Nabokov s third novel The Luzhin Defense is a chilling story of obsession and madness. As a young boy Luzhin was unattractive distracted withdrawn sullen--an enigma to his parents and an object of ridicule to his classmates. He takes up chess as a refuge from the anxiety of his everyday life. His talent is prodigious and he rises to the rank of grandmaster--but at a cost: in Luzhin s obsessive mind the game of chess gradually supplants the world of reality. His own world falls apart during a crucial championship match when the intricate defense he has devised withers under his opponent s unexpected and unpredictabke lines of assault.