Stories tagged “chess”
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Heading Down Toward Weird
Little Garrett Swopes looked down back his swinging feet to the black and white checked floor of the diner. Surprisingly, it looked really clean and shiny. He decided the floor was happy. The wall was not as happy, as it had a small hole in it, down in...
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Gambit
“So how has the new position been, Mr. Head of Security?” Charlie asked through an over-salted french fry. He studied the board, then moved a pawn forward. There? Easy. Harry knocked over the pawn with a bishop. “Pretty well, so far. ...
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Chess
The clock ticked menacingly. It reverberated off his eardrum with a resounding clash as his focus was broken. He tried to ignore the echoes of the ticking - so impatient, so impartial to his pain, his concentration. It was as a lover, so caught up in t...
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Strategic Floor Tiles
He stood quietly in the corner at the party, staring down at the patterned tiles on the floor. An empty glass, now devoid of its bubbly, acidic contents, rolled in his palms. It was always the same at these events . “A chance to get to know each ...
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Without a Job
We used to play chess. She had a special board, bought by some ex-so and so whose name I have tried hard to forget, with hand carved redwood pieces. Butterflies with over-sized wings for bishops, beetles as staunchly rooks. It probably cost more than a...
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It had been a good summer, after all.
It had been A Good Summer after all. Ira and Sidney had argued over linguini for hours, the red and white checkered tablecloth between them flapping in the breeze that blew off the Hudson River, down 35th Street and beneath the small table they share...
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your move
The ebony queen gathered her robes and sashayed across the black and white marble floor. All the knights could do was watch as she lifted her silken leg and… Time seemed to slow down. The kings face slowly drained of colour. She had aimed the kick ri...
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A Game With Death
Arnold smiled as the beautiful young woman approached the table, her blond hair a gorgeous contrast to her dark black dress. “I think today might be the day,” she said, sitting across from him and extending her hand. Arnold took it in his o...
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King's Gambit
“Damn your rules and regulations!” Sargeant Will Farmer screamed while standing in the General’s office. “I don’t give a flying frak about saving face, one of my men was killed tonight, and….” “…and...
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On Edge
I felt the eyes boring in to the side of my head, trying to decide how confident I really was, but I’d already moved to look upon her again, mixing my emotions so that it was almost impossible for him to tell. Just think, this is what you’r...
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Check
Gradually, a thick smoke rose and engulfed the playing field, severing the line of sight between the Demon and I. When it eventually cleared, hideous black and white creatures occupied the squares that were now below us. You play using the white pieces...
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Enter the demon
I have never been a normal boy, I could never Hate somone except to the sick thought of murder I’ve been in this world for a couple 100 years So when i came across a boy who could set me free I challenged him to a game of chess…
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Gambit
My attack was two-pronged and subtle. I had the demon’s King – my prize – backed into a corner. It was a brilliant, tactical solution. He could block check from one direction, only to open up a line of attack from another. Capture the...
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Calculated Move
I had unconsciously crept up on the board as I focused on the duel over the demon’s King. I sat back from it now, closing my eyes briefly as I struggled to shake off that sense of self-imposed tunnel-vision. A couple of deep breaths to calm my fr...
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Distraction
The Demon stood motionless, eyes fixed looking downward. I could tell he was having trouble working out what had just happened, as was the intended effect. After a while I realised I hadn’t been breathing, so I inhaled deeply. “Are YOU prep...
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Castle
The demon stared at the board for so long that I began to wish we’d set a game clock. My nerves were raw by this point, and I was getting antsy. Deliberate or not, as psychological warfare goes, the delay tactic was brilliant. All I could do was ...
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En Passant
The battle had raged on for longer than either side had hoped. Dark forces had overtaken the holy and there were but a few righteous ones left. With his queen now captured, the pallid sovereign felt that all was lost and thus timorously, he barked his ...
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Mr. Chen
His bushy white eyebrows catch some wind and battle with his eyelashes. He dresses simple, now seventy-eight years old, Mr. Chen wears only comfort clothing. Always reading but never saying much Mr. Chen likes to hide in thoughtful games. We meet at th...
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Mr. Chen (cont.)
Mr. Chen seems to lean into me when he starts to speak but it is I who is drawing closer, trying to catch every word from his aged mouth that opens like raw dough— slow and sticky with spittle. “I remember running from father, only six year...
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Games in the Park
Mothers walked along the Autumn paths of the park, their children like kites navigating a tempest. All of them unaware of the possibilities within their lives. Wrapped in a blanket of my own misery, I was too aware of life as I played games with Death....
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A War is Brewing
Silver and gold chess pieces slid one after another across the black and white board with a quiet intensity. To anyone watching it would have looked like a computer simulation as no one touched a single piece. Two men casually sat next to the chess boa...
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Endgame
fifty six seconds and the cold calculated perfectionists win.
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Would You Like to Play Chess?
ALPHI was already on when I entered the lab and noticed me immediately. “Welcome, Dr. Woodard. Would you like to play chess? I have several new strategies.” This was odd. I was certain I had powered him down before leaving last night, but I checked...