On a ship voyage, the oil magnate McConnor challenges the almost robotically infallible weak world champion Mirko Czentovic to a game. After the first game must be conceded as lost, a mysterious stranger emerges from the crowd of spectators and offers his assistance. Against all expectations, the enigmatic Dr. B. manages to turn the tide and force Czentovic to a draw. This is the plot. However, the novella tells more than just the story of an unlikely and thrilling chess match. Stefan Zweig created a moving and allegorical exploration of two competing worldviews, fascism and individualism, a character study on the fine line between madness and intellectual self-empowerment. Today, the chess novella is considered one of the most widely read books in German literature.