From Daniel's notebook · page eleven
Can you read her name?
He planned the theft of Olympia for four years, in forty pages written in his grandfather's chess cipher. In the middle of the plan he left a hole, shaped like a person. Then he found her.
11
d2 g2 e3 f3 b3 e1 e2 g2 f2 d1 a1 a4
g3 e1 d1 f2 e1 c3 d1 a1 a4
g2 b3 c3 a1 a4
c3 e2 g2 c2 e1 b1 g2 d3 h1
c3 e1 f3 e1 f2 d3 a4 g2 f2 e1
c3 e1 c1 g2 f2 d1 c3
f1 g2 d2 d1 g2 f2 c1 e1
h2 a1 c3 c3 e1 c3
b3 a1 c1 h1 e1 d2
b3 g2 c3 e1 f2 g2 d3 e1
h1 g2 d3 e1 d2 d3 g3 g2
b1 b3 e3 c3 c3 e1 d2 c3
d1 g2 f2 g2 d3 d2 g2 g2 c2 b1 a1 c1 c2
Hint: every letter is a square on the board.
You read it. So did a French judge, eventually. Now read the book.
Not yet. Count the squares.
Stuck? Show the key
| Aa1 | Bb1 | Cc1 | Dd1 | Ee1 | Ff1 | Gg1 | Hh1 |
| Ia2 | Jb2 | Kc2 | Ld2 | Me2 | Nf2 | Og2 | Ph2 |
| Qa3 | Rb3 | Sc3 | Td3 | Ue3 | Vf3 | Wg3 | Xh3 |
| Ya4 | Zb4 |
The rest of the page decodes too. We won't tell you what it says.
The Other Olympia by Avery Marchand. Coming January 2027. Join the reading list below to hear first, or read about the book.