I must do something special for Boy #3 who, tonight, has taught me a few things about playing chess that I did not know before — techniques which would make me unbeatable by even a grandmaster, if only I can learn to follow in his steps (though I can’t imagine I can make up for his raw, inborn talent). Though only six-years-old, clearly he has a talent that would be almost sinful for me to ignore.
Specifically, he demonstrated two heretofore undiscovered techniques (at least, I assume they have never been used before–I will have to search the literature and make sure). They came in the end game, when I was positioning my two rooks and my queen so as to catch him in checkmate. That’s when he sprung his trap. He (1) took my own rook, playing it as if it were his piece, and (2) empowered it to move in a brand new way: a long “L” shaped path along the edge of the board, all the way to the other side where it captured my other rook. Really, it was breathtaking to watch.
Then, if that weren’t enough, he went one step further. The implementation of these two techniques caught me so off guard that I did not know what to say, when he implemented a third new technique: skip the other player’s turn and move again. At which time he applied the two previously displayed techniques again by (1) commandeering one of my own pawns and (2) enabling it to traitorously move backwards and actually capture my king. Can you believe it?!? Not a checkmate, mind you–he actually captured the king!!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game where that has happened before!
I was stunned. The “I win! I win! I win!” dance that he performed afterwards only added to my stupor.
I am humbled to know that such a chess prodigy has been given to me to raise among mere mortals, and I assure the public that I will raise him to use his chess powers only in the service of the forces of good. That and the acquiring of lucrative endorsement deals.
Thoughts En Route 
I kept giving Jonny cut rate deals in a Monopoly game. I didn’t want him to feel bad. After I went bankrupt, he said “nice doing business with you.” It made me take a long blink. The kid had been playing me like a fiddle. The gloves come off next time.
Add proper instruction in Sabbath-keeping to all of that, and we may have found the successor to Bobby Fischer!
We should have your Boy #3 play my Nephew #1. He was the chess champion of the extended family — no one could beat him, not his parents, not his sister, not his parents-in-law, nobody. He beat me too…once. “Two out of three?” I suggested. The next two games, I simply mirrored his moves until he made a mistake, and then moved in and checkmated him. I’m afraid his anti-victory dance was breathtaking too.
Oh well, that was some years ago, and he’d probably wipe the board with me now. 😀 I don’t play chess very often.
שלום במשיח – יוחנן רכב
Commandeering your own pawn to capture your king. Now, that’s what I call a poisoned pawn!
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Yes..chess is the touchstone of the human intellect 😀