Summer 7 - Game Night

[norrhamn_residents]

[ It's a rainy afternoon on Norrhamn, with a distant thunderstorm rumbling over the gray sea. Typical Swedish summer, if we're honest, but that only means that the residents on this island know exactly how to combat it: with a game night.

The main dining hall has been cosied up for the occasion. There's plenty of blankets to go around and the tables have been laid out with flickering tealights and a variety of board- and card games of varying difficulty. There's Scrabble of course, and games like Settlers of Catan, Clue, Ludo and many others, along with regular decks of playing cards. There may be a few Witchcraft: The Collection around here too...

Alongside the usual offerings of hot food that's served throughout the day, the kitchen staff has set up a table with tea, coffee and hot chocolate, as well as treats like cinnamon buns and cookies, salty snacks and candy. Perfect to nibble on while in a particularly thrilling game of Backgammon, or just a good setup for a rainy day fika. ]

Comments

[bluerocks]

Oh. [ He pauses at this disclosure from Hanako, his expression soft. ] My parents died, too, when I was young.

[ But he doesn't want to dwell on family issues; he awkwardly clears his throat after a moment. ]

I only learned chess recently, from a friend. She's won every game against me.

[ This is his fate, to lose in chess perpetually to girls. ]

[burntviolet]

[ ... Quite awkward, but at least she will acknowledge that bit of his past with a nod. Well, they have one thing in common? ]

You have to experience m-many losses in order to i-improve. I used to lose a lot a-against various people, too.

[ Her latest loss was against Shizune, the student council's president at Yamaku. It was quite a crushing defeat, but it was also a learning experience. Surely, if she could deal with her life the way she did with her chess losses, she wouldn't be here. ]

Is she r-really that good with chess?

[bluerocks]

She's a princess, so I'm sure she's had chess tutors teaching her all the good tricks. I just haven't had the time to study the game properly. [ He leans back in his seat, reaching for his coffee that was mostly forgotten during the game; it's gotten cold by now, but he sips it anyway. ] Will you help me improve? Then I can surprise her when I return.

[ There's a small look of mischief on his face, as he imagines taking advantage of this temporal vacation to level up his chess so he can catch Amelia by surprise and crush her. ]

[burntviolet]

[ She hums in quiet acknowledgement, perked a little by the fact he's friends with a princess. Lilly is from a well respected family, and she's very princess-like too, but she has no such title. Hanako presses her lips together at the memory of her best friend and nods at Zelgadiss' request with a bit of hesitation. ]

I've never b-been a teacher of this game, so f-forgive me if I'm going to make mistakes.

[ It is new and scary, but she's in Norrhamn because she intends to step into a new and scary world in the first place. ]

[bluerocks]

I'm sure you'll make fewer mistakes than I did in this game.

[ He's grateful that she's agreed to this, and wastes no time resetting the board to the starting position. Then, he replays the first few moves, stopping just before his knight met its end. ]

At this point, I still thought you were just timidly scattering your pawns around. Were you really laying a trap for my knight already?

[burntviolet]

[ Hanako does her part in re-positioning her pieces and starting the game with the same moves step by step. Her hand hovers hesitatingly at the moment Zelgadiss' Knight has been captured. ]

I was. And... that was the i-impression I wanted to give off, though it works o-only for first time opponents. [ She supposes it won't work again on him. ]

[bluerocks]

Hm, I see. [ And he takes in the layout of the board, now that he can clearly see the trap for his knight. There's no guarantee that he'll recognize a slightly different type of trap, but this shows him a valuable pattern. ]

Say I don't proceed into your trap, and instead move my knight back to this defensive position. Does that solve anything?

[ He shifts the knight away instead of forward, but also wonders if the moves he blundered in the opening had doomed the game either way. ]

[burntviolet]

[ She looks down, studying with attentive focus on the board before answering carefully. ]

It is wise t-to only move your pawns for the first few turns. From a strategical standpoint, it would s-slow the game down but also give you time to think of plans involving your m-more important pieces.

[ A pause, and then she elaborates further. ]

Pawns are mostly an e-expendable set of pieces because they offer a defense for the first turns. They would have protected your Knight if you didn't put it forward so e-early.

[bluerocks]

I'm rarely patient enough to spend much time with pawns. Mostly, they get in the way of the pieces that can actually cross the board efficiently. [ He looks down at the row of plain little figures, making a wall that both seals his opponent out, while also leaving his advances locked down. ] It's rather unfortunate to think of anything as expendable.

[burntviolet]

That is your... first mistake. Every move m-must be executed with proper thinking behind it. Chess matches u-usually last long because the players need the time to s-study the situation and weigh the risks that may arise w-with their next move. If you're not patient... that would be a problem.

[ Her hands curl a little, sweat gathering over the palms. She comes to the realization that being a teacher is incredibly nerve consuming. But she's committing to this and can't drop the ball this soon. ]

It is... rather lucky that at least they're game p-pieces and not real people. I would never c-consider them expendable. [ She's a strategist, but not a cruel one. ]

[bluerocks]

Sometimes, real people are used as pawns to fight battles, though. Chess is perhaps just a metaphor for warfare.

[ Zel's no stranger to people being used as expendable, after all.

He sips his cold coffee, taking a moment to consider that there's a vast number of possible moves at the beginning of a match. ]

Maybe this is more like a fencing match between two people. In the first few moves, we're testing each other, seeing if the opponent can perceive our strategy. I've been playing as if only the next one or two moves matter, but now I understand that I need to see much further ahead.

[burntviolet]

[ She works hard to repress a wince. Warfare is not why she likes chess, it's more about the challenge tied to the length of matches and how her mind can handle it. There's an array of chances she can open up through every single move. Attack, defense, quick thinking, plan Bs, saving throws. Nothing she really wants to tie together with real people fighting battles and dying. It pretty much spoils her fun.

But she lets it slide, listening to the man and agreeing to the fencing comparison. Her expression relaxes thus. ]

Yes. In order to proceed smoothly, you must pay attention to ever piece on the board before and after every move of yours, n-not only the ones you are actively using. If you miss an important spot and make yourself open, you will run the risk t-to have your opponent exploit that lack of attention to remove your more i-important pieces. Be aggressive, b-but also be conscious of your current situation in the game.