Project Gutenberg
2020-11-07
Public domain in the USA.
477
Goodman, Kenneth Sawyer
1883
1918
14010476
The Game of Chess: A Play in One Act
Adrian Mastronardi, David E. Brown, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
"The Game of Chess: A Play in One Act" by Kenneth Sawyer Goodman is a theatrical drama written in the early 20th century, specifically in the years leading up to World War I. This play explores themes of power, identity, and the nature of life and death through the metaphor of a chess game. The dialogue-driven piece encompasses the nuances of the human condition and the political tensions of class struggles. The story unfolds in a richly decorated room where two characters, Alexis Alexandrovitch and Boris Ivanovitch Shamrayeff, partake in a tense game of chess. While playing, Alexis engages Boris in a philosophical conversation that reveals the complex dynamics of their relationship and the larger societal issues at play, rooted in class conflict and revolutionary fervor. As the dialogue deepens, the stakes escalate beyond the chessboard when Boris, an agent of the revolutionary party, confronts Alexis, a nobleman, about killing him. The play delves into themes of duality and self-awareness, culminating in a dramatic twist where the lines between predator and prey, as well as the notions of justice and vengeance, are disturbingly blurred. Ultimately, it highlights the absurdity and gravity of their situation, leaving both characters in a deadly game where survival and truth hang in the balance. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Reading ease score: 86.6 (6th grade). Easy to read.
en
One-act plays
American drama -- 20th century
PS
Text
Category: Plays/Films/Dramas
66311
2025-07-25T08:49:22.191885
text/html
42844
2024-10-18T08:00:39
text/html
277972
2025-07-25T08:49:24.929901
application/epub+zip
276692
2025-07-25T08:49:22.964901
application/epub+zip
104237
2025-07-25T08:49:22.548899
application/epub+zip
546656
2025-07-25T08:49:26.538857
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
533284
2025-07-25T08:49:24.650868
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
529579
2022-09-28T17:51:30.764208
application/x-mobipocket-ebook
46890
2025-07-25T08:49:21.855903
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
26876
2024-10-18T08:00:39
text/plain; charset=us-ascii
16069
2025-07-25T08:49:26.679857
application/rdf+xml
9297
2025-07-25T08:49:22.713896
image/jpeg
1334
2025-07-25T08:49:22.633890
image/jpeg
337884
2025-07-25T08:49:22.208892
application/octet-stream
application/zip
Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at
https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog