A Simple Game

Tonight I did something I've been meaning to do for a long, long time. I taught my youngest son how to play the game of chess.  He started our boys' game night by asking me to play cards with him. That's when I replied, "why don't we play chess?" "Okay, dad," And off he ran to my bedroom dresser to fetch the chess set that went unused for the last year and half. Mind you, I'm no chess master. Far from it. But I've always loved the game because while it was really simple to play, playing well requires you to be delightfully complex. Teaching him was simple because the the movements of the pieces are well-defined and rule-driven. Oh, but the strategies and moves one can employ are are endless. To be sure, this is a thinking person's game, which requires a great deal of concentration and foresight. One would think that an 11-year old is incapable of such levels of concentration, but that just wasn't the case here. As I was purposely blundering through our first game, I could see his eyes light up as he pondered the board. At one point, he started talking to himself "If I move here, Dad will take his bishop and move here...dang it!!!!" Long story short, he caught on quickly, and saw that I had exposed my King and check-mated me with a pawn and his Queen. (Note to all you chess masters -- please don't ask me how he did it. Remember, I was purposely blundering my moves.) We played a second game where I wasn't as forgiving. He tipped his King after I left him with nothing but a handful of pawns on the board. But I told him he shouldn't be discouraged from the game by that loss, reminding him that games are supposed to be fun regardless whether you win or lose. Finally, with the wife in the room watching this wonderful scene unfold, I jokingly told him that chess was a game that had to be invented by a woman. The wife snickered -- that is, until she heard my rationale. The queen is the only identifiably, female piece on the board, yet it is arguably the most powerful. It can move (and attack) across any number of available spaces and in all directions, and decimate your opponent. I was quite proud of my comment, until she exposed it for the self-serving drivel it was. Her response? "Yeah, but in the hands of a stupid man, she's always easily lost!!!" Check Mate!!!!!! Personal note -- many thanks to my pal, DCup , who promised to RSS my blog if I started writing it again. Well, here you have it. Hopefully it won't be another two months before I make another entry. Until then...peace!