She came to be known as 1671 after she arrived in Auschwitz at age fourteen. Maria Florkowska was her given name and, despite her youth, she was a member of the Polish Resistance. One unfortunate encounter with the Nazis resulted in torture and then her imprisonment in Auschwitz. She had been taught the game of chess as a young child and, in part, her skill is what saved her from immediate death. For four years she endured an unimaginable existence in an unimaginable place.
While this is a work of historical fiction, it reads like a true story due to the impeccable research on the part of the author. The characters are completely believable, as is what they endure. If there was ever a story about survival during the worst of circumstances then Gabriella Saab's THE LAST CHECKMATE is that story. The author brings to life the best and the worst of humanity.
THE LAST CHECKMATE by Gabriella Saab is not light reading. Having said that, it is a story that should be read and remembered. Highly recommended.
Readers of Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz and watchers of The Queen’s Gambit won’t want to miss this amazing debut set during World War II. A young Polish resistance worker, imprisoned in Auschwitz as a political prisoner, plays chess in exchange for her life, and in doing so fights to bring the man who destroyed her family to justice.Maria Florkowska is many things: daughter, avid chess player, and, as a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a young woman brave beyond her years. Captured by the Gestapo, she is imprisoned in Auschwitz, but while her family is sent to their deaths, she is spared. Realizing her ability to play chess, the sadistic camp deputy, Karl Fritzsch, decides to use her as a chess opponent to entertain the camp guards. However, once he tires of exploiting her skills, he has every intention of killing her.Befriended by a Catholic priest, Maria attempts to overcome her grief, vows to avenge the murder of her family, and plays for her life. For four grueling years, her strategy is simple: Live. Fight. Survive. By cleverly provoking Fritzsch’s volatile nature in front of his superiors, Maria intends to orchestrate his downfall. Only then will she have a chance to evade the fate awaiting her and see him punished for his wickedness.As she carries out her plan and the war nears its end, she challenges her former nemesis to one final game, certain to end in life or death, in failure or justice. If Maria can bear to face Fritzsch—and her past—one last time.
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