Mid-term elections are on November 3, 2026. In Texas, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is running for re-election. He doesn’t want taxpayer dollars, allocated to school libraries, to be spent on certain books. This article is about a chess-themed book that Patrick does not want in school libraries.
“We’re Coming for the Books”
At a press conference in August of 2026, Patrick said, “We’re coming for the books. We ask that you do it on your own and remove these books” from school libraries. His list of 2,193 books is from the organization Recover America. Its website states, “Each book is scored on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the most sexually explicit and pervasively vulgar.”
Check & Mate
Recover America assigned Ali Hazelwood’s chess-themed novel Check & Mate a “3” rating. Hazelwood’s website gives “content warnings & content notes” for the novel:
- Parental death in an accident (in the past)
- Chronic illness (arthritis)
- Sexism in the workplace
- Mentions of workplace sexual harassment
- Non-graphic sexual content
- Cursing and vulgar language
One or more of the content warnings above may be why Patrick doesn’t want school librarians to order this book.
However, Check & Mate is well regarded. It won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction (2023) and was selected for the YALSA Teens’ Top Ten (2025). It was also named NPR Best Book of the Year and became an instant Sunday Times bestseller.
It touches on important chess issues too, such as sexism and why top players often skip Olympiads.
Sexism in the workplace
The workplace for Check & Mate is chess. The main character, Mallory Greenleaf, defeated the reigning World Chess Champion Nolan Sawyer at a charity event. Later, at an elimination tournament, she attends a reception for players who have moved on to the second day. One of the players recognizes Greenleaf as the woman who defeated Sawyer at a previous event. He asks her, “Were you wearing something low-cut? Is that the trick?” His questions are sexist, implying that Greenleaf won by what she wore rather than by the moves she played.
Though Hazelwood’s book is fiction, it isn’t far off from reality. Not too long ago, there was a rule defining how much cleavage women could show during chess games.
Olympiad Participation
Before the 2026 Olympiad, FIDE listed the members of team USA: “Fabiano Caruana (2792) is leading the team, followed by Wesley So (2765), and then the first surprise of the list: Hans Niemann (2725) takes board three, ahead of Levon Aronian (2721), with Awonder Liang (2690) on board five.” One of the missing players was GM Hikaru Nakamura, who would have played second board.
According to a post on X, Nakamura chose not to play because the honorarium and bonus were the same as 10 years ago. He thought the compensation should be higher, in part because of inflation. Although USA was the top-seeded team, it finished fourth.
In Check & Mate, World Chess Champion Nolan Sawyer isn’t expected to play for the USA team in the chess Olympics. (Hazelwood uses “Olympics” rather than “Olympiad.”) Greenleaf’s coach explains, “Most pros and Super GMs don’t want to tire themselves for nothing. Well, not nothing. There is a trophy.” Instead, her coach states, they want to play in tournaments with big monetary prizes.
Therefore, Greenleaf is surprised that team USA’s first board at the Olympics is World Chess Champion Nolan Sawyer. He has a crush on Greenleaf, but she doesn’t realize that he likes her. The Olympics brings them together in close quarters, playing for their country. Will Greenleaf realize his intentions and respond favorably? One hint: Check & Mate is a Young Adult (YA) Contemporary Romance. But, as in a chess game, there are many twists and turns on the way to mate.
Dan Patrick Bullies School Librarians
Patrick states that he is not banning books, since books can be purchased privately. Yet he is threatening schools that keep the 2,193 books on their shelves with lower ratings. Low-rated schools are subject to government takeovers.
Dan Patrick’s bullying of school librarians should be considered when voting for Lieutenant Governor. School libraries are where children learn to love reading. School librarians are the professionals who should choose what books to keep in their collections. Patrick’s opponent is Vikki Goodwin. According to a poll, Goodwin leads Patrick 49% to 46%, with a margin of error of 3.34%. Every vote will matter on November 3.
