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Russisch eindspel
Voor de ogen van gechoqueerde toeschouwers wordt een krantenmagnaat doodgeschoten. Vijf dagen later krijgt de befaamde psychoanalyticus Dr. Otto Spethmann bezoek van de politie. Er is ook een student vermoord, volgens de politie is het een bekende van zijn dochter Catherina. Intussen wordt Spehtmann in beslag genomen door twee van zijn patiënten: Anna Petrovna, de plaatselijke schoonheid op wie hij totaal ongepast verliefd wordt, en het schaakgenie Rozental, die vlak voor het belangrijkste toernooi uit zijn carrière op instorten staat.
Geborgen over zijn schaakbord ontrafelt Spethmann de grote samenzwering die reikt tot in het hart van het Russische politieke establishment en de sinistere geheime politie.
Geborgen over zijn schaakbord ontrafelt Spethmann de grote samenzwering die reikt tot in het hart van het Russische politieke establishment en de sinistere geheime politie.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
23 people are currently reading
451 people want to read
About the author
Ronan Bennett
17 books48 followersRonan Bennett is a novelist and screenwriter who was born and brought up in Northern Ireland and now lives in London. His third novel, The Catastrophist, was nominated for the Whibread award in 1998. Havoc, in Its Third Year (2004) was listed for the Booker prize. Havoc has been adapted into a motion picture to be released later in 2012. His latest novel is Zugzwang. His television drama Top Boy will be broadcast by Channel 4 in November 2011.
In addition to Havoc and Top Boy, Ronan has an excessive amount of work writing and creating for both television and the screen.
Long before Ronan ever thought of becoming a writer, he did a brief stint in prison for crimes perpetrated by the Irish Republican Army, crimes he was wrongly accused for.
In addition to Havoc and Top Boy, Ronan has an excessive amount of work writing and creating for both television and the screen.
Long before Ronan ever thought of becoming a writer, he did a brief stint in prison for crimes perpetrated by the Irish Republican Army, crimes he was wrongly accused for.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
February 17, 2022
Tatal meu m-a invatat sa joc sah cand eram mica. Nu l-am invins niciodata insa nici nu regret pentru ca una dintre cele mai frumoase amintiri din copilarie este zambetul sau victorios. Am observat ca in ziua de azi se practica un altfel de sah, in care se sacrifica multe piese, diferit de stilul invatat de mine unde eram indrumata sa ma lupt pentru pastrarea fiecareia dintre ele cat mai mult.
Titlul original al romanului este "Zugzwang" si face referire la situatia din sah in care un jucator este pus intr-o pozitie de vulnerabilitate totala. El este obligat sa mute, insa orice mutare ii slabeste si mai mult pozitia.
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, ne aflam in 1914 in Sankt Petersburg, unde editorul unui ziar liberal, O. V. Gulko este ucis in plina strada. In ciuda numerosilor martori criminalul reuseste sa fuga. Pe de alta parte, la Sankt Petersburg urmeaza sa aiba loc senzationalul turneu de sah care-l are ca favorit pe Avrom Rozental.
Romanul este scris la persoana intai, naratiunea facandu-se din perspectiva renumitului psihanalist Otto Spethmann, care are ocazia sa-l trateze pe celebrul sahist. Politia insa gaseste intre timp un suspect pentru uciderea lui Gurko: chiar psihanalistul.
Inspectorul Licev este la fel de pasionat de sah ca si medicul si intre ei doi va incepe o partida palpitanta, un joc al mintii extrem de incitant. Si cum asemenea jocuri trebuie sa aiba mereu si o prezenta feminina seducatoare, o avem aici pe frumoasa Anna Petrovna care muta si ea cu inteligenta.
Otto va fi arestat si in timpul arestului va afla ca fiica lui, Catherine are legaturi cu cea de-a doua victima a ucigasului.
Desi aceasta partida se joaca intre Licev si Spethmann, meciul care va conta cu adevarat si care va duce la rezolvarea cazului va fi cel intre Spethmann si bunul sau prieten Kopelzon.
De-a lungul intregului roman avem inserate desene cu tabla de sah si mutarile facute de cei doi, astfel ca cititorul poate sa urmareasca si sa reconstruiasca intreaga partida. Am refacut si eu traseul mutarilor celor doi, finalul ducandu-ne cu gandul la titlul cartii, totul bazandu-se pe un pion in plus la sfarsit.
Am retinut un citat frumos despre Sankt Petersburg, un loc pe care sper sa-l vizitez si eu candva (nu chiar in aceasta perioada totusi!):
"Sankt Petersburg este magnific si monumental. Dar e si oribil de meschin, iar acolo unde magnificenta si meschinaria coexista va fi intotdeauna loc si pentru invidie, furie, cruzime, paranoia si violenta."
In concluzie va recomand acest roman, se citeste usor, rapid, este captivant, cu personaje reusite cu care cititorul poate usor empatiza. Atasez si cateva citate interesante:
"Poate ca Raiul exista dar, chiar daca e asa, pe pamantul acesta tot nu traim decat o viata. Sa-ti fie rapita, sa-ti fie retezata, schingiuita si scurtata de gardieni si politisti e un lucru groaznic. Dar e oare mai putin groaznica decat o viata netraita din cauza lasitatii cuiva?"
"In sah e usor sa te tulbure o pozitie complicata si atitudinea agresiva a adversarului. E nevoie intotdeauna de un ochi rece si un cap limpede. Calculeaza. Calculeaza variante concrete."
"Vinovatia nu dispare niciodata insa putem sa evitam repetarea faptei care a dat nastere rusinii."
"Traim in lanturi - lanturi ale datoriei, ale nevoii, ale responsabilitatii, ale viselor. Noi toti. Alegerea e doar o himera."
P.S. Ca sa ne amuzam, va invit sa urmariti si finalul unei scurte partide de sah pe care George Costanza din serialul Seinfeld o joaca :)
Titlul original al romanului este "Zugzwang" si face referire la situatia din sah in care un jucator este pus intr-o pozitie de vulnerabilitate totala. El este obligat sa mute, insa orice mutare ii slabeste si mai mult pozitia.
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, ne aflam in 1914 in Sankt Petersburg, unde editorul unui ziar liberal, O. V. Gulko este ucis in plina strada. In ciuda numerosilor martori criminalul reuseste sa fuga. Pe de alta parte, la Sankt Petersburg urmeaza sa aiba loc senzationalul turneu de sah care-l are ca favorit pe Avrom Rozental.
Romanul este scris la persoana intai, naratiunea facandu-se din perspectiva renumitului psihanalist Otto Spethmann, care are ocazia sa-l trateze pe celebrul sahist. Politia insa gaseste intre timp un suspect pentru uciderea lui Gurko: chiar psihanalistul.
Inspectorul Licev este la fel de pasionat de sah ca si medicul si intre ei doi va incepe o partida palpitanta, un joc al mintii extrem de incitant. Si cum asemenea jocuri trebuie sa aiba mereu si o prezenta feminina seducatoare, o avem aici pe frumoasa Anna Petrovna care muta si ea cu inteligenta.
Otto va fi arestat si in timpul arestului va afla ca fiica lui, Catherine are legaturi cu cea de-a doua victima a ucigasului.
Desi aceasta partida se joaca intre Licev si Spethmann, meciul care va conta cu adevarat si care va duce la rezolvarea cazului va fi cel intre Spethmann si bunul sau prieten Kopelzon.
De-a lungul intregului roman avem inserate desene cu tabla de sah si mutarile facute de cei doi, astfel ca cititorul poate sa urmareasca si sa reconstruiasca intreaga partida. Am refacut si eu traseul mutarilor celor doi, finalul ducandu-ne cu gandul la titlul cartii, totul bazandu-se pe un pion in plus la sfarsit.
Am retinut un citat frumos despre Sankt Petersburg, un loc pe care sper sa-l vizitez si eu candva (nu chiar in aceasta perioada totusi!):
"Sankt Petersburg este magnific si monumental. Dar e si oribil de meschin, iar acolo unde magnificenta si meschinaria coexista va fi intotdeauna loc si pentru invidie, furie, cruzime, paranoia si violenta."
In concluzie va recomand acest roman, se citeste usor, rapid, este captivant, cu personaje reusite cu care cititorul poate usor empatiza. Atasez si cateva citate interesante:
"Poate ca Raiul exista dar, chiar daca e asa, pe pamantul acesta tot nu traim decat o viata. Sa-ti fie rapita, sa-ti fie retezata, schingiuita si scurtata de gardieni si politisti e un lucru groaznic. Dar e oare mai putin groaznica decat o viata netraita din cauza lasitatii cuiva?"
"In sah e usor sa te tulbure o pozitie complicata si atitudinea agresiva a adversarului. E nevoie intotdeauna de un ochi rece si un cap limpede. Calculeaza. Calculeaza variante concrete."
"Vinovatia nu dispare niciodata insa putem sa evitam repetarea faptei care a dat nastere rusinii."
"Traim in lanturi - lanturi ale datoriei, ale nevoii, ale responsabilitatii, ale viselor. Noi toti. Alegerea e doar o himera."
P.S. Ca sa ne amuzam, va invit sa urmariti si finalul unei scurte partide de sah pe care George Costanza din serialul Seinfeld o joaca :)
August 25, 2017
Zugzwang è una parola tedesca composta che significa, in linguaggio scacchistico, mossa obbligata. Si utilizza durante una partita di scacchi per indicare quella situazione nella quale il giocatore che deve muovere può effettuare solamente mosse che peggiorano la sua situazione.
“Zugzwang mossa obbligata” è un romanzo giallo storico ambientato a San Pietroburgo nei mesi che precedono la prima guerra mondiale e la rivoluzione russa.
Sono molti i temi presenti: la Russia, sull’orlo di una rivoluzione, lo spettro del comunismo, l’antisemitismo, lo zar che sembra incapace di mantenere l’ordine delle cose. E c’è la psicanalisi, agli albori in quegli anni, del protagonista che si mescola con l’analisi e con la strategia del gioco degli scacchi.
Il protagonista si trova a giocare due partite in parallelo, una sulla sua scacchiera e l’altra contro avversari che complottano contro lo zar, mentre sullo sfondo c’è il lavoro di preparazione di un grande torneo internazionale di scacchi. Le due partite procedono di pari passo per concludersi entrambe alla fine del libro, ovviamente entrambe con una situazione di zugzwang…
Il libro parte molto bene, è avvincente e interessante. C’è la strategia degli scacchi, c’è la psicanalisi, ci sono indagini, c’è un complotto. Poi pian piano si perde, a partire da una scena erotica che, oltre che a non centrare nulla con la storia, sembra scritta con un'altra mano e usa un linguaggio tanto inappropriato da scadere nel ridicolo (quanto è difficile scrivere di sesso…).
"Udivo il gioioso schioccare dell'inguine e delle cosce contro le natiche"
"Più dita.... Quante dita adesso?"
Una cosa interessante del romanzo è che i partecipanti del torneo di Pietroburgo sono tutti personaggi realmente vissuti (Lasker, Capablanca, Tarrasch, Marshall), mentre l’autore per rappresentare Rozental, lo scacchista ebreo polacco afflitto da disturbi mentali, si è ispirato ad un campione realmente esistito, Rubinstein, che soffriva di schizofrenia. E per gli scacchisti è interessantissima la partita descritta mossa dopo mossa per giungere allo zugzwang.
Un libro non indispensabile, ma con qualche spunto interessante e che si legge facilmente. Anche se ho gradito e compreso alcuni riferimenti alla storia russa soprattutto perché già visti in letture fatte recentemente.
Interessante il concetto di zugzwang, Essere costretti a fare qualcosa che non vorremmo fare. Non è una condizione assolutamente normale e quotidiana?
"Noi giriamo incatenati - ai debiti, ai bisogni, alle responsabilità, ai sogni. Tutti noi. La scelta è solo una chimera."
“Zugzwang mossa obbligata” è un romanzo giallo storico ambientato a San Pietroburgo nei mesi che precedono la prima guerra mondiale e la rivoluzione russa.
Sono molti i temi presenti: la Russia, sull’orlo di una rivoluzione, lo spettro del comunismo, l’antisemitismo, lo zar che sembra incapace di mantenere l’ordine delle cose. E c’è la psicanalisi, agli albori in quegli anni, del protagonista che si mescola con l’analisi e con la strategia del gioco degli scacchi.
Il protagonista si trova a giocare due partite in parallelo, una sulla sua scacchiera e l’altra contro avversari che complottano contro lo zar, mentre sullo sfondo c’è il lavoro di preparazione di un grande torneo internazionale di scacchi. Le due partite procedono di pari passo per concludersi entrambe alla fine del libro, ovviamente entrambe con una situazione di zugzwang…
Il libro parte molto bene, è avvincente e interessante. C’è la strategia degli scacchi, c’è la psicanalisi, ci sono indagini, c’è un complotto. Poi pian piano si perde, a partire da una scena erotica che, oltre che a non centrare nulla con la storia, sembra scritta con un'altra mano e usa un linguaggio tanto inappropriato da scadere nel ridicolo (quanto è difficile scrivere di sesso…).
"Udivo il gioioso schioccare dell'inguine e delle cosce contro le natiche"
"Più dita.... Quante dita adesso?"
Una cosa interessante del romanzo è che i partecipanti del torneo di Pietroburgo sono tutti personaggi realmente vissuti (Lasker, Capablanca, Tarrasch, Marshall), mentre l’autore per rappresentare Rozental, lo scacchista ebreo polacco afflitto da disturbi mentali, si è ispirato ad un campione realmente esistito, Rubinstein, che soffriva di schizofrenia. E per gli scacchisti è interessantissima la partita descritta mossa dopo mossa per giungere allo zugzwang.
Un libro non indispensabile, ma con qualche spunto interessante e che si legge facilmente. Anche se ho gradito e compreso alcuni riferimenti alla storia russa soprattutto perché già visti in letture fatte recentemente.
Interessante il concetto di zugzwang, Essere costretti a fare qualcosa che non vorremmo fare. Non è una condizione assolutamente normale e quotidiana?
"Noi giriamo incatenati - ai debiti, ai bisogni, alle responsabilità, ai sogni. Tutti noi. La scelta è solo una chimera."
July 30, 2014
I have a problem with 'literary' authors who write what they would call genre books; I feel they undervalue and misunderstand the canon. This book, like the Black/Banville series felt to me like a simple plot strung out for rather longer than it warranted, justified by a suffusion of flowery language and 'profundity' However, my main issue with the book was its lack of thrills- there was not a single original thought in the book, leading in plot terms to quite a pedestrian read. The characters, especially the women, are flat, unconvincing portraits, hard to care about in the long run. The book wears its learning very heavily, with the chess problems becoming dull very quickly, and, though it was clear the author had an interest in the area, as with his portrayal of psychoanalysts and pre-revolutionary Russia, I did not believe he had any deeper an understanding of them than the average reader, and thus it was hard to gain any new insights from the novel. The culmination of the philosophical exploration of chess and spying comes in the final page, where a whole host of potentially interesting questions are asked, but which questions presence only serves to highlight the depth missing from the previous pages. An interesting idea, a missed opportunity, and really quite dull.
January 8, 2008
A fun thriller, even for those (like me) with no knowledge of Russian history. The story concerns a psychotherapist in Tsarist Russia who becomes embroiled in plots of chess, conspiracy, murder, and, of course, steamy historical sex. It's not quite a page-turner, but it's very well-written, and I learned a teensy bit about Russian history (I didn't know Russia had such an extensive secret police system prior to Communism).
Also, some fun words!
zugzwang (n.) - a position in chess where every move can only worsen the situation.
priapism (n.) - a continuous, non-sexual erection; lascivious behavior or display.
cyanotic (adj.) - blue skin coloration due to inadequate oxygenation of the blood.
Also, some fun words!
zugzwang (n.) - a position in chess where every move can only worsen the situation.
priapism (n.) - a continuous, non-sexual erection; lascivious behavior or display.
cyanotic (adj.) - blue skin coloration due to inadequate oxygenation of the blood.
May 24, 2022
Bennett draws a parallel between a chess game played by the protagonist and his "best" friend, on the one hand, and the situation that this friend is in, in St Petersburg in 1914, on the other hand. In Zugzwang he is. Hence, impossible for this friend to make a move that could improve his live. Intriguing and bright, to draw such a parallel.
October 25, 2018
Zugzwang is a term used in chess to describe a position in which a player is reduced to a state of utter helplessness. He is obliged to move, but every makes his position worse.
This book is set in 1914 pre-revolution St. Petersburg where Dr. Otto Spethmann is a prominent psychoanalyst and widower living a comfortable life with his daughter, Catherine. Otto is apolitical but when a newspaper editor is murdered in broad daylight and an apparent car accident turns out to be a murder he is drawn into a world of political manoeuvring and intrigue when his business card is found on one of the victims.
The novel's action takes place over a few days' time, during which Spethmann meets a bewildering array of characters ranging from police officers and undercover agents of the Interior ministry to Bolshevik party activists and oligarchs with their own ulterior motives.
Meanwhile Otto's personal life is undergoing a major upheaval life due to two of his patients. One Anna Petrovna, a married woman with whom he is falling in love with and developing an unprofessional relationship. The other, Avrom Rozental, a Jewish chess master, visiting the city from Poland for a major chess tournament. Rozental is on the verge of a mental breakdown and fixated on his up-coming matches but for some reason the police seem to be unduly interested in his movements.
Zugzwang is a thriller that centres on the choices that Otto must make as he and his daughter are buffeted by forces that are far out of their control. All the choices they make seem to put them more and more at personal risk.
Running throughout the book is a long-running chess game played between Otto and a friend. Otto contemplates the moves and counter moves that his opponents will play. As events in the novel heat up, so does the chess game. This is a side dish that will no doubt thrill chess enthusiasts but should not be enough to put off non-players from enjoying this novel. I found it well written and fast paced with plenty of twists and turns (a few too many for my taste) but if I'm honest it didn't have enough about it to really stand out from the crowd.
This book is set in 1914 pre-revolution St. Petersburg where Dr. Otto Spethmann is a prominent psychoanalyst and widower living a comfortable life with his daughter, Catherine. Otto is apolitical but when a newspaper editor is murdered in broad daylight and an apparent car accident turns out to be a murder he is drawn into a world of political manoeuvring and intrigue when his business card is found on one of the victims.
The novel's action takes place over a few days' time, during which Spethmann meets a bewildering array of characters ranging from police officers and undercover agents of the Interior ministry to Bolshevik party activists and oligarchs with their own ulterior motives.
Meanwhile Otto's personal life is undergoing a major upheaval life due to two of his patients. One Anna Petrovna, a married woman with whom he is falling in love with and developing an unprofessional relationship. The other, Avrom Rozental, a Jewish chess master, visiting the city from Poland for a major chess tournament. Rozental is on the verge of a mental breakdown and fixated on his up-coming matches but for some reason the police seem to be unduly interested in his movements.
Zugzwang is a thriller that centres on the choices that Otto must make as he and his daughter are buffeted by forces that are far out of their control. All the choices they make seem to put them more and more at personal risk.
Running throughout the book is a long-running chess game played between Otto and a friend. Otto contemplates the moves and counter moves that his opponents will play. As events in the novel heat up, so does the chess game. This is a side dish that will no doubt thrill chess enthusiasts but should not be enough to put off non-players from enjoying this novel. I found it well written and fast paced with plenty of twists and turns (a few too many for my taste) but if I'm honest it didn't have enough about it to really stand out from the crowd.
February 11, 2008
I really enjoyed this book, and I think I would have liked it even more if I understood the game of chess at all. This story occurs in 1914 in St. Petersburg. The main character is a pyschoanalyst who playes chess with his best friend, a violin player. St. Petersburg is getting ready to host a world-wide chess championship, and the pyschoanalyst starts counciling one of the local chess players who is a favorite to win the tournament. One day, he is visited by the police who want him to give them information about a recently murdered man who they know his daughter was having an affair with. This is when the book really takes off. It's all about his struggle against the police and trying to determine who he can trust and what is really happening. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Ronan Bennett.
February 1, 2013
I might have enjoyed this more if I had an inkling of Russian politics. The situation isn't adequately described. The main protagonists aren't identified other than by name. It was almost impossible to figure out who was who and why things were happening. And throw in the whole chess thing (chess is beyond my scope of understanding so the boards and moves described in the book were pointless to me) and I was totally clueless.
The events didn't happen in sequence which is very confusing. For instance at one point, two rough men with guns enter Otto's office after hours. And the next sentence starts Two weeks ago and contains totally different characters. It took a little getting used to. Not a bad book but hard to understand. Though it did have a few surprises and some great betrayals.
The events didn't happen in sequence which is very confusing. For instance at one point, two rough men with guns enter Otto's office after hours. And the next sentence starts Two weeks ago and contains totally different characters. It took a little getting used to. Not a bad book but hard to understand. Though it did have a few surprises and some great betrayals.
January 23, 2008
While the plot is somewhat farfetched, the writing is interesting and the pacing is good. The best part is the setting of Pre Revolutionary St. Petersburg, meticulously rendered by the author whose research is evident (and if not evident then minutely detailed at the end of the book!!)
The central character seems a bit naive for a psychoanalyst but perhaps he like his patients is out of contact with the real world until the events of the book begin to shatter his life.
Bennett has also written the Castrophist which was a finalist for the Booker Prize. He is an Irish Writer with an ear for dialogue which was one of the other principal enjoyments of the book.
The central character seems a bit naive for a psychoanalyst but perhaps he like his patients is out of contact with the real world until the events of the book begin to shatter his life.
Bennett has also written the Castrophist which was a finalist for the Booker Prize. He is an Irish Writer with an ear for dialogue which was one of the other principal enjoyments of the book.
August 20, 2017
Politics. Chess. History. Not even my thing. And somehow I knew I'd love this love the moment my eyes landed on this.
What a page turner. Kept me curious until the very last page (for real). An amalgamation of all the interesting things this kid likes to read about; mystery, psychology, murder, thrill and much more.
What a page turner. Kept me curious until the very last page (for real). An amalgamation of all the interesting things this kid likes to read about; mystery, psychology, murder, thrill and much more.
February 4, 2016
It feels mean to describe a book as "competently diverting" but I think that's all this one was really aspiring to.
January 29, 2018
Surprisingly interesting. The plot goes on at a rapid pace, and the psychologist’s perspective is interesting. I enjoyed this more than I had expected.
May 7, 2020
Chess, spies, police and psychotherapy in 1914 St. Petersburg, what wasn't there to like. I liked The Catstrophist and if anything this was better. As Michael Palin would have said, a Ripping Yarn.
January 22, 2011
zug-zwang: –noun Chess. a situation in which a player is limited to moves that cost pieces or have a damaging positional effect.
I will readily admit that after reading Nabokov's The Defense(or the newer title, The Luzhin Defense), I am fascinated by chess novels, which almost categorically leads to a Russian novel. With my predilection for Russian writers as well as the automatic intellectual bent of a novel using the game of chess as an allegory or metaphor, it was difficult for me for me to be subjective when the jacket cover tells me that I am going to read a novel brimming with chess, Russia and 'whoops! I'm a psychoanalyst who is suddenly involved in a murder.' In the case of Zugzwang by Irish novelist Ronan Bennett, we are given almost that--a novel set in St. Petersburg on the eve of World War I that follows the events in Dr. Otto Spethamnn's life, days after he begins treating a rising star in the chess scene, Avrom Chilowicz Rozenthal. Dr. Spethmann comes to treat Rozenthal through an introduction by his long-time friend and famous classical violinist, Kopelzon. Already, this couldn't get more Russian unless, of course, Spethmann treated his patients in a bread line while drinking vodka.
Dr. Spethmann, our laconic psychoanalyst, is middle-aged man who lives with his college-age daughter after the loss of his wife a couple of years prior. He is a good yet common man as he describes himself here:
Here is a man who spends most of his time treating his patients, pondering over his chess matches with Kopelzon (whom he has never beaten) and furtively eyeing Anna Petrovna, who just happens to be gorgeous, rich, married and his patient. And those are just some of the major characters. This novel is filled with characters who the reader meets over an extended period of time of for short stints but with no less effect.
One of the components of a good thriller is that it is not evident at the onset of the novel who is the good and who is bad--the gradations of good and evil unfold in each character throughout the novel so that it focuses on the motivation of the character as opposed to merely being an obstacle for the protagonist. Bennett does this well and he does well while he unravels a labyrinthine, complex plot that uses the political fibers of the time effectively. The two political fibers being Bolshevism and the Okhrana. Bennett uses history well to set the tone and as well the proper amounts and types of description. We get the chilling cold of the Soviet Union, the immensity of the architecture of the city, the paranoia present in an politically oppressed society. Throughout the novel, we learn that most of the people he knows are somehow involved in the war between the revolutionaries ad the repressive government, either wittingly or unwittingly. From the beginning for instance, we know that Petrov a patient of Spethmann's is going to factor somehow into to the story, but we don't know how and he plays it well because we meet him in the context of a psychoanalyst's office who is neither for or against him:
This psychological element strengthened by the first-person narrative deepens the characters and their motivations without sacrificing any of the plot. Actually, even though we may think we know the characters better, it is still difficult to guess who is going to fall on the good or bad side of morality. Bennett introduces the relationship between Spethmann and Lychev, local police chief, immediately and shockingly by demanding to see him and his daughter for their possible connection to the murder of a man named Yastrebov who was in the possession of Spethmann's carte de visite when he died.
Bennett uses so well the tactical element of chess in plotting that he must be a chess player himself and a good one at that. More fascinating though is his own history that itself reads like a international thriller. Accused of murdering a police inspector during a bank robbery claimed by the IRA, he spent time in jail before his conviction being overturned. He moved to London where he was accused of conspiring to cause explosions and spent more time in prison. He defended himself and was acquitted.
While reading his work, it did occur to me that the political and religious parallels between Ireland and the Soviet Union made his story that much more plausible. Also, it adds a healthy dose of reality to the imprisoned musings of Spethmann since Bennett had himself endured imprisonment. Later obtaining his degree in history, the plotting is taut and well-researched. No wonder The Guardian excerpted weekly each chapter form this book(it also doesn't hurt that his wife is assistant editor).
I admit it, I got involved in finding out as much as I could about Ronan Bennett because he is so fascinating and because of the comparisons to Graham Greene which are well warranted. Fans of Graham Greene will appreciate Bennett's locales in his other novels as well as his direct narrative style. I recommend reading any of his novels , but also reading about the author himself. Two great interviews worth checking out are a 1999 interview with Salon magazine and a 2007 interview(with audio) from Morning Edition on NPR.
I will readily admit that after reading Nabokov's The Defense(or the newer title, The Luzhin Defense), I am fascinated by chess novels, which almost categorically leads to a Russian novel. With my predilection for Russian writers as well as the automatic intellectual bent of a novel using the game of chess as an allegory or metaphor, it was difficult for me for me to be subjective when the jacket cover tells me that I am going to read a novel brimming with chess, Russia and 'whoops! I'm a psychoanalyst who is suddenly involved in a murder.' In the case of Zugzwang by Irish novelist Ronan Bennett, we are given almost that--a novel set in St. Petersburg on the eve of World War I that follows the events in Dr. Otto Spethamnn's life, days after he begins treating a rising star in the chess scene, Avrom Chilowicz Rozenthal. Dr. Spethmann comes to treat Rozenthal through an introduction by his long-time friend and famous classical violinist, Kopelzon. Already, this couldn't get more Russian unless, of course, Spethmann treated his patients in a bread line while drinking vodka.
Dr. Spethmann, our laconic psychoanalyst, is middle-aged man who lives with his college-age daughter after the loss of his wife a couple of years prior. He is a good yet common man as he describes himself here:
With my patients I am the good father -- attentive, kind, calm, fair, strict, unreproachful and present. It would dismay them to discover that the man to who, the impute almost preternatural wisdom and serenity is, in reality, no more immune than they to anxiety or excitement, or other more turbulent and dangerous emotions. But this is the truth of me.
Here is a man who spends most of his time treating his patients, pondering over his chess matches with Kopelzon (whom he has never beaten) and furtively eyeing Anna Petrovna, who just happens to be gorgeous, rich, married and his patient. And those are just some of the major characters. This novel is filled with characters who the reader meets over an extended period of time of for short stints but with no less effect.
One of the components of a good thriller is that it is not evident at the onset of the novel who is the good and who is bad--the gradations of good and evil unfold in each character throughout the novel so that it focuses on the motivation of the character as opposed to merely being an obstacle for the protagonist. Bennett does this well and he does well while he unravels a labyrinthine, complex plot that uses the political fibers of the time effectively. The two political fibers being Bolshevism and the Okhrana. Bennett uses history well to set the tone and as well the proper amounts and types of description. We get the chilling cold of the Soviet Union, the immensity of the architecture of the city, the paranoia present in an politically oppressed society. Throughout the novel, we learn that most of the people he knows are somehow involved in the war between the revolutionaries ad the repressive government, either wittingly or unwittingly. From the beginning for instance, we know that Petrov a patient of Spethmann's is going to factor somehow into to the story, but we don't know how and he plays it well because we meet him in the context of a psychoanalyst's office who is neither for or against him:
Petrov was a member of the Bolshevik faction of the Social Democrats. The party was notorious, bare legal in Russia and subject to police surveillance and repression. In the absence of Lenin, its exiled leader, Petrov was its de facto chief. The strains involved in this alone would account for his mental and physical exhaustion, but in Petrov's case there was something else. Something tormented his soul. He wanted to tell me, to tell someone, and yet he could not. As with Anna, as with all my resistant patients, I had fallen back on the principal ally of psychoanalysts everywhere -- time; I was never in a hurry.
This psychological element strengthened by the first-person narrative deepens the characters and their motivations without sacrificing any of the plot. Actually, even though we may think we know the characters better, it is still difficult to guess who is going to fall on the good or bad side of morality. Bennett introduces the relationship between Spethmann and Lychev, local police chief, immediately and shockingly by demanding to see him and his daughter for their possible connection to the murder of a man named Yastrebov who was in the possession of Spethmann's carte de visite when he died.
Bennett uses so well the tactical element of chess in plotting that he must be a chess player himself and a good one at that. More fascinating though is his own history that itself reads like a international thriller. Accused of murdering a police inspector during a bank robbery claimed by the IRA, he spent time in jail before his conviction being overturned. He moved to London where he was accused of conspiring to cause explosions and spent more time in prison. He defended himself and was acquitted.
While reading his work, it did occur to me that the political and religious parallels between Ireland and the Soviet Union made his story that much more plausible. Also, it adds a healthy dose of reality to the imprisoned musings of Spethmann since Bennett had himself endured imprisonment. Later obtaining his degree in history, the plotting is taut and well-researched. No wonder The Guardian excerpted weekly each chapter form this book(it also doesn't hurt that his wife is assistant editor).
I admit it, I got involved in finding out as much as I could about Ronan Bennett because he is so fascinating and because of the comparisons to Graham Greene which are well warranted. Fans of Graham Greene will appreciate Bennett's locales in his other novels as well as his direct narrative style. I recommend reading any of his novels , but also reading about the author himself. Two great interviews worth checking out are a 1999 interview with Salon magazine and a 2007 interview(with audio) from Morning Edition on NPR.
November 29, 2010
zug-zwang: –noun Chess. a situation in which a player is limited to moves that cost pieces or have a damaging positional effect.
I will readily admit that after reading Nabokov's The Defense(or the newer title, The Luzhin Defense), I am fascinated by chess novels, which almost categorically leads to a Russian novel. With my predilection for Russian writers as well as the automatic intellectual bent of a novel using the game of chess as an allegory or metaphor, it was difficult for me for me to be subjective when the jacket cover tells me that I am going to read a novel brimming with chess, Russia and 'whoops! I'm a psychoanalyst who is suddenly involved in a murder.' In the case of Zugzwang by Irish novelist Ronan Bennett, we are given almost that--a novel set in St. Petersburg on the eve of World War I that follows these events in Dr. Otto Spethamnn's life, days after he begins treating a rising star in the chess scene, Avrom Chilowicz Rozenthal. Dr. Spethmann comes to treat Rozenthal through an introduction by his long-time friend and famous classical violinist, Kopelzon. Already, this couldn't get more Russian unless, of course, Spethmann treated his patients in a bread line while drinking vodka.
Dr. Spethmann, our laconic psychoanalyst, is middle-aged man who lives with his college-age daughter after the loss of his wife a couple of years prior. He is a good yet common man as he describes himself here:
He is a He spends most of his time treating his patients, pondering over his chess matches with Kopelzon (whom he has never beaten) and furtively eye Anna Petrovna, who just happens to be gorgeous, rich, married and his patient. And those are just some of the major characters. This novel is filled with characters who the reader meets over an extended period of time of for short stints but with no less effect.
One of the components of a good thriller is that it is not evident at the onset of the novel who is the good and who is bad--the gradations of good and evil unfold in each character throughout the novel so that it focuses on the motivation of the character as opposed to merely being an obstacle for the protagonist. Bennett does this well and he does well while he unravels a labyrinthine, complex plot that uses the political fibers of the time effectively. The two political fibers being Bolshevism and the Okhrana. Bennett uses history well to set the tone and as well the proper amounts and types of description. We get the chilling cold of the Soviet Union, the immensity of the architecture of the city, the paranoia present in an politically oppressed society. Throughout the novel, we learn that most of the people he knows are somehow involved in the war between the revolutionaries ad the repressive government, either wittingly or unwittingly. From the beginning for instance, we know that Petrov a patient of Spethmann's is going to factor somehow into to the story, but we don't know how and he plays it well because we meet him in the context of a psychoanalyst's office who is neither for or against him:
This psychological element strengthened by the first-person narrative deepens the characters and their motivations without sacrificing any of the plot. Actually, even though we may think we know the characters better, it is still difficult to guess who is going to fall on the good or bad side of morality. Bennett introduces the relationship between Spethmann and Lychev, local police chief, immediately and shockingly by demanding to see him and his daughter for their possible connection to the murder of a man named Yastrebov who was in the possession of Spethmann's carte de visite when he died.
Bennett uses so well the tactical element of chess in plotting that he must be a chess player himself and a good one at that. More fascinating though is his own history that itself reads like a international thriller. Accused of murdering a police inspector during a bank robbery claimed by the IRA, he spent time in jail before his conviction being overturned. He moved to London where he was accused of conspiring to cause explosions and spent more time in prison. He defended himself and was acquitted.
While reading his work, it did occur to me that the political and religious parallels between Ireland and the Soviet Union made his story that much more plausible. Also, it adds a healthy dose of reality to the imprisoned musings of Spethmann since Bennett had himself endured imprisonment. Later obtaining his degree in history, the plotting is taut and well-researched. No wonder The Guardian excerpted weekly each chapter form this book(it also doesn't hurt that his wife is assistant editor).
I admit it, I got involved in finding out as much as I could about Ronan Bennett because he is so fascinating and because of the comparisons to Graham Greene which are well warranted. Fans of Graham Greene will appreciate Bennett's locales in his other novels as well as his direct narrative style. I recommend reading any of his novels , but also reading about the author himself.
I will readily admit that after reading Nabokov's The Defense(or the newer title, The Luzhin Defense), I am fascinated by chess novels, which almost categorically leads to a Russian novel. With my predilection for Russian writers as well as the automatic intellectual bent of a novel using the game of chess as an allegory or metaphor, it was difficult for me for me to be subjective when the jacket cover tells me that I am going to read a novel brimming with chess, Russia and 'whoops! I'm a psychoanalyst who is suddenly involved in a murder.' In the case of Zugzwang by Irish novelist Ronan Bennett, we are given almost that--a novel set in St. Petersburg on the eve of World War I that follows these events in Dr. Otto Spethamnn's life, days after he begins treating a rising star in the chess scene, Avrom Chilowicz Rozenthal. Dr. Spethmann comes to treat Rozenthal through an introduction by his long-time friend and famous classical violinist, Kopelzon. Already, this couldn't get more Russian unless, of course, Spethmann treated his patients in a bread line while drinking vodka.
Dr. Spethmann, our laconic psychoanalyst, is middle-aged man who lives with his college-age daughter after the loss of his wife a couple of years prior. He is a good yet common man as he describes himself here:
With my patients I am the good father -- attentive, kind, calm, fair, strict, unreproachful and present. It would dismay them to discover that the man to who, the impute almost preternatural wisdom and serenity is, in reality, no more immune than they to anxiety or excitement, or other more turbulent and dangerous emotions. But this is the truth of me.
He is a He spends most of his time treating his patients, pondering over his chess matches with Kopelzon (whom he has never beaten) and furtively eye Anna Petrovna, who just happens to be gorgeous, rich, married and his patient. And those are just some of the major characters. This novel is filled with characters who the reader meets over an extended period of time of for short stints but with no less effect.
One of the components of a good thriller is that it is not evident at the onset of the novel who is the good and who is bad--the gradations of good and evil unfold in each character throughout the novel so that it focuses on the motivation of the character as opposed to merely being an obstacle for the protagonist. Bennett does this well and he does well while he unravels a labyrinthine, complex plot that uses the political fibers of the time effectively. The two political fibers being Bolshevism and the Okhrana. Bennett uses history well to set the tone and as well the proper amounts and types of description. We get the chilling cold of the Soviet Union, the immensity of the architecture of the city, the paranoia present in an politically oppressed society. Throughout the novel, we learn that most of the people he knows are somehow involved in the war between the revolutionaries ad the repressive government, either wittingly or unwittingly. From the beginning for instance, we know that Petrov a patient of Spethmann's is going to factor somehow into to the story, but we don't know how and he plays it well because we meet him in the context of a psychoanalyst's office who is neither for or against him:
Petrov was a member of the Bolshevik faction of the Social Democrats. The party was notorious, bare legal in Russia and subject to police surveillance and repression. In the absence of Lenin, its exiled leader, Petrov was its de facto chief. The strains involved in this alone would account for his mental and physical exhaustion, but in Petrov's case there was something else. Something tormented his soul. He wanted to tell me, to tell someone, and yet he could not. As with Anna, as with all my resistant patients, I had fallen back on the principal ally of psychoanalysts everywhere -- time; I was never in a hurry.
This psychological element strengthened by the first-person narrative deepens the characters and their motivations without sacrificing any of the plot. Actually, even though we may think we know the characters better, it is still difficult to guess who is going to fall on the good or bad side of morality. Bennett introduces the relationship between Spethmann and Lychev, local police chief, immediately and shockingly by demanding to see him and his daughter for their possible connection to the murder of a man named Yastrebov who was in the possession of Spethmann's carte de visite when he died.
Bennett uses so well the tactical element of chess in plotting that he must be a chess player himself and a good one at that. More fascinating though is his own history that itself reads like a international thriller. Accused of murdering a police inspector during a bank robbery claimed by the IRA, he spent time in jail before his conviction being overturned. He moved to London where he was accused of conspiring to cause explosions and spent more time in prison. He defended himself and was acquitted.
While reading his work, it did occur to me that the political and religious parallels between Ireland and the Soviet Union made his story that much more plausible. Also, it adds a healthy dose of reality to the imprisoned musings of Spethmann since Bennett had himself endured imprisonment. Later obtaining his degree in history, the plotting is taut and well-researched. No wonder The Guardian excerpted weekly each chapter form this book(it also doesn't hurt that his wife is assistant editor).
I admit it, I got involved in finding out as much as I could about Ronan Bennett because he is so fascinating and because of the comparisons to Graham Greene which are well warranted. Fans of Graham Greene will appreciate Bennett's locales in his other novels as well as his direct narrative style. I recommend reading any of his novels , but also reading about the author himself.
November 30, 2023
Non sono un lettore navigato di thriller, libri polizieschi o di spionaggio e per questo non ho metri di paragone per valutare questo libro. Ho apprezzato la fusione equilibrata di vari argomenti (psicologia, politica, scacchi) che tra l'altro mi interessano tutti molto. Forse proprio a causa delle ottime premesse con cui iniziavo la lettura, le aspettative erano troppo alte e non sono state del tutto rispettate. Ho apprezzato la trama, l'ambientazione storico-politica e i colpi di scena finali. Mi è piaciuto meno, invece, lo stile di scrittura, che mi è sembrato a tratti sconnesso, con cambi di scena repentini e immotivati, e ripetitivo, come se stancamente venisse rispettata una scaletta di argomenti da trattare in rigida sequenza.
Anche accompagnare la trama con una partita di scacchi sembrava una scelta originale e intelligente, ma alla fine avrebbe avuto senso che, come la partita, anche la trama fosse terminata in "Zugzwang", ma non mi sembra che ciò sia effettivamente successo. La chiusura dell'ultimo capitolo è stata potente per come scritta, ma non sono sicuro di aver colto a pieno il messaggio (forse politico) che voleva essere trasmesso.
Anche accompagnare la trama con una partita di scacchi sembrava una scelta originale e intelligente, ma alla fine avrebbe avuto senso che, come la partita, anche la trama fosse terminata in "Zugzwang", ma non mi sembra che ciò sia effettivamente successo. La chiusura dell'ultimo capitolo è stata potente per come scritta, ma non sono sicuro di aver colto a pieno il messaggio (forse politico) che voleva essere trasmesso.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2020
A fascinating plot and curiously and interestingly somewhat displaced in time. Is it really set in 1914? There are overtones of modern times making this book almost a contemporary possibility. What annoyed me slightly as an amateur chess player in the Bloomsbury edition I have, was the incorrect chess diagrams particularly the diagram marked at "44...Ke7" Both queens are in the wrong place and the white king is wrongly placed as well. The commentator that gave up the book at this point should have examined the game more carefully as the end-game described is a fascinatingly subtle end-game which allegorically describes the end of the book in a wonderfully apt way. I would love for the publishers to correct the many diagrams that are wrong or superfluous. The diagram at "46 ...Qc7" is also substantially incorrect. In any case little knowledge of chess does not really mater as reading this book is very rewarding, but for the amateur chess player to examine the game in detail is even more rewarding than the book.
May 21, 2025
this was just the standard thriller mixed with a bit of chess/mind game work, which i really ate up because it was simply too entertaining. with a heavy serving of plot armor the psychoanalyst mc manages to piss off both sides of the political spectrum in true gentlemanly fashion: by treating one of them as his patient and sleeping with the daughter of the other. it’s russia on the brink of world war, espionage, scandalous sex scenes, strikes and riots, and lots of thugs shooting and stabbing each other… really, what more can one ask for? as to be expected, the plot is outlandish and the characters are stretched quite thin, but the constant action and the cheeky correspondence game more than makes up for it. i was laughing at the absurdity of it all, but the writing was solid and i finished it in one night so honestly i have no regrets.
4/5 but really it gets five stars in my heart
4/5 but really it gets five stars in my heart
July 8, 2021
I was put off by the title because I kept having to remind myself what it means. However, once it stuck in my head that it's a situation found in chess wherein one player is put at a disadvantage because he HAS to make a move; in other words, the fact that the player is compelled to move means that his position will become significantly weaker. A player is said to be "in zugzwang" when any possible move will worsen his position. I didn't even look at the first lot of boards, but right near the end when the board only contains pawns, 2 kings and 2 queens, does it start becoming clear what is happening. And the story echoes the situation in the chess game, beautifully, actually. This is a difficult book but interesting. I liked the importance of daughters!
April 23, 2020
Ta książka okazała się zdumiewająco dobra, czego się nie spodziewałam. Jej plusy dotyczyły logicznego rozwoju fabuły, komfortowego poziomu komplikacji owej fabuły oraz dość sztampowej, aczkolwiek urzekającej tematyki. Do minusów mogę zaliczyć między innymi postępowanie doktora Spethmanna po wybuchu mieszkania - po co poszedł on zobaczyć Rosenthala? Każdy pownien być świadomy, że nic takim postępowaniem nie dało się osiągnąć, a jedyne usprawiedliwienie tego rozwoju fabuły znajduję w swoistej czułości wobec pacjenta.
Zakończenie także nie było rozczarowujące - ani całkowicie dobre, ani całkowicie złe.
Zakończenie także nie było rozczarowujące - ani całkowicie dobre, ani całkowicie złe.
September 2, 2019
Het is een thriller met een historische achtergrond. Men wil de Tsaar vermoorden. De pro en contra´s in Rusland maken elkaar het leven moeilijk. Er zijn ook spanningen tussen de Franse, Duitsers, Engelsen en Russen. De Joden worden ook scheef bekeken. Een schaakwedstrijd in Sint Petersburg is waar alles zal gebeuren. Zij die van schaken houden zullen dit boek graag lezen. Er staat ook een schaakprobleem in het boek dat door het verhaal heen zal opgelost worden.
Soms langdradig maar spannend vanaf de eerste bladzijde.
Soms langdradig maar spannend vanaf de eerste bladzijde.
October 31, 2020
Zugzwang starts off well with a cast of interesting characters including the subject and narrator. It has an authentic ambience throughout. However, the plot starts to become unnecessarily contorted by revised identities and motives without settling, making them shallower rather than richer. This shifts the novel to a sort of Jason Bourne screenplay composed of unlikely set pieces. Nevertheless, it remains clear and paced. Although it is very readable, this is not a novel where the outcome comes to matter much. Worth reading on the beach ... or in a lockdown.
January 20, 2024
Crime/thriller nella San Pietroburgo pre-rivoluzione, uno psicanalista rimane incastrato, da una parte, nella lotta tra bolscevichi e rivoluzionari e, dall'altra, in una partita di scacchi apparentemente impossibile da vincere.
Si fa leggere velocemente e con piacere, finale compreso, peccato per una seconda parte un po' più stanca e monotona.
La partita di scacchi è abbastanza scolastica, ma il finale di zugzwang, in cui qualunque mossa porta alla sconfitta, è una metafora semplice ma efficace delle sorti dei protagonisti.
Si fa leggere velocemente e con piacere, finale compreso, peccato per una seconda parte un po' più stanca e monotona.
La partita di scacchi è abbastanza scolastica, ma il finale di zugzwang, in cui qualunque mossa porta alla sconfitta, è una metafora semplice ma efficace delle sorti dei protagonisti.
March 12, 2024
I did enjoy this book's plot, it was different from what I usually read. I'm not a chess-person but it was still fun and I don't know Russian history but it was still understandable. However, we all have our own minds and imagination which we can use to imagine that something happens between two characters without it having to be this explicit. It was just not necessary and didn't contribute to the story.
I did like the ending, it wasn't what you'd expect.
Overall, probably a 3-star read for me.
I did like the ending, it wasn't what you'd expect.
Overall, probably a 3-star read for me.
October 3, 2017
Forse ricorda un pochino il Maestro e Margherita, però è un bel libro, un bel giallo e l'atmosfera della magnifica San Pietroburgo dei primi del Novecento si respira benissimo. I germi della Rivoluzione stanno incubando sullo sfondo, e intanto i protagonisti vivono le loro avventure tra mille intrighi della corte zarista.
Da leggere assolutamente se vi piacciono i gialli, e i romanzi storici.
Da leggere assolutamente se vi piacciono i gialli, e i romanzi storici.
June 5, 2020
A chess themed story set in 1914 featuring an attempt to assassinate the Tsar by a double of a famous chess player. We have intrigue with Bolshevik and Polish revolutionaries involved. Famous chess players from the St Petersburg tournament of 1914 also feature as do characteristics of real players placed into fictional characters.
July 11, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up. Interesting read and I was hooked the whole way. Otto was an interesting character, as was Lychev. 1914 Russia was a fascinating backdrop to this pacy book. I should have guessed earlier that Otto and Reuven’s chess game was a metaphor for the whole story arc and not merely a game between friends. Would recommend this to historical thriller fans.
February 11, 2019
Although I have no idea how to play chess, this book sparked an interest for me to learn it. This book was a good thriller and I enjoyed it very much as my bedtime reading. It was full of suspense and it got me thinking; will politics ever make the world better?
April 7, 2020
For a book based on a chess game, it is somewhat infuriating when author has a king move into check in the game at the centre of the book, which can't happen. I gave up at this point. The writing is dull, flat; the characters are cardboard cut-outs. Give it a miss.
February 13, 2021
Intriguing story set in Pre Revolution Russia and the chaotic crosscurrents of political strife.
Engaging and succinct. A game of chess between two friends is used a device to demonstrate the competitive factions of revolutionaries quite effectively.
Engaging and succinct. A game of chess between two friends is used a device to demonstrate the competitive factions of revolutionaries quite effectively.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews