A riveting chronicle of the battle for chess supremacy and the brilliant, eccentric, extremely online grandmasters changing an ancient game.

"What stands out is Himelfarb’s insights regarding the psychologies of people. The beauty of chess goes beyond logic; it includes desires, ideas, and feelings.”—The New Yorker

Every elite chess player dreams of becoming world champion, of wearing the wreath and going down in history. Yet for many of today's top grandmasters, that dream long seemed out of reach: Norwegian juggernaut Magnus Carlsen was just too good. So when Carlsen announced he wouldn't defend his world title for a fifth time, the rest of the best saw a chance finally to sit on the throne.

Interregnum follows these brilliant and often eccentric minds around the world as they vie to become world chess champion. It’s a story of millennial greats whose time is running out. Of teenaged prodigies who refuse to wait their turn. Of triumph and heartbreak, aspiration and anxiety. Of an ancient sport experiencing a remarkable resurgence and of the extremely online enfants terribles changing the game.

Part sports chronicle, part paean, part character study, Interregnum offers something for both the chess-obsessed and the chess-curious as well as anyone who enjoys a riveting tale of struggle in sport or triumph of the intellect.

"A chess book that’s not just for everyone, but for the ages."

  - The Hindustan Times

"Interregnum is a beautifully written chronicle of the modern quest to become world chess champion. With rare access and deep empathy, Himelfarb captures the inner lives of today’s elite chess players, their diverse backstories, glamorous lifestyles and rigorous training methods. His honest, heartfelt reporting on the international chess tour can’t help but make readers feel more passionate about their own goals and ambitions in life." - Jennifer Shahade, three-time national chess champion, author of Chess Queens and Thinking Sideways

"“For chess fans, Interregnum is a gripping account of the lead-up and conclusion to the 2024 World Championship, one of the most exciting and consequential in the history of chess. For everybody else, it’s a portrait of how the forces reshaping the world—artificial intelligence, celebrity culture, geopolitical insanity—can throw even the oldest game in the world into turmoil."" - Stephen Marche, author of The Next Civil War