Evans On Chess. July 19, 1996. Copyright Chesstours. All rights reserved.

                               KILLER INSTINCT

"Winning's not just about crushing the other guy's ego," Bobby Fischer
told me. "It also feels like you're sucking the blood from his neck!"

As if sharing a ghoulish secret, Bobby asked if I felt the same way. I
said no. But come to think of it vampires probably would excel at chess,
thanks to their killer instinct. Not to mention long life.

Enter the vampire Monique in UNDER THE BLACK SUN, a first novel by Eric
Woro about a chess prodigy who goes to work for a small chess magazine,
as the author once did, and then seeks revenge for getting fired.

"I always lamented the deplorable scarcity of fiction in the chess
world," explains Woro. "My title is taken from Laing's classic study on
schizophrenia, The Divided Self. I will merely point to Fischer's
comeback in 1992 and suggest that his spirit informs the novel."

The story uses real games. "I have little interest in reading a chess
novel about a geeky prodigy, or even much of a desire to read about
vampires," opined one critic. "But, as with many an exotic stew, the
tasting changes everything."

The following book review by Tom Atkins is reprinted courtesy of Virginia
Chess Newsletter:

     "A vivid picture of gruesome murders along California
     beaches. The main character Martin Fairchild has an
     incredible talent for chess, a deeply hidden family secret,
     and an almost unbelievable naivete. His life seems to be
     touched by kind, golden gods who present him with all he
     could ask for: the means and ability to develop his
     passion for chess, and a loving girlfriend.

     "But then he is thrown out of college. His employers betray
     him. A foolish fling costs him his girlfriend. All seems lost.

     "Martin meets the beautiful and seductive Monique who vows
     to make him her vampire lover. Yet the heart of the story
     focuses on his struggle to discover who he is, and to preserve
     that essence.

     "Woro is a talented writer and his story and characters are
     well crafted. There are moments of great suspense, but not
     where you might expect them. After reading just over 100
     pages you will most likely have the answer to the pressing
     questions that would normally breed suspense. Will Martin
     and his girlfriend get back together? Who was the murderer?
     Will Monique claim Martin's very soul?

     "Instead, it's in the chess games that Woro develops real
     suspense, and has the reader at the edge of his seat. This
     reviewer is not a chess player of any caliber whatsoever,
     but Woro had my heart beating fast and hard in each of the
     passages where Martin plays out the critical games in his
     development, often chronicling the games move by move. In the
     end it is chess, and his passion for it, that saves him."

Sex -- Chess -- Vampires -- Philosophy -- what more could anyone ask?
Coming soon to a theater near you?

(UNDER THE BLACK SUN $11.45 postpaid is only available from Axiom Books,
Box 77788, Seattle, Wa 98177.)
