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As a child Lev was a brilliant chess player, but wasn't able to reach the "higher plane" that would've allowed him to continue to be brilliant as an adult. Since chess is a strategy game, it works throughout City of Thieves as a metaphor, as Lev and Kolya discuss their plans and strategies for staying alive as well as finding eggs. It also serves to differentiate between Lev, who is described as being small and weak, and other more conventionally masculine and strong characters like Kolya, the giant, or Abendroth. While Lev is certainly at a disadvantage for most of the novel because of his fear and slight build, it's his knowledge of chess that allows him to strategically position himself, Kolya, and Vika in a place to both beat Abendroth at chess and kill him.
Chess Quotes in City of Thieves
The City of Thieves quotes below all refer to the symbol of Chess. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 22
Quotes
"We're pawns and he's a rook, that's what you're saying."
"We're less than pawns. Pawns have value."
"If we can take a rook, we have value, too."
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire City of Thieves LitChart as a printable PDF.
Chess Symbol Timeline in City of Thieves
The timeline below shows where the symbol Chess appears in City of Thieves. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue
...they eventually agreed. David's grandparents moved to Florida, where his grandfather spends his time playing chess on the computer and his grandmother teaches Russian Literature at the local community college. They're...
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Chapter 4
...replies that if they were friends, he could teach Lev things about girls, literature, and chess. They discuss betting on a game of chess, and Kolya suggests a bet of Lev's...
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...knife to Kolya because he already knew everyone in Piter who could beat him at chess. Lev was a young chess talent, but discovered as a teenager that he would never...
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Chapter 10
...and full. While Sonya and Kolya are occupied in the bedroom, Lev and Timofei play chess. It's obvious that Lev is very good, but when he remarks that he used to...
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...hands him a cup of tea. Timofei is still out cold, snoring. Kolya studies the chessboard and frowns, remarking that Lev is very good. Lev asks if he still wants to...
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Chapter 14
...got Zoya first when he came, and then would drink plum schnapps and sometimes plays chess with Lara. Nina says that Abendroth is the worst of them.
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Chapter 15
...deck of sexy French women Kolya had offered to play for in a game of chess. Kolya says that after tonight he and Lev are going to be heroes for the...
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Chapter 19
...him, but Vika declares that he doesn't matter. Kolya affectionately says that Lev plays great chess, and the three argue about their relative importance to each other. Kolya ends by declaring...
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Chapter 21
Lev tries to distract himself from his hunger and thinks about chess and then Vika, who smells like a wet dog. Lev thinks that his mother never...
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Chapter 22
...are worth sacrificing to take down Abendroth. Kolya confirms that she's suggesting that they are chess pawns and Abendroth is a rook. Kolya suddenly smiles, and tells Vika and Lev to...
(full context)
...the soldiers he had a wager for Abendroth that 15-year-old Lev could beat Abendroth at chess without a queen. When Lev protests that he's 17, Kolya declares that 15 is more...
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Kolya explains that if Lev loses the chess game, Abendroth can shoot them all, and if Lev wins, Abendroth sets them free. When...
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Chapter 23
...Abendroth sits at an end of a long table, drinking clear alcohol, with a traveling chessboard already arranged. He's not the professorial type that Lev expected. Rather, he's a very large...
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...offering that his grandmother was from Vienna. Abendroth asks how Kolya learned that he plays chess, and Kolya mentions the soldier he spoke to earlier in the day, saying he was...
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...he can speak German but not read, and then asks Lev how he can play chess but also be illiterate. He doesn't give Lev or Kolya time to answer before declaring...
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...agrees that Abendroth can do all these things, but insists that Lev will play terrible chess if Kolya's dead, and asks for eggs one more time. Abendroth mutters a command to...
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Abendroth pulls out a coin to toss and begin the chess game with Lev, telling him he can keep his queen. The opening moves are classic...
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...and Abendroth and Lev begin exchanging pieces. Abendroth remarks that Jews make great violinists and chess players. Lev ignores him and keeps playing, but soon realizes that his plan with Kolya...
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...up and tackle the soldiers. Lev pretends to scratch his calf as Abendroth studies the chessboard, finally realizing his defeat. Abendroth smiles and declares it beautiful.
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Chapter 25
...is gone. Kolya insists that Lev will stay with Sonya. Their conversation meanders from the chess match to the four girls in the farmhouse, and finally as they reach Piter's defenses,...
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