Time OFF

Firelesss

In this world of darkness and coldness, the characters were playing chess. Day after day, night after night, pawn after pawn, the game was going on. Chess was the king of this lost civilization where the fire was unknown and the time had stopped a long time ago. Only the wooden clock was ticking, measuring the time of the next move. It was a world divided by divisions and ratings serving as the main criteria for setting someone's place in the community. GrandMasters were the most powerful and influential figures who had the privilege to dictate the social conventions. JustMaster was the second most prestigious title that also meant a certain power and authority. ExpertScholar was a person appointed to teach the youth and spread knowledge about the wisest game of them all. Noobsters were the people beginning their journey to the Chess Kingdom. MediocreClassE to LowClassH were low-skilled or non-progressive players who didn't take a significant role in this world. There was one last group known as the Hustlers who were against the traditional norms and were waging a fierce war against the dictatorship of the GrandMasters.

Player15xh06 (1109) vs. Endivius (1145)

It was a classic mediocre game between ClassE players who had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, and they desired nothing but a cold beer, fry chicken and some chess.

White started with E4, only because it looked cool. Pawn on e3, black liked to be defensive. They developed the pieces, they made a few exchanges, then a couple of blunders, and plenty of mistakes over the short fifteen minute session. Black won.

In the meantime, ExpertScholar Ashley was teaching the basics in front of a class of Noobsters.

- "How do you attack the pawn with another piece? Magic?"

- "Bishop to C5." The seven years old Mark said from the back.

- "That's right. Then he traded knights, and defended his pawn with the king. In chess, sometimes you want to take stuff, but it's protected. One thing you can do is find the piece that is protecting it, and make this piece move away. That's called removing the defender. What move can black make to attack that bishop and make it move away?" And so on and so forth, the knowledge was transmitted from one generation to the next.

In the meantime, most JustMasters were having a marvelous feast. Once, they were excellent players, near the level of the GrandMasters, but after a while, they became too lazy and unmotivated to pursue the heights of world chess. Their calendar was rife with feasts days and pleasures so great that every man would envy them. Unlike GrandMasters, chess was seldom a part of their daily activities. In a world of chess and nothing else, that was kind of a paradox.

And in the meantime, the top ten GrandMasters were discussing a recently received letter from the Hustlers. It was an invitation for a Grand Game of chess between the best players from each side. The battles were going for years, and the GrandMasters committee realized that it was a chance to end the war once and for all. Thousands of innocent fell down on the battlefield, the soldiers were exhausted, and the commons called for peace. On their side was Hansen, arguably the strongest player in the history of chess. With a rating of 2899, he was considered unstoppable, and the GrandMasters were overconfident, they would win the war. The Hustlers had Sephardim, who was an anonymous master of the game, without any official matches versus the top ten. Rumours were saying that he was invincible and no one had ever won a game against him. There were strong players among the Hustlers, but they weren't at the same class as the GrandMasters. Sephardim wasn't someone to threaten Hansen's amazing skills and brilliant mind. It was also a chance for Hansen to break the barrier of 2900 points and leave a special mark in the history. The match was announced and the whole world was expecting the battle of the millennium that would officially end the war.

Sephardim (unknown) White vs. Hansen (2899) Black

The game started and ten million people were watching with rapture.

Sephardim opens with pawn c4, English opening. Black e6, knight f3, d5, quickly transposes into a queen's gambit decline. The players developed their minor pieces in the next couple of moves, analyzing the opponent's moves and strategies, and awaiting for a single inaccuracy. Sephardim made the first more aggressive move, capturing the pawn on d5, Hansen takes with the knight, which is followed by a small exchange and clearance of the middle. Queen on a4, putting the pressure on the black side, pawn on c5, Qa3 pinning black's queen, the crowd is exploding. More development, hanging pawns structure, white castles, very smooth and equal game. White exchanges a knight for a bishop, then pressing the middle with a pawn, Sephardim stays slightly better for a huge surprise, nobody expected such an equal battle. The queen swings to the next side of the board, really dictating the rhythm of the game. A simple move of pawn b3, fully negates the Hansen's rooks and he has to completely re-structure to the other side, but the time is ticking, and the heat is on. Pawn on f5 attacking on the king side, black captures, rook re-captures, majestic performance from both players. Sephardim is pressing forward with e6, queens positioning, a little rook adjusting, bishop on d3, knight on f6 in a desperate attempt from black to save the game, rook goes ahead, pawn captures, rook re-captures, the king is in serious troubles, a hopeless position for Hansen. King g8, bishop c4, king back to the corner, queen f4, and game over. Hansen resigns, there is nothing he can do, Sephardim is the hero, and the Hustlers are triumphing over the epic victory.

The war ended, the dictatorship was over, and the fire would be discovered.