16 October 2025 marked a new milestone for all fans of manga and strategy: the following was released in France and Monaco tome 11 of Blitz, Cédric Biscay's visionary work, built around the silent and impetuous fascination of chess.
We met up with Cédric Biscay to understand how such an eagerly awaited tome is constructed: what creative challenges arise when the technical dimension, the matches of excellence, local realism, Monte Carlo in the foreground and the evolution of the characters have to converge in a single tale.
Good morning Cédric, can you describe Blitz in a few words?
Then, Blitz is a chess-themed manga, created in collaboration with Garry Kasparov. It features a group of young people, among whom there is also one who knows nothing about the game and who gradually learns as the adventure unfolds.
What makes Blitz different from other manga?
First of all, it is the only manga set, at least in part, in the principality of Monaco, with characters who are themselves international, there are some French, some English, someone even from Saudi Arabia, a few Indians and even Japanese, of course, as opposed to traditional manga where the protagonists are almost exclusively Japanese. Moreover, since this is a chess manga, we also see real challenges between the parties, which makes it very peculiar.
How did the idea of combining the worlds of chess and manga come about?
In the world of manga there is a lot of competition, you only have to visit a few bookshops to realise that, so I needed a good idea for it to work, I really love sports-themed manga so I immediately thought of chess because it is a sport that I myself have played for many years.
Who are your favourite Blitz characters?
I really like the main hero because we resemble each other, at the beginning he doesn't understand anything, then he gradually becomes more and more cunning, and then another one I particularly like is the female character of Riko because, although she is apparently the antagonist in the story, as you get to know her better you realise that her story is a bit more complicated.
How long does it take to write a complete volume?
It depends, but in general I would say between 6 and 10 months.
What inspires you most when you write?
It is difficult to answer because I feel very inspired when I write here in the Principality, so we can say that MonteCarlo gives me inspiration but not the city itself, but rather the small hidden places, the beaches, the ones further away from the big crowds.
Can you tell us about volume 11 of Blitz?
This volume is quite special, because after 10 volumes in which we followed the tournament qualifiers in Japan and a little bit around the world, the adventure arrives in MonteCarlo, so the characters get to visit the country, there are scenes at the Yacht Club, the Louis XV, the Condamine, and they also get to meet some VIPs from the Principality, like Alain Ducasse and the formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas, who both agreed to be part of the adventure, which I really appreciate because it adds a special touch to the adventure.
How did the idea of publishing Blitz in Italy come about?
It's not my idea, an Italian publisher got in touch with me and proposed it to me, and I thought it was a fantastic idea, and moreover he is the publisher of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, so it's really incredible, right from the start he was very enthusiastic about the project and wanted to bring out the tomes at an accelerated pace, in fact in Italy at the end of the month the seventh will already be out, while in France and in Monte-Carlo we have reached the tenth, but you have to consider that Blitz has been available in Italy for just two years.
What do you think of the Italian public?
I don't know him well yet, I will have a first contact at the end of the month at the event Lucca Comics & Games. When I saw that Blitz was available in Italian bookshops I was very happy and proud, but I still don't know the public well, although some people have already contacted me on social media. At the end of the month my first Meet and Greet will take place, so I will get to know him better.
