Some wonderful unique persectives join together to tell this story. Donnelly does a wonderful job providing each point of view with their own voice to tell their own experiences throughout the book. There are not many books out there about chess for kids and Chess Club not only provides kids with a story they may be looking for (or might discover they didn’t know they were looking for), but it is also a powerful story of kids discovering what it means to provide and receive frienship, what it means to be part of a team.

"Chess Club: The Winning Move" b Rebecca Donnelly is an excellent read for children looking to find their place in the world. What starts as a way for Halima to find other chess players turns into a found family for all four main characters.

When I first picked up the book (I try to read all books before gifting or recommending them to my nieces and nephews), I assumed that Halima will be the protagonist. It's very difficult to find muslim representation in children literature where the focus is not on religious identity. That's something I especially appreciated about Halima's depiction here. While, yes, her faith is an important part of her identity, it's not all she thinks about. She is simply a middle grade girl who, alongside her best friend, is trying to start a chess club.

I was delighted to find out that while Halima is the driving factor of the book, there are also three other main characters:
- Jem, Halima's bestie and neighbour, who is bright, creative and a true friend through and through. She's also a great rep for neurodivergent and queer children.
- Daniel, a smart introverted boy, who long for a mystery and, along the way, discovers himself and makes new friends.
- Parker, a fun-loving creative boy, who wants to make a name for himself after living in his family's shadow most of his life and feeling like he's always doing what others expects him to do.

Each chapter presents the unfolding events from one of the four main characters' POVs. They all get a chance to shine and readers will find at least one of them relatable.

The story is pretty cute. It does actually have an interesting plot twist that is revealed in epilogue that I myself found very creative. Overall, it was a delightful quick read.

The reason I am giving this book 5-stars, however, is I really admire how the book introduces young readers to the history and rules of chess using illustrations and the story itself. You emerge from the book having learned not just the names of the pieces or their movements, but a lot of terminology from the chess world, some of the openings and even tournament rules and flow. It's done in an approachable and fun way and is fully integrated in the story that I think makes it effective at teaching the reader without throwing too much at them.

All in all, this was a delightful read and I'm planning on purchasing it for my family.

This is a sweet story about middle schoolers who find their friend group through a shared love for chess. It also teaches tips for playing the game of chess, which could be a great way to inspire readers to pick up the game, if they haven't already. The characters represent a lot of diverse backgrounds, yet are able to find a common ground, which I think is such an important thing for young people to learn. None of us are quite as different as we think.

Halima wants to play chess. The only person who plays with her is her cousin, but he is getting ready to go to college, and so can’t meet online as often. So she forms a chess club with people who don’t know how to play, but are willing to learn. There are various reasons for each wanting to play. Jem wants to learn because her grandfather played. Parker wants to play because there are tournaments that he can compete in and Daniel is just curious to see what he can do.

It is a very quick read, and appears to be the beginning of a series of stories about the Chess Club.

If you are really into chess, there is a discussion of some of the moves, along with diagrams. I, myself, am not really into it, but I still loved reading about the thinking behind each game, and just skipped over the diagrams.

Great story of finding friendship with a very old game.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published the 3rd of June 2025.

There’s something deeply comforting about a story where a group of seemingly mismatched kids come together over a shared passion—and The Winning Move delivers that feeling in the most grounded, heartfelt way.

I picked this up because I love stories about quiet resilience—those small, determined acts of finding your people and your purpose. And in this middle-grade graphic novel, that happens over chessboards, inside school libraries, and in the quiet struggles of kids just trying to be seen and understood.

I love the layers in everyone's character and how beautifully their story is woven in the moves of the game. Book personally feels like an invitation to play.

It’s a story that reminds you that your “winning move” doesn’t always happen on the board; sometimes it’s just showing up, finding your people, and staying in the game. It left me feeling warm, inspired, and oddly eager to dust off my old chessboard.

Halima loves chess and wants to start a club. At first not enough people show up, but then mysterious notes are found in books and lockers and that lures in Daniel. They finally have four players so a club is formed. After playing and practicing the club finds they’re having fun and building teamwork. Their confidence grows. The advisor announces a tournament with other teams. At the tournament Halima wonders if Blake and Parker are cheating. What happens?
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Halima loves chess more than almost anything. With the help of her friend, Jem, who loves to bake, and is willing to be supportive even though chess isn’t their favorite thing to do by a long shot, Parker, who just wants ro win at something, and Daniel who finds a chess puzzle in the library, they create a chess club….but learning ro work together may be harder than they expect.

I loved the range of children represented in this book, and the general character development. This is an enjoyable middle grade novel. It seems likely to be a set up for a series, which is welcome.

Halima Kasim loves to play chess, but doesn't have enough people to play games with her. Her cousin Abdi lived in Kenya with a lot of extended Somali family, and he will play online with her sometimes, but her siblings aren't interested. Halima convinces her best friend, Jem, to play with her as a way to distract her from the death of her beloved grandfather, and the two approach Ms. Barnes to be their faculty advisor for a chess club. They recruit Parker, whose siblings play a lot of sports, and who wants something competitive that might make his parents pay attention to him. Daniel finds mysterious chess notes in library books and is lured into the club as well. The group has to deal with Lucas, an annoying bully whom Jem stand up to, and well as former friend Blake who sometimes gives them problems. Jem struggles with anger issues. The group spends a lot of time practicing, and eventually has a match against another team. The book includes many chess diagrams and descriptions of moves.

I really liked Duffy's illustrations, and this has more descriptions of the game of chess than most books I've read. Jem seemed like the main character to me, and her baking and dealing with the death of her grandfather was more prevalent than Halima's challenges. Pair this with Giles' Not an Easy Win or Gerber's Focused for readers who want stories centered around chess.