Chess Rumble

by G. Neri

Three moves is all it takes to change the outcome of the game.

In Marcus's world, battles are fought everyday on the street, at home, and in school. Angered by his sister's death and his father's absence, and pushed to the brink by a bullying classmate, Marcus fights back with his fists.

One punch away from being kicked out of school and his home, Marcus encounters CM, an unlikely chess master who challenges him to fight his battles on the chess board. Guarded and distrusting, Marcus must endure more hard lessons before he can accept CM's help to regain control of his life.

Inspired by inner-city school chess enrichment programs, Chess Rumble explores the ways this strategic game empowers young people with the skills they need to anticipate and calculate their moves through life."

Genres: Poetry, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Childrens, African American

64 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2007

About the author

G. Neri is the Coretta Scott King honor-winning author of Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty and the recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award for his free-verse novella, Chess Rumble. His books have been translated into multiple languages in over 25 countries. They include the novels Tru & Nelle, A Christmas Tale, Ghetto Cowboy, Knockout Games, Surf Mules, and two free-verse picture book bios, When Paul Met Artie and Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. In 2017, he was awarded a National Science Foundation grant that sent him to Antarctica.

Prior to becoming a writer, Neri was a filmmaker, an animator/illustrator, a digital media producer, and a founding member of The Truth anti-smoking campaign. Neri currently writes full-time and lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida with his wife and daughter. You can find him online at www.gneri.com.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I work for the St. Louis City Family Court as a psychologist (31 years!), and as such have been priveleged to meet kids (mostly African-American) from poor, gang-infested, drug-infested neighborhoods in which life is cheap; most are from single-parent families and have lots of problems in school (Don't get me started on the St. Louis Public School System, it ain't pretty). I also have loved Chess, been playing since I was nine. I've taught a lot of kids to play this game, and have tried to impart a sense of "Chess as life" lessons to the youths I talk to. Indeed, the Detention Center now has a Chess Club and I help out when I can.

In that context, I was absolutely blown away by this book! The dialogue (sort of a mellifluous rap) and situations strike one as real, and the work reads fast. I was very impressed by the author's ability to quickly describe characters with depth and sympathy, and the integration of Chess into the protagonist's life makes a big difference. Very consistent with other programs which hopefully look at Chess as a fun way to learn serious ways to survive a difficult situation.

The youth who had this book got it from the Detention's RIF program. I'm going to speak to the representative to see if every kid in the Detention Center can get a copy, which I hope Mr. (Ms.?) Neri will see as a high compliment. VERY inspiring!

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and to the point. The impulsive anger Marcus feels and expresses is easy to relate to for most teens. The chess angle is something different altogether.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chess Rumble is the story of Marcus, a young kid having trouble controlling his anger in the face of what seems like unending problems. His little twin brothers keep causing trouble for him, his principal has it out for him, his former friend Latrell keeps pushing his buttons trying to rile him up. He's got nowhere for that anger and frustration to go except into fighting. One day instead of sending him to detention (for the thousandth time), the principal sends him to the library to play chess with CM. It takes a while for him to warm to the game, and it certainly doesn't happen magically in one school session, but eventually the game helps give him some perspective.

Since the novella is in free-form verse, the prose is sparse but packs a huge emotional punch. Neri perfectly captures that terse pre-teen angst where you have so many feelings but nowhere for them to go and not nearly enough words for them. There's so much hurt and defiance and anger and frustration and fear, and Neri gets to the heart of that so quickly and easily. The book is also beautifully and boldly illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson, so it is really eye-catching for readers who might not be immediately sold on the poetry.

This book popped onto my radar because of an amazing article in School Library Journal: The Author, the Librarian, and the Poet. The piece is like a perfect encapsulation of Igniting a Passion for Reading! I read Yummy a few years ago and it has really stuck with me; I expect this book will be the same. This was the first of his fiction books I've read, but I definitely plan to read more. And I will definitely recommend this book to kids.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this out of the library expecting a comic. It WAS shelved with the comics and graphic novels after all. That's not what I got. It's illustrated, and there's an ongoing narrative, but I think it's a poem. The naration appeared in verse, anyway, and I found that distracting. Not rhyme, just verse, in columns on the pages.

Anyone could see where this was going. A young man, living in a bad neighborhood, loses a sister and his father in very quick succesion. He becomes a discipline problem, and because of his large size, a physical threat. He can't control the anger that sparks his temper and seems to have a first class ticket to juvenile hall. Chess saves him.

As predictable as it was, G. Neri got the dialogue exatly right. I just read On Writing by Stephen King, and he says portraying real speech, let alone dialects, accents and colloquialisms is very, very hard. Neri did that perfectly here. I could actually hear the words being said. Maybe not the voices, but the words were written the way they would sound, not the way they would appear courtesy of spell-check. The slang was understandable, but helped to create my idea of just who this kid was.

Jesse Watson's illustrations were beautiful. Mostly black and white, elaborate shading and a tiny touch of color where black and white just weren't quite enough. The characters were brought to life, and his drawings of chess pieces were beautiful, even if they were only the plastc $5.99 starter sets.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

G. Neri's CHESS RUMBLE is appealing to reluctant readers, especially boys, on a number of levels. Neri nails the voice of a boy growing up in the inner city in a way that's reminiscent of Walter Dean Myers. Neri's main character, Marcus, is a young man dealing with family troubles and fights at school, until he meets a powerful mentor and learns to fight his battles on a chessboard instead.

This novella in verse is full of language that's vivid and accessible, and Jesse Joshua Watson's illustrations in shades of black, brown, and gray help to set the mood. This one has serious kid-appeal -- not just for the kids who already love to read but for those who don't often find books on the library shelves that seem to be written for them. This one is.

[Thomas Johnson]

It was a goooooooooood book

[Luke Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it would take until The Crossover for this kind of thing to catch fire, Greg Neri's debut poem is an excellent little microcosm-- economy in story telling, language, and feeling. The way Marcus's mentor-to-be, CM, enters the story, wearing his credibility that fills a room with a calm seriousness, and the way he's drawn by Jesse Joshua Watson, the reader seeing him from above, in the library allows for visual- and plot-anchoring. Marcus's story is going to mesh the concepts of patience, planning, and persistance, and staying out of trouble together with fat shaming and extreme family trauma. It would be a mistake to call this only a test run for Neri's remarkable Yummy, which delves into the Clinton-era super-predator headlines. The book is instead a sports-and-game story- like much of Kwame's oeuvre- with a grittier, more urban take. The only thing I wanted was more illustrations, and probably a different font, but the light/dark panels with the words on top of them do a good job of conveying

[KadayJah Surley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I obtained this book from the education library. The first thing I noticed about this book was the title page. The illustrations are fantastic. The plot of the story is very interesting. I believe that this book is a great read for all children. It is a way for students to relate to children that may have had a different life then them. I think the author did a great job as portraying the main character life struggles along side the game of chess. This story is about a young boy who's sister dies and his life spins out of control with his father leaving and his best friend giving him a hard time at school. He soon develops anger issues and does not how to control it. He then meets a man in the library who is willing to teach him chess, not only to be a good chess player but to help him better his life. This book is exceptional!

[Tonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best compliment I can give author and the book is that it has taken away every last excuse not to have my kid teach me chess. As a future middle school teacher, I can’t wait to add to the classroom. This book reminded me so much of various scenes from my school years and is relatable to many. The author does not soften it and thus any teacher should read first. Highly recommend for middle school and even some early high school. I found out about the book from the Lee and Low blog.

[Carlos G · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is ight ig i mean i kinda can relate to this but its an amazing book the images are good and the details are amazing , alot of kids can be just like this and not have a dad the good part about it is that it shows a lesson to always have a good mind set and to never take your anger out on anyone and possibly ruin there day

[Elyssa Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I work with troubled youth and was looking for a book to help at risk kids. Great insight into a story that teaches youth how to control their moves / end game of actions in a friendly game of chess and life overall.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book to my summer class ages ranged from 11-13 and they were really engrossed. It is a very intriguing book and young minds would definitely enjoy it.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, in-verse novel about learning to tame anger and impulse through the game of chess.
Middle School
Verse
Reluctant Readers
Struggling Readers
Quick Read

[Carol Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

great for our kids because many played chess over the summer yet somewhat dated

[Paige Soule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verse novel, interesting, but feel like it's a book the librarian in The New Kid would give to one of the financial aid students.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was great reading this to the kids and teaching them about coping mechanisms, handling emotions, dealing with personal relationships, conflict resolution, etc.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! I only wish it was longer!

[Malachi L.T · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was ok

[Angela S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Free verse book about surviving and strategizing in life and on the chessboard.

[Jen Hossack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, but poignant story in verse. Give this to kids struggling with family relationships and death.

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story in verse about a boy with anger issues and a probable life in prison who is saved by a mentor who teaches him how to play chess. Touching!

[Kayla Leitschuh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting lyrical book about how Chess helps one kid deal with anger issues.

[Saily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure what to make of this book because it has pictures but it’s not in a traditional graphic novel format. It’s also in free verse which made it really easy and fast to read. It’s such an easy read that I read it in an hour. Ironically, because it was so easy to read, I don’t know how to feel about it. I thought the story was okay, not extraordinary, but good nonetheless. The story is a bit predictable but there’s nothing about it that really bugged me or surprised me. It’s obvious the protagonist is troubled and has his own demons to sort out, and that chess will somehow play an important role in his life, however, it never felt like PSA announcement for trouble youth.

One thing that I really liked was the art style Other than not knowing where to place this book, the art style were really well done. There are some pages where the painting is from the protagonist’s point of view, it’s a subtle way to make you part of the story as the character without it ever feeling intrusive.

What really made me want to read this book was the author when he came to my school a couple of weeks ago and talked with us. I enjoyed his presentation and he said a couple of things that really resonated with me and inspired me. He told us a story about a troubled kid that read this book and turned his life around and recently graduated high school and had plans for college. That coupled with his “say yes to the world” motto, I knew I had to give his books a chance.

Although, I didn’t love this one, I still think you should give it a try. I'm still looking forward to reading more of his novels.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great YA graphic novel … glad I stumbled upon it.

[Heather Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chess Rumble opens with the illustration of a boy extending his hand towards the viewer. In perspective, the fist looks life-size if the reader is eight to twelve—the ages recommended by the publisher—and invites engagement. “Peace!” as is often said in this reviewer’s home.

It is certainly not the same fist that’s found a few pages later, when protagonist Marcus is smacking his nemesis Latrell for teasing him in public. Marcus, of course, ends up in the principal’s office. Little threat there, however, as he knows Mrs. Tate feels sorry for him since his sister died. No, she won’t kick him out of school, but she will send him to the library. “Maybe you can use that anger to break down barriers instead of creating new ones,” she says. In response, Marcus thinks: I wanna say I’m not an angry guy, that I’m not the one she gotta worry ’bout. But I can see in the way she look at me that she don’t believe I will turn it around.

But isn’t a child who speaks like this going to have trouble in a library? And, why would a publisher encourage the use of slang? Says author G. Neri, “For reluctant readers, specifically inner city boys who may have never read a work of fiction, Chess Rumble provides an urban voice they probably haven’t seen in books before.

I see Chess Rumble as a gateway book, something that represents the language and rhythms of the street, something that may intrigue young men who have no voice in literature enough to get them reading.” Bakari Kitwani, author of the Hip Hop Generation (Civitas), believes that lyrics are the key to engaging and communicating with urban youth. As quoted recently in the New York Times, he says, “That’s far more powerful than any negative influence the music may be having.” Publisher Lee & Low specializes in children’s books with multicultural themes, and has more than 200 titles in print. “When we started the company, there was a lot of interest in multicultural books,” cofounder Tom Low says, “but most of the titles were folktales about exotic people from distant lands. We felt strongly that it was important to have books with a contemporary setting that reflect how we live today.”

This particular book was test-driven during its creation on a classroom of middle grade readers. Says Senior Editor Jennifer Fox, “The feedback we gathered through a questionnaire and the teacher’s discussions with the kids was not only useful but also engaging, touching, and even entertaining.” As Marcus says, “In my ’hood / battles is fought every day. / Some on the street corner. / some in the park. / Warriors fall. / Kings is made.” Hopefully some readers will be made as well. (ForeWord Magazine)

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleven-year-old Marcus is an extremely troubled youth. His sister, with whom he was close, died the year before of a heart ailment. His father left. Marcus is big and gets teased and bullied about it – especially by a particularly mean kid named Latrell. He copes with his problems by either getting in fights or withdrawing from everyone.

After yet another fight in school, he is sent to the library to cool off. There he encounters “CM” or “Chess Master.” CM tries to teach Marcus chess, and show him the value in thinking ahead. He explains to Marcus: "See, you think you’re a king, but you’re just a pawn. You’re not playing to your strengths. You got brains somewhere in that head a yours. You just gotta use ‘em.”

Marcus starts playing chess with CM every day after school, and starts to improve:

"Over the next month CM an’ me play every day after school. We even talk ‘bout stuff that’s botherin’ me, like Latrell an’ my sister, an’ Daddy not bein’ ‘round no more. He show me that all them chess pieces is like a family. That when one fall, the others carry on. They have to. But when one win, the whole family win.”

Marcus actually gets good enough to corral Latrell and challenge him to play. Pretty soon Latrell wants to learn also. CM tells Marcus he is starting a group of “chess warriors,” based on support and friendly competition rather than cruelty and violence. Marcus thinks he can do this, and even be good at it. CM tells him “Yeah, I think you’re figurin’ out your endgame.”

Evaluation: I love G. Neri. He has an outstanding ability to capture the anger and hurt and yearning and voice of poverty and broken families and gangs. He always makes me cry. A shout out too for Jesse Joshua Watson, whose illustrations are terrific.

[Elaine Bearden · Rating 4 out of 5]

gr maybe mature 4th to 9th grade
Before I opened this book, I was expecting a graphic novel. However, it is a Novel in free verse form with occasional illustrations done by Jesse Joshua Watson. The point of view is a kid - maybe 5-7th grade who is getting into a lot of trouble, after his sister dies and his father leaves the family. He is convinced that everyone around him is out to get him. Lucky for his future, the principal tries something different for "punishment" and sends him to the library where there is a chess group led by a male adult. Though the first connection with chess failed, the adult continues to try to get through to Marcus. This story is pointed - as the main character begins to use the metaphor of chess to his own life and how he needs to think three steps ahead of where he is now. The voice seems authentic - written like someone would actually speak, and the point of view is unique for a book that reaches into upper elementary. I don't think the kids who really need to hear the message in this book, or who would connect with Marcus' anger, would necessarily pick it off the shelf. However, it would be great as a read-aloud for a class, particularly one where the kids are dealing with a lot of rough stuff. The themes of anger and feeling like no one understands you are universal. Neri's other books are checked-out now - I look forward to seeing them, as I understood he was an artist as well.

[Ginta · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Chess Rumble” is a verse novel written by G. Neri.

WOW!

“Chess Rumble” is a realistic fiction book about a boy named Marcus. Marcus has a bad attitude, a very bad attitude. He is angry all the time and gets in constant fights and arguments. One day his principal took him to the library as “punishment.” It is there he meets CM for the first time. CM becomes a person Marcus grows to respect.

G. Neri did a fantastic job writing characters that were real. He never wavered with Marcus, Marcus stayed true to his bitter self until the end of the book. Was there an epiphany that caused Marcus to rethink his attitude, yes there was but it was gradual. Neri chose not to write the book in an unrealistic fashion in other words, Marcus did not wake up one morning and become a nice person. In fact, Marcus did not become a nice person he learned a new way of handling his anger.

“Chess Rumble” is a great read. I recommend teachers use it as part of a character education lesson. However, teachers should be warned that the book is a little hard to read. Neri wrote the book from Marcus’ perspective and Marcus’ grammar leaves a lot to be desired. But clearly Neri wanted to stay true to the character thus he wrote the way he envisioned Marcus speaking. This is a definite must-read, it will not disappoint.

[Lindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The jacket design did not appeal to me, but I opened Chess Rumble and started reading because a) I love verse novel format and b) the book is thin and obviously a quick read and afterwards I would be able to add it to the pile of library stuff to return today.

Eleven-year-old Marcus has a lot to be angry about. His sister died a year ago, then his father deserted his family; his younger twin brothers piss him off every chance they get and his former best buddy is now his worst enemy. In the end, an adult mentor helps Marcus deal with his emotions by engaging his brain in the game of chess.

Neri has an ear for voice and his free verse perfectly captures the idiom and cadence of a young urban narrator. The illustrations by Jesse Joshua Watson nicely complement the text. The artwork is in black and grey with slight touches of tan. After I'd finished the book, I studied the cover again to think about why I didn't like it. I think it is the title itself, since a chess rumble sounds pretty hokey, as well as the weird turquoise/blue colour combination of the title against the orange/black/grey illustration of Marcus with silhouetted boys in the city scene behind him.

This book will appeal to readers in Grades 4 to 6. It is a mystery why the Edmonton Public Library has chosen to classify it as a teen novel.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marcus is dealing with the loss of his sister and abandonment of his father through violent outbursts. HIs anger issues get worse and worse as he starts hitting his brothers and classmates. CM is a chess master that can beat almost anyone he plays. He offers to play against Marcus, and Marcus, not wanting to look like a chicken. accepts. He is immediately beat. CM offers to teach Marcus how to always win at chess.
I really liked the message this book taught. It taught being accountable for your actions and to not play the blame game. I think so many times it's easy to blame other people or circumstances and justify your actions, but that is not what this book promotes. I think that's a great message for everyone, not just young adults. It gets the point across in an interesting way by comparing it to playing chess. It is a quick read that doesn't have extra fluff, just the point the author wanted to make, which I appreciate.