The book is about an orphaned girl, Beth, who gets addicted to tranquilizers, thanks to the orphanage that feeds the kids those little green pills to keep them controlled. One day she spies a janitor playing chess and there starts the story of a girl whose love for the game made her a master at a young age.
But being a lonely broken child, her desire for oblivion clashes with her zeal to become a Grandmaster. The book takes us through her life's ups and downs.
What I love is the crisp narration of the author and his control over the story. While he goes into details about the chess moves, he reins in the sense of despair and loneliness Beth experiences. It's as aloof and detached as she is, and that works surprisingly well for the storyline.
I only wish I knew the game enough to understand the intricacies of the moves and counter moves.