Mind vs. Machine: The Chess Match That Changed the World

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, by bestselling author Steve Sheinkin, Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, and award-winning comics artist Thien Pham.

It's May 1997 in Manhattan, New York. World champion Garry Kasparov is about to begin a six-game match against Deep Blue, the cutting-edge super computer developed by a team of visionaries at IBM. No machine has ever defeated a chess champion in a multi-game match.

If it happens, it will be a major turning point in human history. It will be, as Newsweek declares on its cover, "the Brain's Last Stand."

Will the human mind prevail? Or is this checkmate for humankind?

Told through three-time National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin's gripping storytelling and first-hand accounts from Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, with riveting illustrations by Eisner winner Thien Pham (Family Style: A Memoir), this nail-biting narrative captures the excitement and suspense of a classic sports showdown and explores thought-provoking themes about where humanity stands at the rise of AI.

Don't miss these other exciting illustrated histories by Steve Sheinkin:
- Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, illustrated by Nick Bertozzi
- Diamond Fever! A True Crime Story in the Wild West, illustrated by Jon Chad

Author: Steve Sheinkin,Maurice Ashley
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: 09/08/2026
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.46h x 6.09w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781250334763
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 07/01/2026 pg. 117
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2026 pg. 89

About the Author

Steve Sheinkin is the acclaimed author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories, including Diamond Fever!, Fallout, Undefeated, Born to Fly, The Port Chicago 50, and Bomb. He is also the co-author, with Ruta Sepetys, of the New York Times bestselling middle grade novel, The Bletchley Riddle. His accolades include a Newbery Honor, three Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, a Sibert Medal and Honor, and three National Book Award finalist honors. He lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children.

Maurice Ashley is a Chess Grandmaster, an ESPN commentator, a three-time national championship coach, and an author. In 1999 he earned the title of Chess Grandmaster, making him the first African American Grandmaster in the game's history, and in 2016 he was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame. He lives in Florida.

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.