Warwick author celebrates release of second book

An author in Warwick is celebrating the release of his second book.

Ben Graff, who has lives in the Warwick and Leamington area for around 20 years, has had his second book published, which is called 'The Greenbecker Gambit'.

The hero of the Greenbecker Gambit is a pyromaniac, chess-obsessed oddball called Tennessee Greenbecker who at the start of the novel is resolute that he will become world chess champion.

The novel explores who Greenbecker really is and whether he is destined to become a chess champion or a fire-starter.

Ben said: "The Greenbecker Gambit is my second book - I published my first, Find Another Place, in 2018.

"I started writing Find Another Place after the death of my father, as a reflection on family, the passage of time, loss, and memory.

"I had always dreamed of being a writer and after this book, I returned to an idea that I had been thinking about for many years.

"Namely, whether someone might be able to convince themselves they were the best chess player in the world, despite considerable evidence to the contrary.

"In The Greenbecker Gambit, my protagonist Tennessee Greenbecker is not an easy character.

"His choices are often catastrophic, his behaviour is frequently terrible.

"Yet for all this, I really wanted to tell the warts-and-all story of Tennessee Greenbecker's struggle to make sense of the life he finds himself living.

"I'm hoping the book captures the imagination of anyone who has ever rooted for the outsider, and it will appeal to people whether or not they are interested in chess."

When Ben was younger, he yearned to become a top-class chess player but found that while he became a strong player, he was not talented enough to turn professional.

He said: "Looking back, I have had both wonderful experiences and incredibly painful moments at the chessboard.

"I have played Victor Korchnoi, the greatest player never to be world champion, which was a huge honour.

"I also know what it is like to blow a week’s worth of work in a chess tournament by blundering at the death in my final game.

"The truth is chess professionals don’t have anything like as glamorous a life as I imagined they did when I was younger.

"In fact, unless you’re one of the top dozen or so players in the world, it’s very hard to make a decent living and you’re often in a situation where you need to win a game to pay your mortgage.

"I don’t think anybody really wants to live under that kind of pressure. I certainly don’t, and especially not as a family man."

So Ben forged himself a career in corporate affairs and played chess in his spare time. He also devoted himself to writing, partly because of a conversation with his late father not long before his father died of cancer.

"Dad encouraged me to think more clearly about any unfulfilled hopes and aspirations I might have. Dad suggested more than once that I should stop talking about being a writer and actually start writing.

"Life is now, he would often say. Time is short and you have to seize the moment.

"Writing The Greenbecker Gambit has been a journey of discovery for me.

"It is wonderful that the book is now out there and getting a good reception.

"I would encourage everyone who has ever dreamed of writing a novel just to go for it.

"In my experience one story always leads to another.

"Once you have started out as a writer, you never know what might follow. It took me a long time to believe in myself, so I say to others, be brave. Tell your stories."

The Greenbecker Gambit has been published by The Conrad Press and is available at a RRP of £9.99 at Amazon. It can also be purchased at: www.theconradpress.com.