How Does 'Check Mate' Portray Chess Strategies?

"Althea." I still. I shiver. He says my name like it's sacred, like it's an oath he's swearing. He tilts his head to the side, eyes roaming over my face. "Tell me," he murmurs, "what do you want me to call you?" My eyes slowly meet his, confused by his question. "What do you want to call me?" "I want to call you mine.” *** Althea Gray is a bullied omega who has fought for survival at every turn of her entire life. When she discovers her boyfriend of three years has been cheating on her, heartbreak is the least of her problems. She's been chosen for the deadly Mate Games, a brutal competition where females from all parts of the kingdom, fight for the chance to win the favor and heart of the ruthless Alpha prince. Prince Asher Valebrook is as cold as his ice-blue stare, and he has no interest in love. Althea knows better than to want him, but a reckless one-night stand might seal her fate. Though she and Asher claim to hate each other, the line between love and hate is dangerously thin. With betrayals lurking in every shadow and survival far from guaranteed, Althea must play the game wisely. But in a palace built on blood and lies, winning Asher's heart might be the deadliest challenge of all.

This is book 2 in the King of Vampires series. It can be read as a standalone. The second most feared vampire in Moon City, the pawn was a face that had remained unknown for years on end among the vampire race. But in the normal light and to the outside world, Leon Vinerza was the face card of the ten hottest eligible bachelors in the whole of Moon City...and my did he love to play and party hard. Sacked on grounds unbeknownst to her, Sacha finds herself in between jobs and desperate to make ends meet when a job offer to tutor two boys in computer programming and basics lands on her doorstep.... literally. Her boss? The cocky and hot gorgeous male whose presence irks her to know ends but his body pulls her in and incites unimaginable things in her mind. But fate will still and always remain a bitch.

She was nothing but a pawn in a wealthy marriage, trampled under the cold indifference of her husband and the shadow of his beloved white moonlight. Silent and subdued, she hid her brilliance and endured every humiliation—until the day she revealed her secret identity, unleashing the power of the “Starlight Group” to turn the business world upside down. From a discarded substitute to a queen who commands the board, she tears apart the lies and reclaims her dignity, step by step. And when the man who once scorned her is filled with regret and desperate to win her back, she is no longer the pawn he thought he could control. —She is the Queen.

Vivienne Duarte had spent her youth supporting her husband, pouring all her time and dreams into his ambitions. Married for years and neglecting her own life and career, she believed everything would be fine as long as she remained the dutiful wife. But she was wrong. She wasn’t enough. When Vivienne discovered her husband, Marco, was cheating on her with his first love, the same woman who had once left him for another man, her world shattered. And when she confronted him, Marco didn’t even deny it; instead, he coldly suggested a divorce, breaking her heart into a thousand pieces. Devastated and numb, Vivienne drowned her sorrows at a bar, where a single reckless night led her into the arms of a stranger. And by morning, she vanished without a trace. Five years later, she returned no longer the fragile woman she once was, but a brilliant, mysterious doctor with a new name and a heart hardened by betrayal. She came back for revenge. Yet fate dealt her a cruel twist, because the stranger from that night turned out to be Marco’s uncle… the very man who had been searching for her ever since. Now, Vivienne vows to stay away from him at all costs, for she has something that belongs to him, something he must never find out. But her plans spiral into chaos when Marco reappears, claiming the same thing as his own. Can Vivienne outsmart them both in this dangerous game of love, power, and vengeance, or will she become the pawn in their deadly game of chess?

"The game of chess is not just any old board game but it is also the game of life. You can be represented as the king, all the others are the people around you. Check mate means game over in the game but check mate in real life means your life has come to an end..." BORING! Chess is the worst board game on earth, if you're gonna play chess, I'll consider you as one of those who exist and don't live. Chess is the game plan. I play in the tournament my father forces me to participate in using the plan I'll be using during my next heist. If I win, I use it, if I lose, I change it. Chess is a boring old board game which is the key to my fortune. I am the Black Falcon, this is my life on the board and against the law...

“I paid you! Why do you keep stalking me, then?” She burst out, while glancing at the door as if she was expecting someone to come in and save her. Not that she needed any saving though. I placed both hands on the table, and leaned down towards her. “We fucked.” My lips curled. Her face colored crimson. “It was a nightstand. Adults have one nightstands all the time. Moreover, I paid you-” “I’m not other people, Inez Raymond,” I said, cutting off her words. “Let’s make a deal.” Interest sparked within her eyes, yet she eyed me cautiously. “What deal?” “That you'll agree to be my wife for three months. If you don't fall in love with me during that period, I'll let you be.” She hesitated. “No sex?” I smirked. “I can't promise that. So, what do you say?” She took a deep breath. “Okay.” *** In her drunken and broken hearted haze, Inez Raymond has a one nightstand with a stranger. She pays him off the next morning, and part ways with him. But then, he starts stalking her. When he forces her into a deal with him, she agrees. What she doesn't know is that the stranger was connected with her in ways she could never imagine. Nor was she aware that she was the only heiress of the most powerful family in Europe, second only to the Celvins. While she's determined not to fall in love with him within three months, he's determined to make her fall in love with him, to find out who made her lose her memory years ago, while helping her get revenge on her ex-husband. Who will emerge champion, in their little game of chess?