Adventures of a Chess Girl
A memoir of brilliance, passion, and the cost of staying in the game
Book • 2025
Katie Kormanik's 'Adventures of a Chess Girl' is a memoir focusing on a year-and-a-half period in her early twenties when chess served as an anchor amid uncertainty.
The book blends tournament anecdotes, friendships with stronger players, romantic entanglements, and self-reflection about identity and life choices.
Kormanik uses journal entries and recollections to recreate the immersive atmosphere of competitive chess and the social world around it.
She also discusses stepping away from chess, self-publishing the memoir, and lessons learned from that formative period.
The narrative aims to introduce non-chess readers to the emotional texture of chess life while resonating with players familiar with tournament culture.
The book blends tournament anecdotes, friendships with stronger players, romantic entanglements, and self-reflection about identity and life choices.
Kormanik uses journal entries and recollections to recreate the immersive atmosphere of competitive chess and the social world around it.
She also discusses stepping away from chess, self-publishing the memoir, and lessons learned from that formative period.
The narrative aims to introduce non-chess readers to the emotional texture of chess life while resonating with players familiar with tournament culture.
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Ben Johnson
Katie Kormanik
EP 472- Author Katie Kormanik on How Chess Helped Shape Her Life, and Why She Left it Behind
