Beyond black and white

The Flanders panel By Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Harvill , £6.99

Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s book is many things in one. First, it is a close exploration of a detailed painting showing two 15th century Flemish noblemen playing chess with a lady looking on. The book is also an exposition of a chess game or more precisely, the endgame of it. It is also a murder mystery.

A highly talented restorer of paintings, Julia, uncovers a hidden inscription behind layers of paint in Pieter Van Huys’s The Game of Chess (dated 1471). The inscription says quis necavit equitem or who killed the knight. Delving into the history of the painting, Julia learns that one of the noblemen in the painting, Roger de Arras, had been murdered two years before the painting was done. The other nobleman was Ferdinand Altenhoffen, the duke of Ostenburg, and the lady was Beatrice, the duke’s consort. The inscription suggests a mystery concerning the murder of de Arras, Julia concludes. She also believes that the solution to the mystery lies in the chess game depicted in the painting.

With the help of her mentor, Cesar, a dealer in antiques and objets d’art, Julia recruits a chess player to help her with the game. Munoz, the chess player, is a member of the Capablanca Club, utterly brilliant at the game but otherwise unassuming. He becomes completely involved in reconstructing the game and in speculating the possible outcomes of the endgame.

Julia’s discovery creates ripples in the art world of Madrid since Van Huys’s canvas is due to go up for auction. It is from here that things begin to get dangerous for Julia. Her ex-lover, a famous art historian who had provided her with the historical background of the painting, is found dead in the bath tub in his flat. Julia’s friend, Menchu, the agent for the painting, is murdered in Julia’s flat. More mysteriously, one unknown and invisible player seems interested in taking the chess game forward. He/she leaves behind the next moves written on cards in places that are impossible for Julia to miss. She knows she is being stalked and has no one to protect her save Cesar and Munoz. The latter finds the answer to the question posed in the inscription but he has to struggle hard against his invisible opponent.

The solution to the murder mystery is not entirely unexpected. But the more significant and attractive part of this book is the process through which the mystery is solved rather than the name of the murderer. The solution emerges bit by bit through the chess moves. Munoz plots the moves and unravels their meaning. There is a mastery here of logical thinking and of chess moves. The chess game itself is a rich source of delight.

There is no Holmesian “The game is afoot, Watson’’ here. The pace of the thriller is like that of a chess game — slow, with the occasional startling moves. There are digressions here on the painting and on Bach’s The Musical Offering. To add to the delight, there is an evocation of the Nineties Madrid, which serves as the locale for the story. This is a high-brow and classy thriller.