The Winning Move

Chess Club #1

by Rebecca Donnelly, Isabelle Duffy (Illustrator)

Chess is Halima Kasim’s favorite thing in the world. But with no local chess club in her small town, she has no one to practice with offline. Yearning for worthy opponents IRL, she recruits newbies: her next-door BFF Jem (a dedicated friend reeling from the recent loss of her grandfather), Jem’s long-lost friend Parker (eager to escape the shadow of his sport-star siblings), and Daniel (itching for answers after discovering a mysterious note left for him inside a book). Together the team forms their own chess club, navigating not just the board but the highs and lows of middle school social life. Along the way they’ll learn that it takes more than practice to be great—it’s teamwork, confidence, and the power of friendship. And never forget . . . chess is a game full of surprises.

Genres: Middle Grade, Chess, Realistic Fiction, Friendship

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[MoonlightCupOfCocoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for the advance copy! All opinions shared below are 100% my own.

"Chess Club: The Winning Move" b Rebecca Donnelly is an excellent read for children looking to find their place in the world. What starts as a way for Halima to find other chess players turns into a found family for all four main characters.

When I first picked up the book (I try to read all books before gifting or recommending them to my nieces and nephews), I assumed that Halima will be the protagonist. It's very difficult to find muslim representation in children literature where the focus is not on religious identity. That's something I especially appreciated about Halima's depiction here. While, yes, her faith is an important part of her identity, it's not all she thinks about. She is simply a middle grade girl who, alongside her best friend, is trying to start a chess club.

I was delighted to find out that while Halima is the driving factor of the book, there are also three other main characters:
- Jem, Halima's bestie and neighbour, who is bright, creative and a true friend through and through. She's also a great rep for neurodivergent and queer children.
- Daniel, a smart introverted boy, who long for a mystery and, along the way, discovers himself and makes new friends.
- Parker, a fun-loving creative boy, who wants to make a name for himself after living in his family's shadow most of his life and feeling like he's always doing what others expects him to do.

Each chapter presents the unfolding events from one of the four main characters' POVs. They all get a chance to shine and readers will find at least one of them relatable.

The story is pretty cute. It does actually have an interesting plot twist that is revealed in epilogue that I myself found very creative. Overall, it was a delightful quick read.

The reason I am giving this book 5-stars, however, is I really admire how the book introduces young readers to the history and rules of chess using illustrations and the story itself. You emerge from the book having learned not just the names of the pieces or their movements, but a lot of terminology from the chess world, some of the openings and even tournament rules and flow. It's done in an approachable and fun way and is fully integrated in the story that I think makes it effective at teaching the reader without throwing too much at them.

All in all, this was a delightful read and I'm planning on purchasing it for my family.

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[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Halima Kasim loves to play chess, but doesn't have enough people to play games with her. Her cousin Abdi lived in Kenya with a lot of extended Somali family, and he will play online with her sometimes, but her siblings aren't interested. Halima convinces her best friend, Jem, to play with her as a way to distract her from the death of her beloved grandfather, and the two approach Ms. Barnes to be their faculty advisor for a chess club. They recruit Parker, whose siblings play a lot of sports, and who wants something competitive that might make his parents pay attention to him. Daniel finds mysterious chess notes in library books and is lured into the club as well. The group has to deal with Lucas, an annoying bully whom Jem stand up to, and well as former friend Blake who sometimes gives them problems. Jem struggles with anger issues. The group spends a lot of time practicing, and eventually has a match against another team. The book includes many chess diagrams and descriptions of moves.

I really liked Duffy's illustrations, and this has more descriptions of the game of chess than most books I've read. Jem seemed like the main character to me, and her baking and dealing with the death of her grandfather was more prevalent than Halima's challenges. Pair this with Giles' Not an Easy Win or Gerber's Focused for readers who want stories centered around chess.

[Anne Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s something deeply comforting about a story where a group of seemingly mismatched kids come together over a shared passion—and The Winning Move delivers that feeling in the most grounded, heartfelt way.

I picked this up because I love stories about quiet resilience—those small, determined acts of finding your people and your purpose. And in this middle-grade graphic novel, that happens over chessboards, inside school libraries, and in the quiet struggles of kids just trying to be seen and understood.

I love the layers in everyone's character and how beautifully their story is woven in the moves of the game. Book personally feels like an invitation to play.

It’s a story that reminds you that your “winning move” doesn’t always happen on the board; sometimes it’s just showing up, finding your people, and staying in the game. It left me feeling warm, inspired, and oddly eager to dust off my old chessboard.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halima wants to play chess. The only person who plays with her is her cousin, but he is getting ready to go to college, and so can’t meet online as often. So she forms a chess club with people who don’t know how to play, but are willing to learn. There are various reasons for each wanting to play. Jem wants to learn because her grandfather played. Parker wants to play because there are tournaments that he can compete in and Daniel is just curious to see what he can do.

It is a very quick read, and appears to be the beginning of a series of stories about the Chess Club.

If you are really into chess, there is a discussion of some of the moves, along with diagrams. I, myself, am not really into it, but I still loved reading about the thinking behind each game, and just skipped over the diagrams.

Great story of finding friendship with a very old game.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published the 3rd of June 2025.

[Kirin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The adorable hijabi on the cover of this middle grade book about chess made me hopeful for a new series, but ultimately the multiple perspective book made my cynical heart just feel like the Kenyan family from Somalia sharing samosas was token rep. The other three main characters seemed to be similarly checking off boxes of being queer, Asian, and a male who is still affected by the teasing he received at 4 years old for enjoying wearing a sparkly dress.

The 204 page story itself did a decent job of using chess to bring the four together as they face their own stresses in school and family. The illustrations, including the chess diagrams, also share strategy and history of the game. I just struggled to keep all the main characters, and their circle of side characters clear, i.e. who was bullying who for what and why and when. I think my brain just checked out once I was disappointed in the flat rep, but there are a lot of names.

[Glenna Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told from the perspectives of four characters, this story deals with themes of belonging, community, and bullying. Halima loves playing chess, but with people, not computers. Unfortunately, her favorite chess opponent, her cousin. lives in Kenya. Halima approaches her best friend, Jem, with the idea of starting a chess club at school, but the challenge is to get four members. As the club gains members and practices, each member deals with their own issues, separately at first, and then as a team, and ultimately as friends. The team must figure out how to deal with an opponent who cheats; how they respond demonstrates true sportsmanship and sensitivity to the opposing team. I enjoyed reading this book.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first in a series that will be focused on getting to know each of the characters of this middle grade novel about growing up, fitting in, and finding purpose-- for Halima, she intentionally finds a group of people to play chess with because others don't want to play or are too far away.

Inside the book is a lot of strategy (in chess and in life) as it moves through the different friends to get their stories and the interspersing of some artwork, so I'd be anxious to see the final print edition since I'm reading a digital galley copy that always has a few formatting issues.

I like the representation and the feeling of slice of life.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halima loves chess and wants to start a club. At first not enough people show up, but then mysterious notes are found in books and lockers and that lures in Daniel. They finally have four players so a club is formed. After playing and practicing the club finds they’re having fun and building teamwork. Their confidence grows. The advisor announces a tournament with other teams. At the tournament Halima wonders if Blake and Parker are cheating. What happens?
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Karen Reeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some wonderful unique persectives join together to tell this story. Donnelly does a wonderful job providing each point of view with their own voice to tell their own experiences throughout the book. There are not many books out there about chess for kids and Chess Club not only provides kids with a story they may be looking for (or might discover they didn’t know they were looking for), but it is also a powerful story of kids discovering what it means to provide and receive frienship, what it means to be part of a team.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readers meet the first of the four main characters as she struggles to find someone to play chess with. Her best friend challenges her to start a Chess Club after school. The book unfolds from the four members POVs as they learn both chess and life lessons. Much of the book sets up the different characters, and I hope the next book picks up with the rematch mentioned to close this book.

[☆♡Ellie♡☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love chess! And I hope you all do as well. This books shows Halima, who loves
chess and wants to join a chess club at Wiley Middle School.
The problem is- NO CHESS CLUBS! So Halima starts her own.
She has a group that she teaches how to play!
Recommended for everyone who likes chess. It's awesome by the way.

[Maggie Levine]

Enjoyed

[LS Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid start to a new series. Will be enjoyed be readers who like books about chess, books that take place in school, books told from multiple POVs.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the chess part of this book so much, and the friendship of the club members, but I felt like there were things in here that were not necessary in a middle school book.