Chess Club: The Winning Move

by Rebecca Donnelly, Isabelle Duffy (illustrator)

A heartfelt, laugh-out-loud illustrated middle-grade novel about friendship, coming of age, and found family following four friends who form a chess club as they try to survive middle school intact. Perfect for fans of Kelly Yang and Dan Geimenhart.

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 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.

Kindle Edition

Published June 3, 2025

Reviews

[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.

[Hope Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halima is not athletic like her siblings, but is very good at chess. As she advocates that chess should be considered as much an extracurricular as sports, she initiates a school club. The club starts with four very diverse and different students who learn to play the game, appreciate its history, and learn to be a good friend and teammate.

Very detailed descriptions with diagrams to describe the rules of the game. I also enjoyed the bits and pieces of the history of chess scattered throughout this story. Many times it was a little too technical for me (as someone who has no idea how to play chess), but still readable. At first the story seems to be on the theme of finding yourself and being proud of who you are (as in the conflict of Halima not being as athletic as her siblings and feels expected to be by her parents), but then it veers a little off that theme and begins focusing on the diversity of the characters, two of whom are from an immigrant family and LGBTQ+. I began expecting this to become the main theme of the book, but then it darted to building and maintaining a team and the bravery it took to compete against more established teams when there was a bully present. It was a little confusing to know what to focus on, and I don't feel it was necessary to address all the things in this book. Each of these themes would have done well as another book in a Chess Club series and been explored more fully in its own right.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixth-grader Halima loves playing chess more than just about anything, but she is tired of only being able to play remotely with her older cousin, Abdi, who lives in Kenya, or against a computer program. Her lively friend Jem encourages her to start a chess club at school and even, reluctantly, agrees to join. The narrative unfolds through the different perspectives of each of the four Chess Club members, all of whom have different reasons for giving the club a try. Donnelly structures the story in three parts—Opening, Middlegame, and Endgame—mimicking the structure of the game itself. Readers who are not chess players may find their interest waning during explanations of moves and strategies, but others may be drawn to learn how to play. The middle school conflicts each player is dealing with are realistic but mildly depicted, making this a good choice for younger middle grade readers. The novel is lightly illustrated and includes some diagrams of chess moves that help readers follow the action. Whether this is meant to be the first book in a series is unclear, but a budding rivalry with a nearby school's club leaves room for a sequel.

Recommended for readers in grades 4-6.

[Mary Louise Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young readers will appreciate the story told in four perspectives and the information about chess packed in this slim illustrated book. Readers will learn concepts about chess to help them win matches in this “sport”, which should be promoted in schools!