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