The Last Gambit
by Om Swami
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: General Fiction-> Coming of Age
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Success
by design is infinitely better than a win by chance. Vasu Bhatt is fourteen
years old when a mysterious old man spots him at a chess tournament and offers
to coach him, on two simple but strange conditions: he would not accompany his
student to tournaments, and there was to be no digging into his past. Initially
resentful, Vasu begins to gradually understand his master’s mettle.
Over eight years, master and student come to love and respect each other, but the two conditions remain unbroken – until Vasu confronts and provokes the old man. Meanwhile, their hard work and strategy pay off: Vasu qualifies for the world chess championship. But can he make it all the way without his master by his side?
Inspiring, moving and mercurial, The Last Gambit is a beautiful coming of age tale in a uniquely Indian context.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt :
Saving a few times, like when he was sleeping, living with
Andrei was a continuous challenge. He was just not designed with any sense of
living in a world sans chess. He couldn’t even pour tea without spilling it in
the saucer. He would never remember to turn the gas off after cooking. And the
only thing he knew how to cook was an omelette. It was scary to be in the same
car with him because he would just stop anywhere and start making notes on some
game.
He would forget his wallet in the restaurant and keys in his
car. It’s hard to imagine that the genius Andrei, immaculate on the chessboard,
would be so clumsy in real life. The man who could think through lengthy lines
of variations in his head could not string together two words to hold a
conversation. He never spoke to my parents. He would say he didn’t have any
conversational skills. Surely, he could have learnt these skills, if only he
had made an effort.
I kept my hopes up
for six long years and then one day I realized that ‘if only’ doesn’t work with
people like Andrei. If it could, he wouldn’t be Andrei then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review: I've always been a fan of stories about chess. I got hooked on stories about the game from the musical "Chess." So this book intrigued me from the get go.
This book is the story of a young chess player and his coach/master. The dynamic reminded me of The Karate Kid in some ways.
It was very inspiring. Its the kind of book you will pick up again and give a re-read, when you need to feel light in your life.
A fabulous read!
Rating: 5 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Om
Swami is a monk who lives in a remote place in the Himalayan foothills. He has
a bachelor degree in business and an MBA from Sydney, Australia. Swami served
in executive roles in large corporations around the world. He founded and led a
profitable software company with offices in San Francisco, New York, Toronto,
London, Sydney and India.
Om
Swami completely renounced his business interests to pursue a more spiritual
life. He is the bestselling author of Kundalini: An Untold Story, A Fistful of
Love and If Truth Be Told: A Monk’s Memoir.
His
blog omswami.com is read by millions all over the world.
Buy
links:
Brief
Description of the Book
Success
by design is infinitely better than a win by chance. Vasu Bhatt is fourteen years old when a
mysterious old man spots him at a chess tournament and offers to coach him, on
two simple but strange conditions: he would not accompany his student to
tournaments, and there was to be no digging into his past. Initially resentful,
Vasu begins to gradually understand his master’s mettle.
Over eight years, master and student come to
love and respect each other, but the two conditions remain unbroken – until
Vasu confronts and provokes the old man. Meanwhile, their hard work and
strategy pay off: Vasu qualifies for the world chess championship. But can he
make it all the way without his master by his side?
Inspiring, moving and mercurial, The Last
Gambit is a beautiful coming of age tale in a uniquely Indian context.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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