Spy's Mate

The life-and-death thrills—and absurdist spills—of world-class chess in the last days of the Soviet Union come roaring to life in Brad Buchanan’s Spy’s Mate , the spellbinding story of a personal quest that will bend your mind and enchant your heart. 

—Mary Mackey, author of the New York Times bestseller A Grand Passion

A gripping journey into the high-stakes world of Cold War espionage, woven deftly through the world of chess. Skillfully paced and elegantly crafted, Buchanan's storytelling compels you to keep turning pages as easily as tapping your foot to your favorite tune. The novel brilliantly captures the subtle tensions and tactical drama of both spycraft and chess, featuring vivid, three-dimensional characters whose complexities enrich every twist and turn of the narrative. A deeply absorbing read, Spy's Mate is a literary triumph. 

—Dr Chris Tilling, Head of Research and Senior Lecturer in New Testament, St Mellitus College, UK

A sublime blend of chess during the Cold War between East and West, nasty intrigues, back-room politics and espionage. Brad Buchanan's book is simply irresistible. 

—Gert Devreese, Journalist De Standaard & author of My Most Memorable Interviews, Belgium

\As a chess professional, this book resonated on a deep technical and cultural level. I found myself immersed in the persona of Yasha and captivated by each twist and turn of his life story, empathizing with him as a brother in arms. 

—Daniel Fernandez, Chess Grandmaster & author, London, UK.

It unfolds like a game of chess — so many fronts to watch, yet in the end, the opponent always falls. Truly captivating!

—Tom Piceu, International Chess Master & Coach, Bruges, Belgium.

The former Soviet Union dominated chess and created world champions for decades. It was well known among chess masters that cheating, bribing and murder helped cement the Russian dynasty. But cracks in the chess world paralleled the cracks in the political world since both were intertwined. This book although fiction chronicles the demise of the Soviet system.

Names have been changed and the biographical information is fiction but the story is based on facts.

The narrator Yasha is a talented young chess player innocent of the workings of the Russian chess machine. We follow him as he builds his chess career with both male and female protégés as he slowly unravels his parentage and place in the Russian schemes. The theft of computer technology and how it can change the traditional world of building chess champions lurks in the background of his life.

Chess players will love how games reflect political moves and nonChess readers can relate to the story of Yasha.    ***** Stars

- Shaune Storch,University Professor English Literature and School Administrator - 07/28/2025 – Florida.

Spy’s Mate by Brad Buchanan pulls off a rare feat, blending two seemingly distant genres into a compelling and highly entertaining chess spy novel that feels both fresh and fully realized. Yes, you read that correctly: a chess spy novel. Buchanan’s deep knowledge and adoration for the ancient game animates every page as he dives into chess’ mystique and political ramifications.

Spy’s Mate begins with Armenian chess novice, Yasha Basmajian, and his growing affection, if not affliction, for chess—as well as his rapid rise into the chess elite. The novel excels in its precise and thoughtful game analyses, featuring numerous chess puzzles, strategic situations, and terminology that experienced players and chess aficionados will appreciate. While this technical prose may feel dense for more casual readers, the strength of the work still shines through as Buchanan masterfully balances his command of chess with a host of gripping and dramatic subplots that both expand and illuminate the novel far beyond the chessboard.

Early on, the novel introduces a sharp feminist angle. Any chess player will recognize that while the King might be the most crucial piece symbolically, the Queen is the most powerful piece on the board. (A King can move only one space at a time. A Queen can move wherever she likes.) This dynamic is echoed in the narrative’s critique of how powerful men in the chess world mistreat women, as well as in its themes of accountability, redemption, and reconciliation.

 

The book also sets the treacherous backdrop of a corrupt Soviet Union against a cast of paranoid American players, creating an atmosphere where conspiracy seems to lurk behind every move. Whether it is beautiful women seducing promising chess players to convince them to be stronger Communist party members, or attempted coups to vest chess players with more political power, this novel is rife with intrigue, tension, and theatrical twists.

 

Yet the most fascinating thread in the novel is not the espionage elements captured, but rather the parallel story of computer engineers racing to build a new machine capable of reinventing and calculating new ways chess can be played. Buchanan skillfully captures the feverish brilliance and the quiet dread of innovation, evoking the tension between creation and control with striking clarity. Readers can feel the almost allergic reaction the characters experience as they confront what they’re building, expertly tapping into contemporary anxieties about artificial intelligence that leads to job cuts, and new ways of considering what it means to be human. The result is an atmosphere where suspicion hangs over every move, both literal and metaphorical.

 

A highly recommended genre-blending novel, this is an ideal read for chess enthusiasts, Cold War history buffs, and those interested in technological thrillers. Smart and evocative,  Buchanan’s Spy’s Mate balances a thought-provoking game with cunning espionage and innovative technologies—an absorbing story that delivers on every front.

—CANREADS BOOK REVIEW  NOVEMBER 2025