The Last Checkmate A Novel

Maria Florkowska is a member of the Polish underground resistance in Nazi-occupied Warsaw and an avid chess player. When she is captured by the Gestapo and imprisoned in Auschwitz, her family is sent to their deaths, but she is spared. The sadistic camp deputy, Karl Fritzsch, discovers her chess talent and uses her as an opponent to entertain the camp guards, with the intention of eventually killing her once he tires of her. Vowing to avenge her family's murder, Maria is befriended by a Catholic priest and plays for her life over four grueling years. Her strategy is to cleverly provoke Fritzsch's volatile nature in front of his superiors to orchestrate his downfall. As the war nears its end, she challenges her nemesis to one final, life-or-death game in her fight for justice.

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