Description:
The hopes of humanity rest on the shoulders of one chess player in this true graphic novel about the epic chess match between a human and a super computer.
It's May 1997 in New York City. A chess world champion is about to face off against Deep Blue, a cutting-edge super computer. Will a machine triumph over the human mind?Brief description: Thien Pham is a graphic novelist and educator based in Oakland, CA. He is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Sumo and the illustrator for the middle-grade graphic novel Level Up, written by Gene Luen Yang. His graphic novel, Family Style, a memoir about his family's immigration to America told through the lens of food, has been on numerous best-of lists including the Washington Post's "Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2023" and Publishers Weekly's "20 Books We Love." Family Style was a finalist for the ALA YALSA Excellence in Non-Fiction and won an Eisner award for Best Memoir Graphic Novel. Currently, Pham is working on his next graphic novel, teaching, and eating. A lot. Follow Thien on Instagram.
Review Quotes:
★ "History buffs, chess fanatics, and tech junkies will likely struggle to put this down, and anyone who's ever considered chess boring will certainly find out how thrilling it can be." -Shelf Awareness, starred review
"The story... crackles with energy. Pham's artwork heightens the drama." -The New York Times"Utterly engrossing. I could not put this book down." ―Gene Luen Yang, New York Times-bestselling and National Book Award Finalist author of American Born Chinese
★ "This is sure to be popular with gaming, computer science, and chess enthusiasts as well as existing fans of the creators. Highly recommended for upper elementary and middle school collections." -School Library Journal, starred review
★ "While this is geared toward middle-grade readers, any chess enthusiast or newbie (or anyone wondering if, when, or how AI might come for their life's work) will appreciate this deep, comprehensive dive into an important moment in the history of technology and human achievement." -Booklist, starred review ★ "[N]early impossible to put down... offers meaningful insights into the present-day debate over AI and challenges young people to take an active role in shaping the future of technology." -The Horn Book, starred review "A timely, edge-of-your-seat read that's equally riveting for chess players and nonplayers alike." -Kirkus ". . . captures the excitement and suspense of a classic sports showdown and explores thought-provoking themes about where humanity stands at the rise of AI." -Frederic Friedel, Editor-in-Chief emeritus of ChessBase