Check & Mate

Prologue

I am reliably informed that you re a Gen Z sex symbol.

I nearly drop my phone.

Okay: I do drop my phone, but I save it before it splashes into a beaker full of ammonia. Then I glance around the chemistry classroom, wondering if anyone else heard.

The other students are either texting or puttering around with their equipment. Mrs. Agarwal is at her desk, pretending to grade papers but probably reading Bill Nye erotic fanfiction. A hopefully-not-lethal smell of ethanoic acid wafts up from my bench, but my AirPods are still in my ears.

No one is paying attention to me or the video on my phone, so I press Play to resume it.

It was on Time magazine two weeks ago. On the cover. A picture of your face, and then A Gen Z sex symbol. How does that feel?

I am expecting to see Zendaya. Harry Styles. Billie Eilish. The entirety of BTS, crammed on the couch of whatever late-night show the YouTube autoplay algorithm decided to feed me after the pH experiment tutorial ended. But it s just some dude. A boy, even? He looks out of place in the red velvet chair, with his dark shirt, dark slacks, dark hair, dark expression. Intensely unreadable as he says in a deep, serious voice, It feels wrong.

It does? the host Jim or James or Jimmy asks.

The Gen Z part is correct, the guest says. Not so much the sex symbol.

The audience eats it up, clapping and hooting, and that s when I decide to read the caption. Nolan Sawyer, it says. There s a description explaining who he is, but I don t need it. I might not recognize the face, but I can t remember a moment in my life when I didn t know the name.

Meet the Kingkiller: The No. 1 chess player in the world.

Let me tell you something, Nolan: smart is the new sexy.

Still not sure I qualify. His tone is so dry, it has me wondering how his publicist talked him into this interview. But the audience laughs, and the host does, too. He leans forward, obviously charmed by this

Ali Hazelwood is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis, as well as a writer of peer-reviewed articles about brain science, in which no one makes out and the ever after is not always happy. Originally from Italy, she lived in Germany and Japan before moving to the US to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. When Ali is not at work, she can be found running, eating cake pops, or watching sci-fi movies with her three feline overlords (and her slightly-less-feline husband).

Praise for Check & Mate

A Best Book of 2023 for NPR, Kobo, and Amazon

"Ali Hazelwood is the queen of smart rom-coms, and Check & Mate is her best book yet. Filled with snappy banter, clever characters, and crackling tension (and lots of chess!), this is the perfect rivals-to-lovers romance. Check & Mate will have you swooning, laughing, staying up all night, and smiling so much your face hurts. This book is my new obsession. Who knew chess could be so romantic?" Alex Aster, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lightlark 

"Ali Hazelwood brings her signature wit to YA and the result is nothing short of delightful! Check & Mate stole my heart from the first page it's at once an irresistible romance, compelling character study, and fascinating peek into the world of chess. I couldn't put it down!" Rachel Lynn Solomon, New York Times bestselling author of We Can't Keep Meeting Like This 

"Ali Hazelwood is a known master of deeply clever, ridiculously satisfying 'JUST KISS ALREADY!!' slow burns, and this book is all of that and so much more. Readers are going to ship Mallory and Nolan hard enough to break their sails. If you re not ready to swoon and gasp and cackle in front of strangers, read this book in public at your own risk." Emma Lord, New York Times bestselling author of When You Get the Chance

Filled with the author s signature humor, well-developed characters, and realistic conflicts, plus the fully realized setting of competitive chess, this captivating romance will delight teen readers as well as Hazelwood s adult fans.   Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Hazelwood has captured many a reader s heart with her adult rom-coms. Now, she makes her YA debut with a story that sparkles with her signature wit and relatable characters. . . . This highly enjoyable, emotion-filled romance will attract teens