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 Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 3:04 pm
The slightly crooked paper sign above the door read "CHESS CLUB: Open to newbies and oldbies alike!" Inside the classroom the desks had been rearranged in pairs, allowing chess boards to be set out across them. Several stations had been identified as "learning stations", apparently for newcomers to sit and learn the ways of chess from the masters. In reality, all club members were required to spend at least one day a week in the teaching section whether they wanted to or not. It was supposed to bolster club spirit and encourage community. For a certain green-haired teen, the only thing it did do was piss him off.
Today it was Johnny King's turn to sit in the chair of knowledge, on the black side of the chess board. He'd spent a good fifteen minutes arranging the pieces so they sat perfectly aligned not only with each other but also with the pieces of the opposing colour. He had always liked the set up of chess boards. The order was soothing. Still, the fact that he had to sit and wait for someone to join his game was ruining the mood. To say that teaching people wasn’t his forte would have been the understatement of the year. Johnny was a horrible teacher, worse than horrible if you weren't a quick learner, and why his club members kept sticking him back in the teacher's chair was beyond him. He would have thought they'd learned by now to just let him play in his little corner.
But no, he had to take his turn. As irritating as it was, there was a good chance nobody would come today. The green-haired teen couldn't help but hope as he carefully adjusted one of the knights. Maybe his luck would be good today.
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 12:32 am
Chess had never interested Sophie before. It looked complicated and disorderly to her. Checkers was fun, Parcheesi was peachy, and nothing could beat dominoes when it came to a good time for all. But lately she had taken up an interest, however minor. It had taken a while for her to get around to pursuing it- days where she didn't have volunteering commitments or rowing practice were rare- but finally she had sought out the knowledge that had evaded her.
The sign was crooked. Sophie frowned. It was not a promising sign. Even though the door was open and she could have walked right in, she took a moment to adjust it, finally pulling it right off the wall and sticking it back on straight. It took a couple of tries before she was satisfied, but it finally stayed on straight and she was able to enter the room, eyeing the boards and club members as she did.
"Your sign was crooked." Before she got down to business, Sophie had to get that out of her head. Now that she had informed the members of their mistake, they wouldn't make it again. "I heard that... you don't have to be a member to learn how to play, right?"
A time commitment was out of the question; free time was almost unheard of for Sophie. Hopefully that wouldn't get in the way of having a simple lesson.
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Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 6:00 pm
The green-haired teen raised his eyes from the board every time someone hesitated by the sign. It was human nature to pause and read things written in bright letters. That was the entire ploy behind advertising. So far, however, it wasn't working as well as some of the other club members might have hoped. Of the ten or so odd people that had walked by only one actually poked his head into the room. Unfortunately, he was only asking for directions to the bathroom. Somehow Johnny couldn't bring himself to be too disappointed.
One girl in particular, however, did something that the others didn't. He watched Sophie stare at the sign and then take it down. For a moment he contemplated getting up to see what she was going to do with it but before he could move she'd stuck it back on. Was she… trying to straighten it? The teen blinked several times as he watched her play with the sign, torn between amusement and pleasure. How astute of her to notice that the sign was crooked. He half hoped she'd come in and play. With a mind like that it was probable she'd be a good opponent.
His hopes were answered when she walked in, announcing the state of the sign. Johnny's lips twitched into a brief smile. "No, we give free lessons and practice play. Have you ever played before?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 10:45 pm
Most of the players didn't even seem to register her presence, but one did. Sophie had never been terribly concerned with numbers; one was all she ever asked for. She didn't even have to wait for his attention, which was a bonus. And he confirmed that she didn't have to join the club. So far, everything was going swimmingly.
"Oh, good," she said, visibly relieved. She looked around the room for a few seconds before taking a seat opposite the one who addressed her. "Not that I'd mind, that is, it's just... busy schedule. You understand." Or at least, Sophie hoped he understood. It would be terrible to start her lesson off on the wrong foot.
The board was already set up, which was a blessing. While Sophie had seen her fair share of chess boards in her time, she knew that setting one from memory would be impossible for her. "I've seen chess played a few times, but I've never played myself. I'm more of a dominoes fan, really, but it's important to expand your horizons, right?" She smiled, eagerly awaiting instruction.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 3:31 pm
As much as Johnny would have liked to point out that busy was a relative term (especially when you spent your nights wielding a sword and defending the city from all kinds of disgusting creatures) he had a feeling it probably wouldn't go over too well. Revealing his identity as Laocoon to a civilian who had the potential to be his ally or his enemy was just straight up stupid. He settled, instead, for what he hoped was an amiable nod. The teen understood what it was like to be busy with school and as such half truth was better than an outright lie, right?
"Well, we'll just go as fast or as slow as you want. I have—" He glanced up at the clock "—about an hour or so here doing this, and there's no rush." Despite what he was saying, the teen was secretly hoping that his pupil was a fast learner. Johnny's teaching skills were less than exemplary, as much as he hated to admit it, and the chess club president would be on his case if he chased off another newbie. All he had to do was take deep breaths and remember what he was supposed to say. He could do this.
"I guess we can start with the board set up." Thank god it was already set up. "What can you tell me about it? If it's nothing, that's fine, but we should probably figure out where you stand information wise so I don't tell you what you already know."
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 8:28 pm
Had Sophie known what was going through Johnny's mind, she might have countered with the fact that she spent quite a bit of time saving the world. Granted, she didn't have a cape and she used education and fundraising instead of a sword, but she took her duties no less seriously. Alas, she had no reason to bring up her volunteering, and since she was there to learn, she didn't even consider it.
"I'll do my best to keep up," Sophie promised. She had little enough time to play as it was, and she didn't want to spend all of it trying to grasp the rules. Studying the board, she frowned for a moment, then nodded. "Um. Well, I know that all of the pieces move in different ways, and that the goal is to take the king. That's checkmate, right? But aside from that... I've only seen it played, and I wasn't really paying attention."
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Surely this guy had more important things to do than teach a rank beginner, and if Sophie left now, she could get in some gardening. "I'm sorry if I'm wasting your time," she said, not really aware that she said it out loud. She was still debating leaving versus staying in her mind.
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:27 pm
The power of a sword would have definitely be put to the test against Sophie's education and fundraising. It was a pity that they couldn't debate that merits of both. Johnny would have much preferred an intellectual debate over playing chess instructor.
Deciding to take Sophie at her word, he adjusted his king slightly and began the lesson. "Each piece has its own way of moving, yes. We'll keep it simple for the first game. Pawns can move one space at a time or two spaces if it's their first move." He demonstrated with one of his pieces. "The only time they can move diagonally is if they are going to capture a piece, otherwise they have to move straight. Bishops can move as many spaces as they please, so long as it's on a diagonal. The same for rooks, only straight instead of diagonal. Knights move in the distinctive L shape, three by two. Queens have free reign of the board, as do kings, but the king can only move one space at a time. As long as the movement is in the same direction – you can't move forward and double back in the same turn – you're good to go."
He paused to move his pawn back. "You were right about the object of the game. A checkmate is when you put your opponent in such a position as their king is doomed no matter what they do. A check, on the other hand, can be escaped, but you have to let your opponent know that their king is in jeopardy if they don't do something about it. Am I going too fast?" Her comment about wasting time hit a little too close to home and Johnny's lips pressed briefly into a thin line. "It's my job to teach people and so far you've been a willing pupil," the green-haired teen conceded in what he hoped sounded polite. She wasn't really wasting his time. At least, not yet.
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:32 pm
Just before Sophie decided that she was better off sticking to dominos, Johnny launched into his explanation of the basics, and it was all she could do to keep the information straight. Staight, pawns could only go straight- unless they were capturing a piece, then they could go diagonally. "Can pawns go straight to take a piece? Or is going diagonally something they have to do if they want to capture?" She didn't mean to interrupt, really, but if she didn't find out, she'd assume and possibly end up wrong. Better to get the right information from the beginning.
Most of the other pieces had somewhat more straightforward movement rules, to her relief. Sophie followed him through bishops, knights, and rooks with no problems. Queens were a little confusing, though. "When you say free reign... just how free do you mean?" It was a silly question, she knew, and she looked apologetic for even asking. "I mean, they can't just go anywhere they want, can they?"
At least she was right about the goal. "So check is where the king might be in trouble, but he can get out of it? And checkmate is where no matter what you do, you can't escape?" Repeating the information helped her get a firmer grasp on it, and she nodded. "I think I'm managing okay. And I'm definitely willing!" By that time, Sophie couldn't even think of leaving, not when she was already starting to understand the basics. Rather than suggest she was wasting his time again, she smiled warmly. "Thank you for taking the time to teach me."
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