The Lord said to the Adversary, “Where have you been?” The Adversary answered the Lord, “I have been roaming all over the earth.”
-Job 1:7
Sol got up from his desk and walked to the chessboard in the corner of his cluttered office.
He enjoyed playing chess by mail, having the time to consider all the permutations while he waited for a letter.
He remembered when, in 1941, a correspondence game with Professor Milasz in Prague had a four-year interruption, only resuming when Milasz was liberated from the Terezin concentration camp. The pieces had left halos of dust on the board.
Sol noted but did not mention that Milasz’s game had changed so much in the intervening years it was like playing a different man entirely.
Good observation. I used to divine stranger’s personalities by playing chess with them
I found your story rather startling and thought-provoking. It’s well written and drew me in.
Wow. Good writing! And … I didn’t know people played chess by mail!!! Live and learn!
That’s because he was. I like the small details of the story, like the dust ring when he lifted the pieces.
Dear Josh,
Loved halos of dust around the chess pieces. I can well imagine his game changing.
Shalom,
Rochelle
The details are important here. The dust rings around the chess pieces. But mostly, the way being in Terezin change his personality. Really like this one.
Love how you didn’t exaggerate… the change of a man in the way he plays chess can be most telling.
Now, this… I like – alot! What a beautiful story of friendship. People who’ve experienced such horrors do not come away un-scarred, nor changed. You captured the change in a very unique and indelible way. Beautiful!
What a fantastic take on the prompt! Love this.
Marvellous take on the prompt. Is it really possible to play chess by post? Very intriguing and got me interested immediately.
The way people can play chess — per mail, blind by memory etc.– fascinates me. I’m hopeless at the game and admire everyone who plays it well. The change of personality playing the game tells more about the horrors Milasz experienced than many a detailed explanation would.