Today marks the release of Mind vs. Machine: The Chess Match That Changed the World, a graphic novel co-written with three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin and illustrated by Eisner winner Thien Pham. Published by Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan), it’s available now in hardcover ($22.99) and paperback ($14.99).
The book retells the 1997 match between reigning world champion Garry Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue, the moment a computer first defeated a grandmaster in tournament play. Maurice Ashley called the match live and narrates the story as it unfolds, opening with a present-day scene of him playing chess in a Brooklyn park before tracing the match’s buildup, its stakes, and its aftermath.
Early press has already taken note. ChessBase‘s Frederic Friedel, who lived through the match himself as part of Kasparov’s team, called the book an affirming story whose high stakes and taut atmosphere closely mirror contemporary issues in increasingly unprecedented technological times. It marks Ashley’s first appearance in a graphic novel.
Mind vs. Machine is available now from Macmillan, and wherever books are sold.
