章 10: Chapter 10 - Cagnus vs Kanatoly Arpov
Deep in the woods, surrounded by tall pine trees. There nestled a cosy hut that was made of wood and stone; it had a thatched roof and a humble fireplace. Inside sat a single room that was being warmed by a crackling fire.
The walls were adorned with animal furs; they stood there as a testimony to Kanatoly Aprov's former achievements as a hunter. The hut had a small wooden table and two benches, and an old, worn quilt hung on a peg near the door to keep out the cold.
The windows were small, but they were more than enough to let in enough light to keep the inside of the hut bright and inviting.
The smell of burning wood and the chirping of birds outside made this place a peaceful and restful retreat, the perfect place to spend leisure time with your loved one.
On top of the two benches, there sat an old man and a young man opposite him.
The young man seemed around eight or nine years old, and although his clothes seemed dirty, he had a healthy and optimistic complexion that brimmed with vitality.
This young man was none other than Cagnus Marlsen. The man opposite him was Kanatoly Arpov.
Both grandfather and grandson were playing a game of Chess, Cagnus was playing white while Kanatoly was playing black.
"Pawn to king four.", Cagnus spoke out. Whenever he plays Chess, he has this habit of speaking out loud his moves; because the chessboard has no grid, Cagnus used descriptive notation.
Kanatoly stroked his white beard as he observed his grandson, his expression as erudite as ever. He spoke in his hoarse voice: "Pawn to king four as well."
He extended his dilapidated hand as he moved the pawn opposite the king two steps forward. The chess piece looked coarse and unattuned.
Cagnus wasn't surprised; he moved another pawn as he announced: "Pawn to king bishop four."
The old man chuckled as he teased, "You really love the King's Gambit don't you? You leave your king vulnerable for a temporary advantage in the opening."
Then shortly after, he announced: "Pawn king four takes pawn king bishop four."
Kanatoly didn't hesitate to capture Cagnus' newly advanced pawn; he wanted to punish his grandson for playing such a bad opening.
Seeing this, Cagnus smiled as he said, "So what if my king is vulnerable? I have my knight for cover-up. King's knight eight goes to king bishop three."
The knight piece jumped across the board, shielding the white's king from the vicious black queen.
Cagnus' grandfather had no expression on his face: "Pawn to king knight five."
Kanatoly reinforced his pawn, stabilising his position against any surprise attacks from white's side.
"Hmmm…", Cagnus put on a pondering expression as he called out his next move: "Bishop to queen bishop four."
Kanatoly seemed to ignore the white bishop piece that was in the middle of the board as he proceeded to attack the knight.
"Pawn king knight four to king knight five."
Cagnus seemed to ignore his hanging knight as he made his next move.
"Castles kingside."
The grandfather looked at his grandson for a moment before he unhesitantly captured the hanging knight.
"Pawn king knight five captures knight king bishop three."
Cagnus didn't even take a moment to think before he captured the intruding pawn with his queen.
"Queen takes pawn knight king five."
Seeing that Cagnus brought his queen, Kanatoly did the same.
"Queen goes to king bishop three."
And the game seemed to proceed forward as… Cagnus lost.
"Checkmate.", Kanatoly said in his deep and old voice, "Stop playing the King's Gambit, it's a disadvantageous opening that'll leave your position vulnerable to attacks from the black side."
"It is bold and dangerous, a gamble in the truest sense of the word. You sacrifice one of your own for a temporary advantage that gets punished if a player knows what they're doing."
"Sigh. You're just like your father, looking for excitement and danger. Cagnus, you're better than that."
In the amphitheatre, Cagnus sighed as he missed the days he spent with his grandfather.
Although these days were rough, to him, they were the best times he had ever spent in his life.
'I wonder when I'm going to see him next?', Cagnus wondered as he heard Professor Aloyn speak in the background:
"Chess is a board game played by two opponents."
"Each opponent has sixteen pieces, which include a king, a queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops and eight pawns."
"The game is played on a square board with sixty-four squares."
"The board is divided into halves, called player's territories."
…
"The objective of each opponent is to capture the other opponent's king. This is done by moving your pieces so that they can surround the other player's king."
As the introduction began, the students sat with rapt attention, their expressions a mixture of amazement and astonishment. Their eyes were fixed on the Professor, taking in every word with fascination. Some sat with their mouths agape, clearly amazed by what they were hearing. Others nodded along, their brows furrowed in concentration as they took in the information being presented. All of the students seemed to be fully engaged in the introduction, hanging on every word and showing their enthusiasm for the subject at hand.
Professor Aloyn's words were spoken out with such clarity and eloquence, describing the game's basics in a systematic way that each student could understand.
"... The game can also end in a draw if neither player can capture the other's king."
Meanwhile, Cagnus was bored the hell out of his mind. He already knows how to play the game, yet this "Imperial Chess Academy Professor" is explaining the basics of the basics to him.
'No way right? These nobles should've gotten a chess teacher at home. Why are they learning about the basics here?'
'These expressions… Must be fake, right…', just as Cagnus was wondering. A student stood up and asked Professor Aloyn a question.
"Sir, what if the two opponents eat each other's kings?"
Cagnus was baffled; the man's question was spoken in such innocence that he found it hard to believe.
'This guy… is a paid actor, right? Right? Haha, he must be a paid actor.', Cagnus thought.
But what happened next made his eyes widen as he saw the entire class nod in acknowledgement, clearly sharing the same guy's question.
Professor Aloyn was not offended by this "stupid" question; instead he faced the student and explained: "I've been waiting for someone to ask such a question; If the opponent captures your king, you won't get to play the next move. Thereby making it impossible to capture both opponents' kings."
Cagnus: "...."
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