The Defense is a novel about Luzhin, a awkward, withdrawn boy who discovers chess and grows into a brilliant grandmaster. Chess gives him order and meaning, but it also draws him away from ordinary life. As he prepares for a major tournament, and as a gentle woman takes an interest in him, he begins to see patterns from the game in the events around him. Originally written in Russian, the book is a moving portrait of genius and fragility, built with the precision and elegance of a chess problem.