Reality Inspector, chapter 20
Copyright © 1982 John Caris Wearing a red dress with a flowery pattern, Mary sat at the chess board in the Cow Palace. The crowd was becoming quiet, and tension was mounting. She looked over at her cheering section but did not see John. It was one minute to seven. Perhaps, he had found the clue that he was so desperately searching for and was now hot on the trail of his opponent. In thirty seconds she would confront her opponent. If she could win this game tonight, she would have the edge. The big, electronic chess boards hanging from the ceiling were turned on, and the judge approached the table where the two players sat facing each other. Mary opened with Ruy Lopez. She wanted an open center and hoped that Sam would go along with it. She felt in good spirits tonight and desired a direct struggle with few complications. What would Sam do, though? Was he interested in a direct struggle or in complications. She would soon find out. By their eleventh move Mary was wondering what Sam was up to. He was wasting time by making unnecessary moves. Was he hiding some wham-o combination and only waiting for the proper moment? Sam
Mary (next move) Come on, Sam; let's have some action, she thought as she played P-KN4 (g4). After Sam's seventeenth move, Mary looked at the board carefully. Sam
Mary (next move) She decided that Sam was only interested in keeping the center closed, so she shifted her line of attack by playing R-R1 (Rh1). Sam had opened his king rook file earlier when he pushed the KRP (h5) to the fourth rank. Now she would take advantage of that weakness. Move over, Mary, Sam is standing in your way, she sang to herself. A chess board was a finite universe; there was only a limited amount of space. As long as Sam was clogging up the center, she would open his kingside. Let him have the center, she shouted to herself. I'll increase the gravity of his position; that'll contract his space. I'll squeeze you into a ball, Sam, and roll you around the universe. I'll just use a little E = MC2 and zap your defense to smithereens, Sam. The chess pieces stood static against the crisscross of the black and white pattern: a moment frozen which soon would melt. She watched a combination move in her mind; when she pushed a mental button, imaginary pieces acted out a short drama. On the fourth fourth of that combination she noticed a trap, so she looked at another possible combination. |
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