{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260609T161823Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1538783347?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1538783347","authors":["Ben Mezrich"],"book_id":"9781538783344","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/checkmate-1538783347","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781538783344.jpg?v=20260609T161823Z%3A2026-06-09T22%3A50%3A17Z","description":"\"The best black-and-white drama this side of Chess on Broadway.\" - Vanity Fair From the bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House comes the cinematic true story about the biggest scandal in modern chess. In September 2022, the unthinkable happened: nineteen-year-old American chess prodigy Hans Niemann defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in a stunning face-to-face match. Within days, Carlsen accused Niemann of cheating—a bombshell allegation that rocked the chess world. As the scandal spiraled, Chess.com—the dominant force in online chess—launched a high-stakes investigation igniting a global media firestorm. But Checkmate is about more than a cheating scandal. It’s the story of a teenager willing to risk everything to rise to the top; a reclusive genius suddenly fighting to protect his legacy; and a centuries-old game transforming into a billion-dollar industry fueled by streaming, sponsorships, and Silicon Valley power players. With exclusive access to the central figures, Ben Mezrich takes readers deep inside the weird, wild, and cutthroat world of competitive chess—where genius meets ambition, and every move could be your last.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781538783344","publication_date":"20260602","publisher":"Grand Central Publishing","slug":"checkmate","subtitle":"Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess","title":"Checkmate"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"GAM001030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chess","score":0.8099,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"JNF021010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Board Games","score":0.754,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"GAM004050","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Sports Betting","score":0.7273,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"GAM001030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chess","score":0.8099,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"JNF021010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Board Games","score":0.754,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"GAM004050","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Sports Betting","score":0.7273,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"BIO016000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Sports Lives","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"GAM001030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chess","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SPO066000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Sports & Society","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Chess","score":0.8099,"slug":"chess"},{"label":"Board Games","score":0.754,"slug":"board-games"},{"label":"Sports Betting","score":0.7273,"slug":"sports-betting"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in true stories about competitive chess and scandals","Good for fans of nonfiction exploring ambition and high-stakes investigations"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Alexey Bezgodov","Dmitry Aleynikov"],"book_id":"9789083328430","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9789083328430.jpg?v=20260609T161823Z%3A2026-06-09T22%3A50%3A17Z","score":17.3041,"title":"Spassky's Best Games","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9789083328430"},{"authors":["Levy Rozman"],"book_id":"9780593840108","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593840108.jpg?v=20260609T161823Z%3A2026-06-09T22%3A50%3A17Z","score":16.5255,"title":"How to Win at Chess","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593840108"},{"authors":["John Hersey"],"book_id":"9780679721031","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780679721031.jpg?v=20260609T161823Z%3A2026-06-09T22%3A50%3A17Z","score":11.2365,"title":"Hiroshima","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780679721031"},{"authors":["Andrew Beyer"],"book_id":"9780395701324","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780395701324.jpg?v=20260609T161823Z%3A2026-06-09T22%3A50%3A17Z","score":10.748,"title":"Picking Winners","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780395701324"},{"authors":["Julia Cooke"],"book_id":"9780358699187","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780358699187.jpg?v=20260609T161823Z%3A2026-06-09T22%3A50%3A17Z","score":10.3405,"title":"Come Fly the World","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780358699187"},{"authors":["Jonathan D. Cohen"],"book_id":"9798987053706","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9798987053706.jpg?v=20260609T161823Z%3A2026-06-09T22%3A50%3A17Z","score":9.9949,"title":"Losing Big","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9798987053706"},{"authors":["Timothy Egan"],"book_id":"9780544102767","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780544102767.jpg?v=20260609T161823Z%3A2026-06-09T22%3A50%3A17Z","score":9.789,"title":"Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780544102767"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:activity"],"label":"Activity","score":0.0986,"slug":"activity"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world"],"label":"World","score":0.0928,"slug":"world"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: scandal, ambition, competitive chess.","Pacing: mixed tempo with quieter and high-intensity stretches.","Story elements: prodigy, scandal, investigation."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.9,"pacing":"mixed","reader_fit":["Readers interested in true stories about competitive chess and scandals","Fans of nonfiction exploring ambition and high-stakes investigations"],"themes":["scandal","ambition","competitive chess"],"tropes":["prodigy","scandal","investigation"]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":77,"goodreads_reviews_count":15,"quality_score":0.8645}}