"If it's your wish, I will follow you everywhere. Even if your throne crumbles, and your shiny crown turns to rust, even if the bodies pile up endlessly, above the bottomless pile of pawns. As you softly lie down, I will be beside you, until i hear the words 'Check Mate' "
I had a tournament just now, and it was fun and all. Only we didn't get first place which is a bummer (but I ranked top ten so that's a start). Idk. I'm feeling quite emotional that the sports carnival is over which means chess training is over and there is zero chance that I'll bump into my teammates, so yeah, you are forewarned.
Chess is kind of a big thing in my life. I'm not particularly good at it, but it has helped me nevertheless. For starters, it's how I met my
husband Akah, she checkmated me ruthlessly first, and introduced herself properly a year later (although if you ask her, she won't recall the checkmating part, but it did happen I am certain of it)
Second of all, it's a humongous contributor to my co-curricular points. I don't know about others, but I was stressed over the 10% co-curricular percentage for university enrollment/scholarship application, because I'm not comfortable doing physical activities. I basically don't like to move, so to try compete in sports is preposterous, but I was saved with chess. I never had proper training
— never thought I needed to, and surprisingly I got as far as the states and it's kind of like luck, but I don't believe in luck, more of self determination combining with the parallel course of the universe and so here I am, competing in yet another chess tournament. Coincidence? I think not! (Actually yes, it is kind of a coincidence)
My highs chool merit points were saved because of chess, and it seems to me that it would probably continue in my university years. Turns out you have to have star points (?) to increase your chance of staying in the mahallah. I know. It's the first time for me hearing it too. But chess doesn't stop there. When I play chess, I see a plot. I see two kingdoms fighting for the chess board, and which one claiming it first and killing the other in the process. To be a chess player, you must be ruthless. You can't have a soft spot on anyone, not even the queen. Desperate times calls for deperate measures, and if that measure includes killing off the queen, then murder it shall be.
I particularly like it when 3+ pieces of each sides aim for one spot. That time when just one step would lead to mass destruction, and that's when the massacre takes place.
I have a whole meta for the chess verse, but after typing it out it ended up being too lengthy, but rather than posting my meta/headcanon, I dug out my old blogs and I found out that I wrote this really cheesy fiction of the chess verse years ago, and it's really embarrassing but kind of memorable so I'll just summarize it in this one comment.
"I always have this mindset that the king knows that the queen is cheating on him, and he lets it, because their marriage wasn't based on love, it was a diplomatic arrangement. All the moves the queen makes is for their kingdom and it must be for a reason. But when it comes to desire, both King and queen could not satisfy each other. The queen always protects the king, and occasionally the king does too. But that's just it; they have each others back because everyone's aiming to kill them. I'll say it's responsibility, not love."