Chessville - Fiction - One-Up-Manship, by Mary Elizabeth, as Retold by Rick Kennedy

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The Kennedy Kids
Mary Elizabeth & Jon

One-Up-Manship
by Mary Elizabeth, as retold by Rick Kennedy

"Checkmate!"

I hate it when my brother talks to me that way. "You're just lucky," I told Jon. "One more move, and I would have checkmated you."

He was walking away from the board, but that stopped him. "Sure, sure, sure. Maybe you could do something with an extra move. You might even beat me one of these days." He smiled his ornery old smile. "Of course, if you get an extra move, I get two extra moves."

"Well, if you get two extra moves," I argued, "then I get three extra moves!"

"Then I get four!" "Five!" "Six!"

I suddenly realized this could be fun, and I ushered Jon over to the chessboard. "You go first," I said, sweetly.

He moved 1.e4. I countered with 1...e5, and then added 1...Nf6. To my surprise, he then rattled off 2.Bc4, 2.Qh5, and 2.Qxf7, mate.

"Ouch!" But there was no time to cry over spilt Kings - Jon had already set up the board and played 1.e4 again.

This time I played slyly, 1...f6 and 1...Nc6. He came right back with 2.Qg4, 2.Qxg7, and 2.Qxh8.

"You sunk my battleship!" I giggled, and then finished him off with 2...d5, 2...Bg4, 2...Nd4, and 2...Nxc2, mate!

"Whoa..." was all he could manage to gasp.

"Third game wins all," I said. "This time I have White." I opened 1.e3. Jon answered 1...f6 and 1...d6. I went after his battleship - er, Rook - with 2.Qg4, 2.Qxg7, and 2.Qxh8.

"Got your Queen," he smirked, and played 2...e5, 2...Bg7, 2...Bxh8, and 2...Ne7. "Yeah, but watch out for her Pawn!" I replied, and set the foot soldier to work: 3.d4, 3.dxe5, 3.exf6, 3.fxe7, 3.exd=Q+.

We agreed that checking the King ends your move. Otherwise, you could just go on and capture the guy. We weren't ready for any "Kingless" middlegames.

Jon defended with 3...Kxd8, and then fianchettoed his bishops in original style: 3...Bxb2, 3...Bxa1, 3...Bh3, 3...Bxg2, and 3...Bxh1. But he had forgotten my pawns. After 4.Bh3, I finished up with 4.f4, 4.f5, 4.f6, 4.f7, 4.f8/Q mate.