Monarch's Gambit: Tudors versus Spain By: Constance M Knepp-Holt Monarch's Gambit is a detailed account of the behind-the-scenes events that surrounded and fueled the 123-year "chess game" between Spain and the Tudor dynasty. As this work thoroughly demonstrates, these events did not just affect the key players of the monarchs but also filtered down to the commoners, and even crossed oceans.