48 pages • 1 hour read
Ali HazelwoodCheck & Mate
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Authorial Context: Ali Hazelwood
Ali Hazelwood is the pen name of the contemporary romance author who wrote Check & Mate. Originally from Italy, she later relocated to the U.S. She has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and is now a professor in the field. Her first novel, The Love Hypothesis, was originally a Star Wars fanfiction story. After publication as a stand-alone novel, it stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 40 weeks, illustrating the growing success of writers who begin their journey on fanfiction websites.
Hazelwood’s adult novels generally center on the world of STEM; some deal with the academia while others focus on industry. They are consistently contemporary romances told from the perspectives of the female protagonists. Each of these novels deal with issues of gender discrimination in the world of STEM, illustrating the challenges women face when pursuing scientific careers. Check & Mate is her first young adult novel. While it is not set in the varied arenas of STEM, it is closely related due to the gender discrimination that still permeates the world of chess. Like her older protagonists, Mallory must cope with the barriers placed before her as a woman in a male-dominated field.
Cultural Context: Chess
Check & Mate explores the world of professional chess, illustrating some of the challenges faced by players and organizations. In particular, the novel reveals issues around misogyny and cheating. Even in times recent to the novel’s publication, leaders in the world of chess made comments indicating their belief that women are not as capable as men when it comes to chess. The effects of sexism in professional chess are generally cyclical. Groups of men believe women are not as skilled as men, so they treat women badly. This then leads to women leaving professional chess and maintaining a masculine culture wherein sexist ideas continue to spread. Mallory experiences this first-hand when she re-enters the world of competitive chess, and she learns from women like Defne how toxic the atmosphere has become. Chess regained popularity after shows like Queen’s Gambit, which also grappled with sexism in chess in the mid-to-late 1900s; however, the world of chess remains a difficult one for women to inhabit, leading to the creation of many women-only tournaments.
Cheating has also become more of a concern in chess as computers and simulators become more accessible. Online chess became more popular during COVID-19, but as it gained popularity, rates of cheating increased. At least one major professional player has been caught in a cheating scandal like Malte Koch in Check & Mate. Koch’s situation also reflects these real-life scandals through his bad sportsmanship and refusal to accept responsibility. With the wide availability of devices like smartwatches, which is what Koch uses in the novel to cheat, organizations must find ways to cope with the rise in the use of simulators for the sake of winning.
Cultural Context: LBGTQ+ Representation
Check & Mate features LGBTQ+ representation in a casual manner, portraying lives in which sexuality can exist without dominating the portrayal of a character or becoming the subject of intense scrutiny. Easton is presumably homosexual and Mallory bisexual, though neither overtly offers a definition or term for their sexuality. Instead, their preferences are represented through the partners they choose. At least one or both of Mallory’s sisters are also not heterosexual, a fact that is treated with gentleness and acceptance, as Mallory notes to herself when one clearly exhibits feelings for Easton.
No one else seems to take note of the two women’s preferences or sexual activity, indicating the possibility of LGBTQ+ narratives that aren’t centered on sexual identity and allowing for a more specific, in-depth analysis of sexism in the story.
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