Finished reading CHESS, a novella by Stefan Zweig. The author was born in Austria. In the late 1930s, after Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Zweig fled from his homeland, lived briefly in the United Kingdom and United States, and finally settled in Brazil where he died in 1942 at age 60. CHESS was published later that year in Argentina. The action takes place in a passenger steamship sailing from New York to Buenos Aires with a stop in Rio de Janeiro. Reigning world chess champion is travelling. Some passengers request a chess match with him. He agrees condescendingly and demands a fee. He wins easily. His opponents request another match during which they get unexpected help from a stranger who happens to be passing by. The stranger helps them to win against the champion. It turns out that the stranger, Dr B, has left his native Austria after being severely persecuted by pro-Nazi forces and is on the verge of mental insanity.
