SASHA CHAPIN is an award-winning journalist and recovering chess enthusiast. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, BuzzFeed, and Hazlitt. He lives in LA.
“The quest memoir is a balky beast. To tame it as well as Canadian
journalist Sasha Chapin does in All the Wrong
Moves, you’ll need an obscure but preferably universal target
of obsession—chess mastery, in his case—a vague discontent with
your present existence, a lover or two, a guru and the
globe-trotting freedom to pursue your quixotic quarry…. ‘It’s
tricky to explain the appeal of chess to someone who doesn’t play,’
Chapin concedes, yet he makes all the right moves in doing just
that.”
—Washington Post
“A briskly told coming-of-age memoir…Chapin has a fine eye for the
game’s beauty...In the course of his entertaining odyssey, Mr.
Chapin offers a Zen-like secret to chess, and to living.”
—Wall Street Journal
“A witty, entertaining memoir about competitive chess and the
author’s obsession with same, which takes him around the world, and
brings him glory—along with no small number of humiliating
defeats.”
—LitHub.com
“Sasha Chapin writes like someone who knows. He knows euphoria. He
knows despair. It’s clear that he’s traveled to hell and back, that
he is fluent in languages of the heart that have yet to be spoken,
and All the Wrong Moves is the brightest light.”
—Bryan Washington, author of Lot: Stories
"A smart, funny, and slyly profound book about the dark ecstasies
of obsessive love. Sasha Chapin is a gentlemanly Gonzo, a
dirty Bond, and he writes like a dream."
—Claudia Dey, author of Heartbreaker
"All the Wrong Moves is a touching and brilliant portrait of
masculinity. Chapin writes with arresting honesty, capturing the
manner in which none of us are truly in control of our
personalities. He humiliates himself in all the right ways,
and the results are luminous and profound and hysterical."
—Heather O’Neill, author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel
“Thoughtful and clever…Chapin’s sincere memoir of self-discovery
will charm chess enthusiasts, as well as those searching for their
next move in life.”
—Publishers Weekly
“[Chapin] infuses the narrative with exuberant, often funny,
anecdotes; glimpses of strategy; and lyrical reflections.... An
entertaining portrayal of the esoteric world of chess.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Wryly funny, introspective, and grimly evocative, Chapin’s memoir
is perfect for a brief wade into the world of chess, or as a
jumping off point for a much deeper dive.”
—Booklist
"Whether or not you know anything about chess, you’ll be able to
relate to Chapin’s quest to find love, excitement, and, above all,
his place in the world."
—BookRiot
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