death. Those were the choices Gateway offered. Humans had discovered this artificial spaceport, full of working interstellar ships left behind by the mysterious, vanished Heechee.

Their destinations are preprogrammed. They are easy to operate, but impossible to control. Some came back with discoveries which made their intrepid pilots rich; others returned with their remains barely identifiable. It was the ultimate game of Russian roulette, but in this resource-starved future there was no shortage of desperate volunteers.


Book cover of One Second After

I. Graham Smith Author Of The Builder Awakens

From my list on underdogs overcoming great odds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I canā€™t help but smile when I read stories about the underdog and the weak rising in strength. The small things that are overlooked are often what is most important, and something in me just itches to watch that tiny mustard seed grow into a powerful entity in its own right. When I started writing in earnest, I didnā€™t intentionally set my feet along the same paths. Nevertheless, the stories I write have my DNA within them. Though these books vary in genre, Iā€™m excited to recommend them, and I expect that youā€™ll enjoy them as much as I did.

I. Graham's book list on underdogs overcoming great odds

I. Graham Smith Why did I. Graham love this book?

I love how this book takes the man of the hour through the wringer and reveals the diamond inside. John Matherson is presented with a choice that causes him to voluntarily give up a lifelong career to handle a difficult family illness. I canā€™t help but think that the selflessness involved in a choice like that is uncommon and makes for a great hero.

There is suffering, and then the world practically ends. That double-whammy punch and the way John contends with the world around him is what makes this story so riveting. This story is really about one man who stands alone against every nightmare the world has to offer. His endurance against these odds is quite beautiful.

By William R. Forstchen,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked One Second After as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A post-apocalyptic thriller of the after effects in the United States after a terrifying terrorist attack using electromagnetic pulse weapons.

New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.

Months beforeā€¦


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Book cover of Bessie

Bessie by Linda Kass,

In the bigoted milieu of 1945, six days after the official end of World War II, Bess Myerson, the daughter of poor Russian immigrants living in the Bronx, remarkably rises to become Miss America, the first ā€”and to date onlyā€” Jewish woman to do so. At stake is a $5,000ā€¦

Book cover of Henry Martyn

I. Graham Smith Author Of The Builder Awakens

From my list on underdogs overcoming great odds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I canā€™t help but smile when I read stories about the underdog and the weak rising in strength. The small things that are overlooked are often what is most important, and something in me just itches to watch that tiny mustard seed grow into a powerful entity in its own right. When I started writing in earnest, I didnā€™t intentionally set my feet along the same paths. Nevertheless, the stories I write have my DNA within them. Though these books vary in genre, Iā€™m excited to recommend them, and I expect that youā€™ll enjoy them as much as I did.

I. Graham's book list on underdogs overcoming great odds

I. Graham Smith Why did I. Graham love this book?

I loved this book because Henry Martyn is a cunning and dreaded pirate. I think pirates are cool, but space pirates who have suffered at the hands of tyrannical and brutal overlords are positively exquisite in their vengeance. I also enjoyed this book because of its huge scope and the way it highlights the weaknesses of an overextended central government that is unable to provide justice for its citizens.

While the story of Henry Martyn can be dark at times, the process of his transformation from country folk to the terror of the Monopolity is very gratifying. By the time I got to the end, I couldnā€™t help but cheer when Henry crushed his enemies underfoot.

By L. Neil Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Henry Martyn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Armed with his wit and determination, Henry Martyn, a young rebel, sets out to regain his birthright, stolen from his family by a vicious vassal of an empire seeking to control the entire universe


Book cover of Pandolfini's Endgame Course: Basic Endgame Concepts Explained by America's Leading Chess Teacher

Charles Hertan Author Of Forcing Chess Moves: The Key to Better Calculation

From my list on understanding and playing better chess enjoyably.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a nerdy kid growing up in New York in the 1970s, I got swept up in the ā€œFischer Boomā€ of 1972 when Bobby Fischer became the first official American World Champion, and chess clubs and tournaments sprouted up around the country. I persevered to become one of the top 30-ranked players. Iā€™ve coached chess since my teens, with students ranging from ages 3 to 95. Not until my 40ā€™s did I discover that I had perhaps an even greater talent and passion for writing. My first book Forcing Chess Moves presented a novel and challenging approach to how to think ahead in chess, and understand human biases which can blind us to winning ideas.

Charles' book list on understanding and playing better chess enjoyably

Charles Hertan Why did Charles love this book?

Once you have some practice playing chess, studying endgames is one of the most important roads to improvement. Endgames are situations where many trades have already occurred, leaving few chessmen remaining on the board. In these positions the remaining pieces have a lot more room to roam, and since they have only a few teammates around them we can see more clearly how they operate, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Famed New York coach Bruce Pandolfini, portrayed in the most famous chess film, Searching for Bobby Fischer, takes a subject mystifying to many and distills the essence of the most important endgames, with easy-to-understand diagrams and explanations. I was already a strong endgame player when I read this book, but I learned a lot and was so impressed, Iā€™ve recommended it to students ever since.

By Bruce Pandolfini,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pandolfini's Endgame Course as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Based on his private course for students, America's foremost chess coach and game strategist for Netflix's The Queen's Gambit presents an easy-to-use guide that explains invaluable "inner circle" endgame concepts for players of any level.

The endgame has always been a particularly instructive phase of chess play. It provides the perfect opportunity for understanding the potential power of each chess piece in every chess situation-from opening move to checkmate.

But the endgame is often viewed as an inaccessible area of play by most players whose experience is limited to watching championship games. Now, Pandolfini changes all of that.

With oneā€¦


Book cover of Chess Queens: The True Story of a Chess Champion and the Greatest Female Players of All Time

Matthew Sadler Author Of The Silicon Road To Chess Improvement: Chess Engine Training Methods, Opening Strategies & Middlegame Techniques

From my list on (in)famous chess players.

Why am I passionate about this?

I first saw a chessboard at the age of 7 and became a professional chess player at 16, achieving the grandmaster title after just 3 years. Many years later ā€“ and no longer a professional ā€“ that childhood love for a beautiful game still burns brightly. My particular passions are chess engines ā€“ which offer a glimpse into the chess of the future ā€“ and the lives and games of historical chess players. Iā€™ve reviewed hundreds of books for New in Chess magazine and I particularly love books that challenge my understanding of chess and show me new facets to old knowledge. I hope you love these books too! 

Matthew's book list on (in)famous chess players

Matthew Sadler Why did Matthew love this book?

While much has been written about the best male players, the lives and games of the best female players have rarely been spotlighted (with the exception of the inimitable Judit Polgar).

A few recent books (I will mention also She Plays to Win by Lorin Dā€™Costa) are starting to turn this around.

Shahade is a well-known media personality, a very strong chess player and poker player and writes lucidly both about her own journey within the male-dominated world of modern chess, and about the journeys of historical players such as Vera Menchik.

I love books that show me facets and areas of chess about which I knew little ā€“ and make me think about them ā€“ and this book achieves this perfectly.

By Jennifer Shahade,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Chess Queens as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For fans of The Queen's Gambit, this is the real life story of a female chess champion travelling the world to compete in a male-dominated sport with the most famous players of all time.

Jennifer Shahade, a two-time US women's chess champion, spent her teens and twenties travelling the world playing chess. Tournaments have taken her from Istanbul to Moscow, and introduced her to players from Zambia to China. In this ultra male-dominated sport, Jennifer found shocking sexism, as well as an incredible history of the top female players that has often been ignored. But she also found friendships, feminismā€¦


Book cover of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Matthew Sussman Author Of Stylistic Virtue and Victorian Fiction: Form, Ethics, and the Novel

From my list on Victorian novels written in a weird style.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved literature, especially for its daring use of language. Thatā€™s how I became interested in the weird and strange styles of the nineteenth century. For many scholars, the Victorian novel is the most realistic form of writing ever produced and the closest that the novel comes to cinemaā€”so if you notice an authorā€™s style, then somethingā€™s gone wrong because it disrupts the illusion of reality. But it doesnā€™t take much to realise that even the most realistic novels have styles that are highly distinct and that the Victorian period is full of other writers whose styles are bizarre, extreme, or fascinatingly eccentric. 

Matthew's book list on Victorian novels written in a weird style

Matthew Sussman Why did Matthew love this book?

This book has become so familiar to us through cartoons and movies that we often forget how very weird it is as a piece of writing. The book begins when Alice, bored of her sisterā€™s company, notices a white rabbit muttering to itself ā€œOh dear! Oh dear!ā€, and starts to become curiousā€”not, mind you, because talking rabbits are impossible, but only because they are so very intriguing.

The rest of the book shares this bemused tone: Alice will be subjected to all sorts of indignities, including a near-beheading, but as a ā€œgoodā€ Victorian girl, she will generally accept the bizarre reality that is presented to her. Carrollā€™s mastery of language is key to this effect. Nearly every character sounds sensible, turning well-formed logical sentences, but they never make much actual sense, and their speeches are riddled with so many puns, double meanings, and other linguistic tricks that one can neverā€¦

By Lewis Carroll,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel by English author Lewis Carroll (the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson). It tells of a young girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children.

One of the best-known and most popular works of English-language fiction, its narrative, structure, characters and imagery have been enormouslyā€¦


Book cover of Smyslov on the Couch

Matthew Sadler Author Of The Silicon Road To Chess Improvement: Chess Engine Training Methods, Opening Strategies & Middlegame Techniques

From my list on (in)famous chess players.

Why am I passionate about this?

I first saw a chessboard at the age of 7 and became a professional chess player at 16, achieving the grandmaster title after just 3 years. Many years later ā€“ and no longer a professional ā€“ that childhood love for a beautiful game still burns brightly. My particular passions are chess engines ā€“ which offer a glimpse into the chess of the future ā€“ and the lives and games of historical chess players. Iā€™ve reviewed hundreds of books for New in Chess magazine and I particularly love books that challenge my understanding of chess and show me new facets to old knowledge. I hope you love these books too! 

Matthew's book list on (in)famous chess players

Matthew Sadler Why did Matthew love this book?

Genna Sosonko ā€“ a strong grandmaster in the 1970s and 1980s ā€“ knew the top players of his generation intimately and has written many brilliant portraits of these demon-riddled geniuses.

Sosonkoā€™s portrayal of the last years of the 7th World Champion Smyslov ā€“ nicknamed ā€œThe Handā€ for the peerless intuition that automatically placed pieces on the right squares ā€“ is a moving account of old age that brought tears to my eyes.

Smyslovā€™s later years were spent alone with his wife in a vast, rich house that, just like its occupants, inexorably decayed as ā€“ blinded by the fear that they might be cheated by housekeepers ā€“ they eschewed all help.

At the same time accusations surfaced of cheating during one of Smyslovā€™s greatest triumphs 50 years earlier. 

By Genna Sosonko,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Smyslov on the Couch as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In his third full-length memoir about one of the worldā€™s greatest ever chess players Genna Sosonko portrays a warm picture of the seventh world champion Vasily Smyslov, with whom he spent considerable time over the board, during tournaments and while meeting at each otherā€™s homes. Smyslov the man was far more balanced and spiritual than most of his contemporaries, capable of a relaxed and yet principled approach to life. Unlike most top players he was able to reach a very high standard in his chosen hobby ā€“ in his case, classical singing ā€“ even while playing chess at the veryā€¦


Book cover of Soviet Outcast

Matthew Sadler Author Of The Silicon Road To Chess Improvement: Chess Engine Training Methods, Opening Strategies & Middlegame Techniques

From my list on (in)famous chess players.

Why am I passionate about this?

I first saw a chessboard at the age of 7 and became a professional chess player at 16, achieving the grandmaster title after just 3 years. Many years later ā€“ and no longer a professional ā€“ that childhood love for a beautiful game still burns brightly. My particular passions are chess engines ā€“ which offer a glimpse into the chess of the future ā€“ and the lives and games of historical chess players. Iā€™ve reviewed hundreds of books for New in Chess magazine and I particularly love books that challenge my understanding of chess and show me new facets to old knowledge. I hope you love these books too! 

Matthew's book list on (in)famous chess players

Matthew Sadler Why did Matthew love this book?

Grigory Levenfish was arguably the strongest Soviet player of the late 1930s, winning the Soviet Championship in 1934 and 1937.

However, establishment favourite and future World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik - with whom he drew a long, tense match in 1937 ā€“ secured the official support and scarce international opportunities, leading a disillusioned Levenfish to gradually withdraw from competitive chess.

Levenfishā€™s memoirs are a reminder that the difference between fame and obscurity lies often not only in ability, and that the winnerā€™s narrative is not the only valid one. His personal account of the appalling suffering he faced during terrible winter of 1941 in the war-ravaged Soviet Union is particularly moving.

By Grigory Levenfish,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Soviet Outcast as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Levenfish describes in vivid detail the atmosphere of pre- and post-revolutionary Russia, giving first-hand impressions of some of the most famous names in early-twentieth-century chess, such as Lasker, Rubinstein, Alekhine and Capablanca ā€“ all of whom were personally known to him. Some of the stories stay long in the memory: descriptions of the hardships endured by players in the first USSR Championship that took place in the difficult years of the Civil War; of idyllic trips to the Caucasus and Crimea; of grim struggles for survival in the winter of 1941.

Soviet Outcast comprises Levenfish's annotations to 79 of hisā€¦


Book cover of The Rookie: An Odyssey through Chess (and Life)

Brin-Jonathan Butler Author Of The Grandmaster: Magnus Carlsen and the Match That Made Chess Great Again

From my list on the world of chess.

Why am I passionate about this?

We stumble onto games very early on in life and yet one game alone stood apart for me and hundreds of millions of other people over the centuries: chess. Across 1500 years of the games existence, chess has attracted players numbering in the billions regardless of language, culture, or creed, they were all unified in a passion for the irresistible allure of this remarkable game. In 2016, I was hired by Simon and Schuster to cover the world chess championship featuring arguably the greatest player ever to wield chess pieces, Magnus Carlsen. Fully immersing myself into the game during the researching and writing of the book, I collided with powerful themes.

Brin-Jonathan's book list on the world of chess

Brin-Jonathan Butler Why did Brin-Jonathan love this book?

Stephen Mossā€™s book about the history of chess and his obsession with it is one of the most pleasurable reads about chess for chess laymen. Itā€™s a kaleidoscopic portrait of the game and the characters and his own personal journey with the game is filled with color and humor. As Moss seeks fulfillment and gratification from the game he encounters a kind of mental torture again and again that resonated a great deal for me with so many of the people who devoted their lives to chess, willingly or unable to resist. 

By Stephen Moss,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Rookie as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Chess was invented more than 1,500 years ago, and is played in every country in the world. Stephen Moss sets out to master its mysteries, and unlock the secret of its enduring appeal. What, he asks, is the essence of chess? And what will it reveal about his own character along the way?

In a witty, accessible style that will delight newcomers and irritate purists, Moss imagines the world as a board and marches across it, offering a mordant report on the world of chess in 64 chapters - 64 of course being the number of squares on the chessboard.ā€¦


Book cover of Darwin's Radio
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