The Westing Game

The motif of chess appears in various ways throughout the novel. Theo begins a mysterious chess game at the Westing mansion that continues until Sandy’s “death.” He believes that finding out who his opponent is will lead him to clues that will help him with the game, so he continuously asks other residents of the building if they’d like to play him. Judge Ford and Turtle also play chess—specifically, with Westing as young women. 

When Crow leaves with the police, Judge Ford notes that she is “[t]he Queen’s sacrifice” (156), framing the entire game as an elaborate chess game orchestrated by Westing. The game of chess is one of strategy and thus intersects with the theme of The Use of Rationality to Explain an Irrational World. The players know the rules of the game, but it is up to them to make the most of those rules to win. The game Westing has planned for his heirs is quite similar. By the end of it, he conceals nothing from the heirs. Everything they need to win is either given to them (the clues) or is a part of their personal biographical information (e.g., Crow is Westing’s wife, and Westing’s word games in the clues reveal his identities).