{"id":4863,"date":"2011-06-18T13:20:53","date_gmt":"2011-06-18T17:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4863"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:25:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:25:22","slug":"checkmate-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4863","title":{"rendered":"Checkmate (by Krystyna)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/strong>: An evening playing chess and memories hover …<\/p>\n

Rating: K+ (1,510 words)<\/p>\n

Comments\/reviews from Old BonanzaBrand Library are on last page.<\/p>\n

Checkmate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The two combatants faced one another across the chess board.\u00a0 The room was warm, comfortable, with the embers of the dying fire glowing in the hearth and the oil lamps flickering lazily.\u00a0\u00a0 The old clock hic-cupped the minutes away, a not too silent witness to the battle being waged between father and son. Outside of the ranch house there was the stillness of a pleasant evening blessed by a full autumnal moon.<\/p>\n

In the corral the horses stood close together, as though they also wished to partake of the pleasure of such an evening. Their days tasks now at an end, they nudged one another, nuzzled at one anothers necks, slurped from the water in the troughs and resumed their comradely positions. From the ranch house the only evidence of human life still awake at such an hour was the orange halo of light shining from the downstairs windows.<\/p>\n

Ben leaned back against the chair and waited patiently for his opponent to make his move.\u00a0 He wondered if his son would have noticed the error he had made, and would take advantage of it.\u00a0 In which case this particular chess game would soon be over – he hid his smile behind his hand as he anticipated a gleeful cry of ‘check-mate.’<\/p>\n

The clock struck the hour and Ben leaned over to pick up his pipe and tobacco pouch.\u00a0 He frowned a little and, as he struck the match, he glanced over at his son.\u00a0 He wondered what was preventing the youth from making his move.\u00a0 It was glaringly obvious that all he had to do was make that one victorious move and that would be it – chess game finished.\u00a0 Ben struck the match and through the flare of the flame he looked once more at his son.<\/p>\n

Adam looked thoughtfully at the board and frowned. Over the years he had naturally studied carefully how they all played this game. He knew that Hoss concentrated very hard on all his moves, but was easily distracted into making wrong assumptions about his opponent\u2019s next move and made clumsy errors. Joe, on the other hand, could be very devious if his opponent was a worthy one, but he tended to falter at the important points of the game. He was over confident when playing against Hoss, and intimidated him and often won. But when he played against his father, his confidence waned and he often lost out as a result. Ben was the hardest to play against because he was the one who had taught Adam to play and so the tactics were very similar. Adam knew that when he played against Ben he had to employ patience and cunning, because impatience was Ben\u2019s weak point.<\/p>\n

But now Adam stared at the chess board until the black and white squares made him cross eyed.\u00a0\u00a0 It was glaringly obvious that his father had made an error that had left him wide open to defeat.\u00a0\u00a0 But, and here was the problem, had Ben made an error?\u00a0\u00a0 Adam frowned in concentration and thought over his father’s chess prowess.\u00a0 Ben had been a subtle player, cunning and skilful.\u00a0\u00a0 Was this an error?\u00a0\u00a0 Adam licked his lips and swallowed a lump in his throat.\u00a0\u00a0 Pa just didn’t make errors.\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore, was he being ‘kind’?<\/p>\n

Ben saw his son give a slight shake of the head and wondered what was going on through the younger mans mind.\u00a0\u00a0 He puffed out smoke ceilingwards and stared at a point above Adam’s head.\u00a0\u00a0 He had not been concentrating like he usually did on the game.\u00a0\u00a0 He had begun to think about Elizabeth and how much they had enjoyed a quiet\u00a0game of chess together in the evenings.\u00a0\u00a0 He had been wool gathering, and made a careless error of judgement.\u00a0 Now he wondered what on earth was taking Adam so long to declare the game\u00a0over.\u00a0\u00a0 He cleared his throat loudly and raised his eyebrows.<\/p>\n

Adam bit his bottom lip.\u00a0\u00a0 Pa must have done it deliberately.\u00a0 Now he was clearing his throat and fidgitting.\u00a0 He obviously wanted the game over as soon as possible\u00a0\u00a0 Was that why he had made it\u00a0so easy for him to win?\u00a0\u00a0 He never usually gave way, not on any account.\u00a0 He just didn’t believe in making things easy for the sake of – well, not for anything.\u00a0\u00a0 Adam glanced over at his father, an anxious glance that contained a certain amount of confusion and doubt.<\/p>\n

Ben pursed his lips and stared at the ceiling.\u00a0\u00a0 He wondered why Adam looked so confused.\u00a0 Surely moving just the one piece was not too hard?\u00a0 How long had he been sitting there staring\u00a0at that chess board now?\u00a0 Five minutes?\u00a0\u00a0 He sucked hard at\u00a0the stem of his pipe and sent out clouds of smoke.<\/p>\n

Adam gulped.\u00a0\u00a0 Pa was puffing so hard on that smelly old pipe of his that he looked like Versuvius about to erupt.\u00a0 If Pa had made a mistake, did he realise it now and was annoyed at himself?\u00a0\u00a0 Or, was he expecting him, Adam, to make the most of it and defeat him?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Should he take advantage of\u00a0the\u00a0error and …<\/p>\n

“Pa?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, son?”<\/p>\n

“You know I could end this chess game right here and now, don’t you?”<\/p>\n

“Sure – why don’t you?”<\/p>\n

Adam’s dark eyes looked up at his father and met dark eyes in return.\u00a0 He looked back at the chess board.<\/p>\n

“You made a mistake?”<\/p>\n

“I was day dreaming and took my mind off the game for a second.” Ben admitted quietly, “Aren’t you going to end the game?\u00a0 You should you know, if you can see how obvious it is to end it.”<\/p>\n

“I wasn’t sure whether you had done it on purpose.\u00a0 To give me an advantage.”<\/p>\n

“Why should I want to do that?\u00a0 You’re too good a player for me to give you any kind of advantage.\u00a0\u00a0 No, son, I was not concentrating and I made an error of judgement.\u00a0\u00a0 It’s up to you to end the game.”<\/p>\n

“If it was a genuine error …” Adam hesitated and frowned again, a small furrow that creased the smooth tanned skin of his brow.<\/p>\n

“It was a genuine error and you have the right to take advantage of it.\u00a0 It’s like life, son, you have to take advantages of anything that comes your way.\u00a0 Don’t show any sign of weakness just because your opponent has made a mistake, could be your life at risk …” he puffed out a cloud of smoke and smiled, “Are you going to finish this\u00a0chess game or not?”<\/p>\n

Adam smiled slowly and nodded, “Check-mate,” he said quietly and then looked up at his father and raised his brows, “What were you thinking about, Pa?\u00a0\u00a0 You don’t usually take your mind off the game.”<\/p>\n

“No, not usually.” Ben collected up the pieces and placed them in the ebony box and closed the lid, “Your mother gave me this chess set, you know.\u00a0\u00a0 Her\u00a0grand-father had given it to her when she was a little girl.\u00a0 It was made in India.\u00a0\u00a0 I was thinking about the times we used to play chess together of an evening,” he sighed and his voice drifted away into silence.<\/p>\n

It was just a quiet evening with a dying fire, warm and still glowing, and the oil lamps created warm oasis’ of light around the room.\u00a0\u00a0 The old clock ticked their lives away minute by minute .\u00a0\u00a0 It\u00a0seemed as though they were the only beings alive in the entire world at that time, and each of them separated by their own thoughts about the same person.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The End<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Reviewer: Snuffybear
\nDate: 22 Nov 2012 08:19 am Title: Chapter 1<\/p>\n

Beautifully written. Such a wonderful peek into the lives of Ben and Adam.<\/p>\n

Author’s Response: Yay, thank you so much, Snuffybear.<\/em><\/p>\n

*****************************<\/p>\n

Reviewer: faust<\/a> Signed
\nDate: 11 Sep 2012 10:18 am Title: Chapter 1<\/p>\n

Another of my favourites of you. I like your mature approach of an old theme. It’s so much adam, and so much ben, but it reads new and interesting — and mature.<\/p>\n

Thank you for never making grown ups sound like 14 years old girls. (I think you know what I mean, don’t you?)<\/p>\n

Author’s Response: Thank you Faust, yes, I know exactly what you mean and at times the sentimentality some f.f produce as coming from these men make me wonder if they ever have watched the series. I’m really pleased with your review, faust, it means a lot. Thank you again. Krystyna<\/em><\/p>\n

**********************<\/p>\n

Reviewer: deansgirl<\/a> Signed
\nDate: 23 Jun 2011 10:09 am Title: Chapter 1<\/p>\n

Loved this story.\u00a0 Thank you for sharing it.<\/p>\n

Author’s Response: Thank you so much, deansgirl, I so appreciate your reading and sending in your thoughts about the story. Sorry it was so short. <\/em><\/p>\n

*******************************<\/p>\n

Reviewer: jojay Anonymous
\nDate: 19 Jun 2011 02:28 pm Title: Chapter 1<\/p>\n

Very nicely done!\u00a0 Thoroughly enjoyed this Father\/Son moment!<\/p>\n

Author’s Response: Hi jojay Annymous…thank you so much for leaving a review for this short story, I really appreciated it and was really pleased you enjoyed it. Krystyna<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Summary: An evening playing chess and memories hover …<\/p>\n

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