Competitive chess has never felt this scandalous. Checkmate turns ambition, ego, and one explosive cheating accusation into a nonfiction thriller that’s nearly impossible to put down.
Tim Curry somehow spent fifty years becoming one of the most recognizable actors alive while also remaining a complete mystery. Kind of impressive. Read my review of Vagabond.
![Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess by Ben Mezrich [Book Review]](https://ashbydodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Checkmate-hero-285x300.png "Checkmate: Genius, Lies, Ambition, and the Biggest Scandal in Chess by Ben Mezrich [Book Review]")
![Vagabond by Tim Curry [Book Review]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bFR5!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a9ad05e-370a-4bd3-af99-5ef2417fcedf_1536x1024.png "Vagabond by Tim Curry [Book Review]")
