Chess Story

Chess Story (also known as The Royal Game) is a novella by the author Stefan Zweig written in 1941, the year before the author's death by suicide.
 
An anonymous narrator opens the story by describing the boarding of a passenger liner traveling from New York to Buenos Aires. One of the passengers is world chess champion Mirko Czentovic. Czentovic is an idiot savant and prodigy with no obvious qualities apart from his talent for chess. The narrator plays chess with his wife, hoping to draw Czentovic's attention and engage him in a game. The narrator draws the attention of McConnor, a businessman, who offers to pay Czentovic's fee.
 
The passengers persuade Dr B. to play alone against Czentovic.