I really like that quote, because the chess world does need to embrace all parts of the community. One of my favourite quotes from James was: “Some people just completely forget that they have anything past their mid-riff!” I can imagine that for many chess players, this is probably a really racy book! However, in the mainstream…not so much. The reason this book has been getting a lot of attention is because of all the “sex” in the book, but would you say it is more romantic than erotic? Jovanka Houska at the Isle of Man tournament 2015 (Photo: Alina l'Ami) She’s 26 years old and she’s trying to figure out what to do for a living, where she fits into the chess world and along the way, she has all these romantic entanglements. Vanny’s main goal is to become a Grandmaster, but the focus is on her trying to find out who she is. So, what would you say is the main focus of the book? However, I didn’t want it to be the main focus. It is very real though you do get men crowding around your game, because you’re the only female in the tournament, or people saying she’s good for a girl. Of course, there are some parts where some men make sexist or negative comments, but I didn’t want it to be the main focus of the book. No, I tried to avoid that to me, it’s empowering enough that she gets there and she makes it to where she wants to be. She's more mischievous and naughtier than Jovanka - at least I think so - but Vanny still has, I hope, Jovanka's great charm and love of life.”ĭo you approach women’s chess issues in the book? Here's what James said: "I had the idea of a beautiful and passionate heroine who had the basic problem that she was only attracted to guys who could beat her at chess. To me, it was really important that she wasn’t immediately successful, as everyone struggles to reach goals, as I even did. What I really liked when developing the character with James (Jovanka’s co-author) was that things didn’t go all that smoothly for her and she had to work really hard to overcome a lot of boundaries. Well, she definitely has certain aspects of me, certain little quirks that I have. OK, so this main character, Vanny, is actually based on you. It follows her adventures and her romantic injuries and just sees her having a lot of fun along the way.
Jovanka: Chess is the background/the setting of this book, but it’s really about this young woman who is trying to achieve her ambition of becoming a Grandmaster. Tell us what The Mating Game is really about. Sabrina: The Mating Game is being talked about all over the world, with speculations about what it’s actually like. Here is a sneak peek into what the book is about and an interview with Jovanka on chess, sex and strong females. It has been a project in the pipeline for several years, and it is finally published and proving very popular already.
I am even more proud to see that she has brought chess into the mainstream with her new book, The Mating Game. I have been lucky enough to play on the same team as Jovanka Houska since 2007, and I am proud to call her my friend.
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