All the Wrong Moves

A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything

By: Sasha Chapin

Narrated by: Sasha Chapin

An enthralling journey into the world of chess--a story of heartbreak, obsession, failure, and the hunger for greatness

Sasha Chapin is a victim of chess. Like countless amateurs before him--Albert Einstein, Humphrey Bogart, Marcel Duchamp--the game has consumed his life and his mind. First captivated by it as a member of his high school chess club, his passion was rekindled during an accidental encounter with chess hustlers on the streets of Kathmandu. In its aftermath, he forgot how to care about anything else. He played at all hours, for weeks at a time. Like a spurned lover, he tried to move on, but he found the game more seductive the more he resisted it.

And so, he thought, if he can't defeat his obsession, he had to succumb to it.

All the Wrong Moves traces Chapin's rollicking two-year journey around the globe in search of glory. Along the way, he chronicles the highs and lows of his fixation, driven on this quest by lust, terror, and the elusive possibility of victory. Stylish, inventive, and laugh-out-loud funny, All the Wrong Moves is a celebration of the purity, violence, and beauty of the game.

jfg review

This is an interesting story, very well written and told by a man exploring the limits of his skill and passion by delving into the world of tournament chess. It's an entertaining incite into that world which is filled with interesting characters and few surprises as the author learns what it takes to be great.

nice story, horrible narration.

solid, heartfelt memoir. But yet another example of why authors shouldn't read their work. He is at times (actually most of the time) stultifyingly robotic. Seriously, at first I thought there was some kind of joke going on, as if someone told him it would be cool to sound like a robot reading your book.
but still.. a solid, heartfelt memoir.

Some authors should be read and not heard

The book itself is great, but the narration reminds me of a second generation Speak & Spell. I will be keeping my Kindle copy and returning the Audible as soon as I submit this review.

Best book on chess/life/self-identify ever written

In this case, the author was the absolute best person to read the story, without holding back any of the emotions with which everything was written.

Puzzling Out Meaning

Chapin tells a charmingly self-deprecating story of his own life and search for meaning in a game. Funny and ultimately deeply illuminating. So glad I picked up this unlikely surprise of a book - I don’t even play chess.