The Kings of New York: a year among the geeks, oddballs, and geniuses who make up America's top high school chess team by Michael Weinreb

I can't believe I actually finished a book about chess. I wasn't really interested in this one, read the first chapter, and wanted to know more. Here's the thing: the author makes me likes these kids. I kept referring back to the photograph in the beginning of the chess team with George Bush and figuring out which was which kid. They are so dorky, but their back stories are fascinating. This Murrow school in NYC had one cool teacher who built this team into something spectacular. What I love most about it is that the kids are so multinational. The team isn't a bunch of WASPs. In fact, I don't remember a WASP being on the team. I didn't know about the chess culture other than what I remember seeing when I walked by a room in St. Louis hotel where a tournament was taking place. I thought, "what a bunch of dorks." And, I think I was right. But, Weinreb is such a good writer that he makes chess interesting.