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Mind vs. Machine: The Chess Match That Changed the World
Not yet published
Expected 8 Sep 26A high-stakes middle grade nonfiction graphic novel about the legendary chess match between World Champion Garry Kasparov and IBM's Deep Blue computer, co-authored by Steve Sheinkin and Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley and illustrated by Thien Pham
The hopes of humanity rest on the shoulders of one chess player.
It’s May, 1997, in Manhattan, New York. World champion Garry Kasparov is about to begin a six-game match against Deep Blue, the cutting-edge super computer developed by IBM, led by Feng-Hsiung Hsu. No machine has ever defeated a chess champion in a multi-game match.
If it happens, it will be a major turning point in human history. This is, as Newsweek declares on its cover, “The Brain’s Last Stand.” Will the human mind prevail? Or is this checkmate for humankind?
Told through the three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin's searingly propulsive storytelling and first-hand accounts from chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, with riveting illustrations by Eisner winner Thien Pham (Family Style: A Memoir), this nail-biting narrative captures the excitement and suspense of a classic sports showdown, along with thought-provoking themes about where humanity stands at the rise of AI.
The hopes of humanity rest on the shoulders of one chess player.
It’s May, 1997, in Manhattan, New York. World champion Garry Kasparov is about to begin a six-game match against Deep Blue, the cutting-edge super computer developed by IBM, led by Feng-Hsiung Hsu. No machine has ever defeated a chess champion in a multi-game match.
If it happens, it will be a major turning point in human history. This is, as Newsweek declares on its cover, “The Brain’s Last Stand.” Will the human mind prevail? Or is this checkmate for humankind?
Told through the three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin's searingly propulsive storytelling and first-hand accounts from chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, with riveting illustrations by Eisner winner Thien Pham (Family Style: A Memoir), this nail-biting narrative captures the excitement and suspense of a classic sports showdown, along with thought-provoking themes about where humanity stands at the rise of AI.
240 pages, Paperback
Expected publication September 8, 2026
About the author
Steve Sheinkin
49 books710 followersFrom: http://stevesheinkin.com/about/
I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and my family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. As a kid my favorite books were action stories and outdoor adventures: sea stories, searches for buried treasure, sharks eating people… that kind of thing. Probably my all-time favorite was a book called Mutiny on the Bounty, a novel based on the true story of a famous mutiny aboard a British ship in the late 1700s.
I went to Syracuse University and studied communications and international relations. The highlight of those years was a summer I spent in Central America, where I worked on a documentary on the streets of Nicaragua.
After college I moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for an environmental group called the National Audubon Society. Then, when my brother Ari graduated from college a few years later, we decided to move to Austin, Texas, and make movies together. We lived like paupers in a house with a hole in the floor where bugs crawled in. We wrote some screenplays, and in 1995 made our own feature film, a comedy called A More Perfect Union (filing pictured below), about four young guys who decide to secede from the Union and declare their rented house to be an independent nation. We were sure it was going to be a huge hit; actually we ended up deep in debt.
After that I moved to Brooklyn and decided to find some way to make a living as a writer. I wrote short stories, screenplays, and worked on a comic called The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey. In 2006, after literally hundreds of rejections, my first Rabbi Harvey graphic novel was finally published.
Meanwhile, I started working for an educational publishing company, just for the money. We’d hire people to write history textbooks, and they’d send in their writing, and it was my job to check facts and make little edits to clarify the text. Once in a while I was given the chance to write little pieces of textbooks, like one-page biographies or skills lessons. “Understanding Bar Graphs” was one of my early works. The editors noticed that my writing was pretty good. They started giving me less editing to do, and more writing. Gradually, I began writing chapters for textbooks, and that turned into my full-time job. All the while, I kept working on my own writing projects.
In 2008 I wrote my last textbook. I walked away, and shall never return. My first non-textbook history book was King George: What Was His Problem? – full of all the stories about the American Revolution that I was never allowed to put into textbooks. But looking back, I actually feel pretty lucky to have spent all those years writing textbooks. It forced me to write every day, which is great practice. And I collected hundreds of stories that I can’t wait to tell.
These days, I live with my wife, Rachel, and our two young kids in Saratoga Springs, New York. We’re right down the road from the Saratoga National Historical Park, the site of Benedict Arnold’s greatest – and last – victory in an American uniform. But that’s not why I moved here. Honestly.
I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and my family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. As a kid my favorite books were action stories and outdoor adventures: sea stories, searches for buried treasure, sharks eating people… that kind of thing. Probably my all-time favorite was a book called Mutiny on the Bounty, a novel based on the true story of a famous mutiny aboard a British ship in the late 1700s.
I went to Syracuse University and studied communications and international relations. The highlight of those years was a summer I spent in Central America, where I worked on a documentary on the streets of Nicaragua.
After college I moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for an environmental group called the National Audubon Society. Then, when my brother Ari graduated from college a few years later, we decided to move to Austin, Texas, and make movies together. We lived like paupers in a house with a hole in the floor where bugs crawled in. We wrote some screenplays, and in 1995 made our own feature film, a comedy called A More Perfect Union (filing pictured below), about four young guys who decide to secede from the Union and declare their rented house to be an independent nation. We were sure it was going to be a huge hit; actually we ended up deep in debt.
After that I moved to Brooklyn and decided to find some way to make a living as a writer. I wrote short stories, screenplays, and worked on a comic called The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey. In 2006, after literally hundreds of rejections, my first Rabbi Harvey graphic novel was finally published.
Meanwhile, I started working for an educational publishing company, just for the money. We’d hire people to write history textbooks, and they’d send in their writing, and it was my job to check facts and make little edits to clarify the text. Once in a while I was given the chance to write little pieces of textbooks, like one-page biographies or skills lessons. “Understanding Bar Graphs” was one of my early works. The editors noticed that my writing was pretty good. They started giving me less editing to do, and more writing. Gradually, I began writing chapters for textbooks, and that turned into my full-time job. All the while, I kept working on my own writing projects.
In 2008 I wrote my last textbook. I walked away, and shall never return. My first non-textbook history book was King George: What Was His Problem? – full of all the stories about the American Revolution that I was never allowed to put into textbooks. But looking back, I actually feel pretty lucky to have spent all those years writing textbooks. It forced me to write every day, which is great practice. And I collected hundreds of stories that I can’t wait to tell.
These days, I live with my wife, Rachel, and our two young kids in Saratoga Springs, New York. We’re right down the road from the Saratoga National Historical Park, the site of Benedict Arnold’s greatest – and last – victory in an American uniform. But that’s not why I moved here. Honestly.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 6, 2026
Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This is a story about the historic chess match between Garry Kasparov, a world champion chess grandmaster, as he played against the super computer Deep Blue to see if human intellect can overcome the machine at the rise of technology and electronic gaming. I remember when it happened in 1997 — the anticipation, the media coverage, as the world collectively held its breath to find out who will prevail. Steve Sheinkin was able to brilliantly relay the suspense and excitement of that point in history and I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Thien Pham’s illustrations beautifully bring the story to life. Thank you for bringing me back in time to re-experience this epic battle.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Amazing read!!! A story about man vs machine on chess game. The battle was intense seeing Garry wins some game and lose some games. The pressure was on him but he lose with his head held high. It was a very good storyline that shows back then the impact of technology for the future scares people. Technology is something unknown back then. Thinking they are much clever than humans is scary but nowadays it doesnt scares that much. We have so much technology we somehow adapts to it. Even with technology, todays people are still playing chess game face to face. Love the artstyle as well!!
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Thank You to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book in advance~
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Thank You to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book in advance~
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
This graphic novel is a gift for any chess beginner, enthusiast and life lover of the game. From the very beginning with automatons to complex, computers and AI, we thank chess for this. This story is about the battle of a chess grandmaster Gary K versus IBM's Deep Blue. A recollection of a big event that took place on the 35th floor of.a building, where the whole world witnessed by the edge of their seat.
Awesome book!
This graphic novel is a gift for any chess beginner, enthusiast and life lover of the game. From the very beginning with automatons to complex, computers and AI, we thank chess for this. This story is about the battle of a chess grandmaster Gary K versus IBM's Deep Blue. A recollection of a big event that took place on the 35th floor of.a building, where the whole world witnessed by the edge of their seat.
Awesome book!
Want to Read
May 15, 2026Netgalley
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews