The Joy of Checks

Yes? Good pun? No? Okaaaay.

Well, we've entered a new phase in this little family - where even the smallest of mini-men can get their heads around chess moves in a rudimentary fashion.

The smallest knows how to set the board up, he marvels at the beauty of each piece, weighing the glass in his hand, before picking it up betwixt forefinger and thumb and holding it aloft to the light, inspecting it like a master jeweler inspecting a gem, turning it, marveling at it, enjoying the perfection of it's craftmanship.







And in playing he has certain pieces he loves above all others, and doesn't understand why the King is the most important piece when it is the Queen who is the coolest and who is more useful - I resist the urge to explain the archetype and let his subconscious digest this information...





This right now is our beautiful game. A game of the mind, a game with beauty and skill, a game of strategy, ruthlessness and war.

And if the Eldest could stop winding the midget up by stealing the pieces and sitting on them? Then we might enjoy a game. Though after shattering the Rook and narrowly missing a trip to A+E (try explaing THAT to the emergency staff - erm, why, yes there is a spear-like glass ornament embedded in my child's derriere, I've no idea how it got there other than he acts like an ass, yes we homeschool, yes we are Muslim, no this is not a ritual sacrifice - is there a problem??) I think perhaps the cheating method of sitting on your opponent's pieces might have run it's course.

For now, we play. One step at a time.

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