"Unicorn Variation" is a 1981fantasy story by American writerRoger Zelazny. It was first published inIsaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine.
In an abandoned saloon, a man and aunicorn playchess. The fate of humanity is at stake. ASasquatch aids the human.
"Unicorn Variation" won the 1982Hugo Award for Best Novelette,[1] and was ranked second for 1982'sLocus Award for Best Novelette.[2] The Japanese version won the 1984Seiun Award for Best Translated Short Story.[3]
In his 1983 collectionUnicorn Variations, Zelazny explained the story's origin: he had been approached byGardner Dozois, who was soliciting content for an anthology of stories about unicorns. Subsequently, he was approached by another editor, who was soliciting content for an anthology of stories set in bars. When Zelazny toldGeorge R. R. Martin of these encounters, Martin said thatFred Saberhagen was soliciting content for an anthology of stories about chess; he then jokingly suggested that Zelazny write a story about chess and unicorns in a bar, so that he could sell the story to all three anthologies.[4]Zelazny went on to do exactly that and subsequently won a Hugo Award for the story. The game described is Halprin v. Pillsbury in Munich, 1900.
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