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Chessville
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The Kennedy Kids Mary Elizabeth, Jon & Matt
Touched by Genius (Part I) “You did what??” My sister Mary looked like Lucy van Pelt getting ready to slug her little brother Linus in the “Peanuts” comics. “I paid for a chess lesson for Dad for his birthday” I admitted quietly. “What a sweet thing to do,” said Mom, as she slipped by, taking Marty out for a walk. “Your dad says he’s quite the pawnpusher, you know – whatever that means.” I really didn’t need her kiss on the forehead, but the way things were going, I couldn’t object to a friendly gesture. Mary just rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know Maurice Ashley was in town” said big brother Matt, getting ready to shoot some hoops by the garage. “Grandmasters have got to be pretty expensive, you know.” “I know.” Mary snorted. “He couldn’t afford a GM. Not even with my money added in.” “Oh, well,” said Matt. “What about that Expert or Master guy who writes for the Club newsletter?” “Too expensive,” Mary and I chorused. She knew. “The Club historian? He could at least tell Dad some great tales…” “Too expensive,” I mumbled. “I asked.” “I thought you were getting him something practical from us, like a tie!” said Mary. She tapped her foot in annoyance. At least she had relaxed her fist. “Hey!” I came back, “The guy’s got lots of experience, he’s played in all sorts of tournaments – he showed me his draw with Reuben Fine – he’s even written a couple of books.” “Sure he has.” Mary was relentless. “The world-renowned opening book, The Terrible Two-Step. No doubt Judit Polgar has a signed copy! And The Penultimate Perry – for real! Don’t you read anything at Chessville?” The penny dropped for Matt. “You got Dad a lesson with Perry the PawnPusher down at the Club??? You are seriously dead meat, Little Man.” And he laughed like a maniac as he dashed outside. “You’re really going to get it when he comes back tonight.” “I guess so.” “Talk about a hopeless position…” After a while, we both heard Dad’s car rattle into the driveway. A minute later, he came through the front door. I braced myself. “Jon! Mary! Where are you??” called Dad. “In the kitchen,” I moaned. He walked into the room, marched right up to me – and gave me a great big hug. Then he hugged Mary just as tightly. “What a fantastic birthday present from the two of you! The guy is a genius! I learned so much in only one session!” Dad bubbled. “Don’t tell your mom,” he said, leaning over and lowering his voice, “but it even beats the Garfield tie that she got me. Wait’ll I tell Matt…” And he was out the door again. I was stunned. Then Mary started to giggle, which wasn’t polite at all. So I started laughing right along with her. Sad to say, if there was one player who lagged in chess knowledge behind even old Perry, one pawnpusher who was such a complete beginner that he could look up to and admire just about anybody – it was Dad. “Nice job, little brother,” said Mary, and she patted me on the back. “Touch of genius.”
And then we both cracked up again. Index of Kennedy Kids Stories Index of Fiction at Chessville
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