Fiamma's Book Review: May The Best Player Win

As a young female chess player myself, it is comforting to know that there are books out there highlighting not only the struggles we endure every day, but also our strengths.

BY Fiamma Orellana
Brooklyn prospect sunset yards middle school
HER LEAGUE MEMBER & HER NEWS COLUMNIST

Image courtesy of Amazon

In Kyla Zhao’s empowering novel, May The Best Player Win, a young chess player named May wins an award at the state championships — a huge honor for anybody — and is thrust into a world of competition when her chess team gets invited to nationals. In the race for team captain, May must power through judgement from the boys on her team who believe she isn’t capable or worthy of her award. Her mind clouded with the desire to prove the boys wrong and become team captain, she loses sight of her true love for chess in a haze of pressure. She must embark on a journey not only to gain back her passion for the art of chess, but also to prove her strength. 

As a young female chess player myself, it is comforting to know that there are books out there highlighting not only the struggles we endure every day, but also our strengths. May’s journey is very relatable, and Zhao’s novel isn’t only focused on May’s chess but also on her personal life and struggles, including judgement from the boys on her team, especially when her “friend” Ralph tells her that “it's common knowledge that guys are better at girls than chess.”. This is just one example of judgement Zhao includes in her novel. Girls will find May’s experiences with prejudice very relatable, as most of us have faced similar moments of being told we aren’t good enough simply because we are female. The way May discovers that she shouldn’t let other people’s judgement influence her is truly inspirational for young women in the chess field. However, both male and female chess players will find the book enjoyable, no matter what their rating is. Readers will also enjoy Zhao’s realistic descriptions of her chess games. She uses words such as “Scandinavian Defense” and “smothered mate,” which are chess terms that other fictional stories fail to include. A lot of books just give a broad overview when discussing games, but Zhao really allows us to envision the games and how May plays, as if we were there too. This adds a sense of reality to the book, as the chess games seem more realistic and in-depth. Overall, I loved this book, and I feel that all girls in chess need this. Having a relatable situation about our struggles in a male-dominated sport is incredibly important, and girls can really identify with this incredible novel and its lovable main character.