Luzhin Defense

The Luzhin Defense is one of Nabakov's earlier novels, originally published in Russian in 1930 and not translated into English until 1964. The title character, Luzhin is an awkward, likely autistic man who is an excellent chess player. As a youth, he does not have friends, but develops a passion for chess after he has been introduced. He reaches grandmaster level and becomes engaged to a girl (much to her parent's chagrin.) However, during a high level tournament, he has a nervous breakdown. Chess appears to be the cause of his problems, and he must ween himself from it to be healthy again. He does, and soon makes a recovery. However, he later encounters people and events from his past, eventually having his mental health fade again.
In the introduction, Nabakov claims he structured the novel like a chess match, complete with surprises and rapid turns. It does have a focus on chess, yet understanding of the game is not required to understand the novel. Nabokov does seem to enjoy picking something external (like a chess game or literary criticism) as a vehicle for structuring novels. In the Luzhin defense he is successful in creating an accessible story out of a chess match.