Шах и мат среди звёзд

Tito dvenadt͡satʹ let i, poka ego roditeli izuchai͡ut taĭny Vselennoĭ, on pytaetsi͡a postichʹ zemnye istiny. Poroĭ ėto byvaet neprosto. Vedʹ dazhe ego matematicheskiĭ razum ne vsegda mozhet upori͡adochitʹ khaos, chto t͡sarit vokrug. S tekh por kak mama Tito uletela na "Novom Voi͡adzhere" k dalëkim zvëzdam, papa Tito dni͡ami naprolet sidit, utknuvshisʹ v knigu, ne zamechai͡a nichego vokrug. Ikh mir pogruzilsi͡a v vi͡azkui͡u tishinu, kotorui͡u narushai͡ut lishʹ vykhodki Viki, podrugi Tito, i lazanʹi͡a babushki Irmy. Chtoby vstri͡akhnutʹ papu Tito i obratitʹ ego vnimanie na mir vokrug, Viki taĭno zapisyvaet ego na shakhmatnyĭ turnir, khoti͡a tot ne tolʹko ne umeet igratʹ, no i ne vykhodit iz doma. Na pomoshchʹ Tito i Viki prikhodit ėkst͡sentrichnyĭ sosed dedushka Mekhanik - master na vse ruki, pokhozhiĭ na Ėĭnshteĭna i sposobnyĭ pochinitʹ chto ugodno "za 38 sekund". No po mere priblizhenii͡a turnira stanovitsi͡a i͡asno: nikto ne gotov govoritʹ Tito pravdu o tom, chto na samom dele sluchilosʹ s ego mamoĭ. Za roman "Shakh i mat sredi zvezd" Alessandro Barbalʹi͡a byl udostoen Nat͡sionalʹnoĭ premii Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi. Ėto kniga ne o shakhmatakh kak o bitve, a ob umenii videtʹ zhiznʹ kak bolʹshui͡u shakhmatnui͡u partii͡u, gde dazhe posle samoĭ ti͡azheloĭ poteri mozhno naĭti pravilʹnyĭ khod. Skvozʹ metaforu zvezdnogo neba i cherno-belykh kletok Alessandro Barbalʹi͡a rasskazyvaet istorii͡u o druzhbe, vzroslenii i muzhestve, kotoroe nuzhno ne dli͡a pobedy, a dli͡a togo, chtoby prosto zhitʹ dalʹshe.

Tito is twelve years old, and while his parents are exploring the mysteries of the universe, he is trying to comprehend earthly truths. Sometimes it can be difficult. After all, even his mathematical mind cannot always sort out the chaos that reigns around. Ever since Tito's mom flew away on the New Voyager to the distant stars, Tito's dad has been sitting with his face buried in a book for days on end, not noticing anything around him. Their world has plunged into a viscous silence, which is broken only by the antics of Vicky, Tito's girlfriend, and Grandmother Irma's lasagna. To shake up Papa Tito and draw his attention to the world around him, Vicky secretly enrolls him in a chess tournament, although he not only does not know how to play, but also does not leave the house. Tito and Vicky are helped by an eccentric neighbor, Grandpa Mechanic, a jack–of-all-trades who looks like Einstein and is able to fix anything "in 38 seconds." But as the tournament gets closer, it becomes clear that no one is ready to tell Tito the truth about what really happened to his mom. Alessandro Barbaglia was awarded the Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi National Prize for his novel Checkmate among the Stars. This book is not about chess as a battle, but about the ability to see life as a big chess game, where even after the heaviest loss you can find the right move. Through the metaphor of the starry sky and black-and-white cages, Alessandro Barbaglia tells a story about friendship, growing up and the courage that is needed not to win, but just to move on.