THE CHESS GAME (Completed)

07: ITS MOVEMENT

Chapter 7: Its Movement

"...OKAY? NOW, move." Pagkasabi nun ng guro namin ay agad kaming kumilos.

Sinabi n'ya kanina ang seating arrangement namin. Sa unahan daw ang pawns at sa likod ang mga officials. Pareho raw ng arrangement sa larong chess.

Pinagitnaan ako ngayon ng dalawang lalaki. In-alternate kasi. Babae, lalaki, babae, tapos lalaki na naman. Nasa likuran ko si Josh, nasa kanan niya si Lori habang nasa kaliwa niya si Gina.

"Iyan na ang magiging arrangement n'yo sa actual game kaya mas mabuting masanay kayo sa ganyang arrangement." sabi ng guro namin nang makaupo na kaming lahat. "By the way, I am Ms. Paz Isabella. I am your Chess teacher." she said in front of a big screen.

Sa tantiya ko, mukhang nasa mid-30's pa lamang siya. Base sa bilog na nasa kanyang noo, katulad namin siya na taga-White community. According to the orientation yesterday, our teachers ay ka-komunidad namin. At gano'n rin sa mga Blacks.

"I know that not all of you here probably know how to play chess, am I right?"

Only some of us answered yes. Well, may knowledge naman ako ng kaunti sa chess pero hindi ako naglalaro. Kung baga, palagi lang akong audience noon. Hindi ko akalaing maglalaro na ako ngayon. And worst, ako talaga ang magiging chess piece mismo.

"So, for now, let's tackle first the basic." sabi n'ya at saka nag-flash ang images ng chess pieces sa big screen. Then she clicked the image of one of the chess pieces and i-d-in-iscuss n'ya ito one-by-one. "First is the important piece, the king. King can move exactly one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. At most once in every game, each king is allowed to make a special move, known as castling.

"Next, the most powerful piece, the queen. Queen can move any number of vacant squares diagonally, horizontally, or vertically. She cannot jump over the other.

"Next is rook. Rooks can move any number of vacant squares vertically or horizontally. Together with the king, it can make a special move known as castling. It also cannot jump over the other piece.

"Then the bishop. Bishops can move any number of vacant squares in any diagonal direction. Same as others, it cannot jump over the other.

"Next one is the knight. Knight can move one square along any piece and then at an angle. The knight's movement can also be viewed as an "L" or "7″ laid out at any horizontal or vertical angle. The only piece that can jump over the other piece.

"The last one will be the front pieces, the pawns. Pawns can move forward one square, if that square is unoccupied. If it is not yet moved, the pawn has the option of moving two squares forward provided both squares in front of the pawn are unoccupied. A pawn cannot move backwards. Pawns are the only pieces that capture differently from how they move. They can capture an enemy piece on either of the two spaces adjacent to the space in front of them but cannot move to these spaces if they are vacant. The pawn is also involved in the two special moves: En passant and Promotion."

Tango lang kami nang tango sa aming mga narinig. I heard Lori's giggle. Siguro lalo siyang natuwa sa kan'yang naririnig. At tiyak, lalong lumaki ang ulo n'ya. The most powerful chess piece, huh?

"The goal of this game is to capture the king." Ms. Paz went on after discussing the basic movements. "But in our game," Lahat kami ay napatingin kay Josh no'ng nadako ang tingin ni Ms. Paz sa kan'ya. "The king should be killed in order for the team to win. So, Josh, isa ka sa maghuhusga sa resulta ng laro."

Blanko lang ang ekspresyon na iginawad ni Josh matapos n'yang marinig ang sinabi ni Ms. Paz. Pero alam ko'ng nape-pressure siya dahil dito. Nakasasalay sa mga king ang kapakanan ng laro.