Robert Castle’s Mate follows Cynthia Larkin and William Pillsbury’s lives as a married couple. This isn’t a regular novel written in prose, though. Instead, the story unfolds as a series of chess games where each “opponent” takes turns making moves. The games, twenty in total, cover various conflicts throughout the years, from discussions of what movies to watch to politics and raising children. A commentator analyses the match as they explain the reasoning (or lack thereof) behind each player’s moves and bring up context and alternative moves. May the best player win, whatever “winning” even means for them!

Mate’s unusual structure might trip you up in the beginning, but there’s a point to it. Robert Castle boils down the complex dynamics of marriage to a battle for dominance. Every word and action has a purpose or a double meaning, with no room for idle fun or sentimentality. The story feels odd and alienating by design, showing what happens when human connection takes a backseat to mind games. Speaking of games, they hop back and forth across time. Also, moves in one game often affect others. This setup seems chaotic at first, but it mirrors how conflicts blend together and slowly build grudges. For example, a passive-aggressive fight over food is about anything but food. It’s about years of unresolved resentment and feelings of inadequacy. The nonlinear storytelling also makes everything more engaging; I enjoyed learning more about the characters and connecting new information to previous games. By the way, you don’t need to know anything about chess, but if you do, you’ll appreciate the jokes and references.

Mate by Robert Castle is a uniquely formatted story following Bill Pillsbury and Cynthia Larkin, with their life together written as a collection of chess games. This, quite literally, plays itself out with conversations every couple would normally have, but in moves that shift the direction of their lives. The plot traces their path from early courtship into married life, where choices about homes, workdays, child-rearing, relatives, and money slowly accumulate and redirect the pair. Each game focuses on one arena of daily life, showing how a single remark or routine task alters the next move and nudges their partnership in new directions. Across the years, the game spreads into new homes, new schedules, new connections, and new pressures. The plot shows how these steady turns, added one after another, guide the pair toward a changed arrangement over many years.

Mate: A Novel in Twenty Games by Robert Castle offers a sharply observed look at a long marriage shaped by everyday choices that gain remarkable force as each partner makes a move that shifts their shared course. Castle brings energy to the conversations about errands, parenting, travel plans, houses, and even lunch, and he turns ordinary moments into scenes that reveal how two people try to understand each other while rarely admitting how much their choices matter. The form adds spark as wins, draws, and resignations highlight patterns that feel instantly recognizable. Bill’s optimism and Cynthia’s resolve come through in brief quips and sudden turns that carry real bite. The book’s strongest quality is its steady confidence that ordinary life has plenty of drama, and this gives the novel lasting appeal for many readers today.