For the first time in history, a chess player from North Korea takes part in the North Sea Chess Tournament. She is under pressure to perform, as are her opponents, including a cheating Italian, an Icelandic womaniser, a Tunisian fundamentalist and Dutch talent Christiaan N'Koulou. Inside and outside the arena, the boundaries of the game are sought and transgressed. Even the secret services interfere with the moves on the board. When the American player is found dead in his bathroom on the rest day, chess maecenas Godfried, the sponsor, must intervene to save the tournament at the risk of his own life.

An international literary thriller, The Sponsor is based on the notes that one of the sponsors has been taking behind the scenes of the Hoogovens-Corus-Tata Steel chess tournament for over ten years.

For the chess enthusiast, an appendix contains annotations of the games involved in the story.