"Were you playing against yourself?" I asked, nodding at the board. Anything to move the conversation somewhere safer.
"I had no one to play with," he said. "So I map out the strategies in my head."
I looked at him. "And who wins? In your head?"
"I do." No hesitation. "Always."
I moved my first piece.
"You never lose, Mr. Dunker?"
He mirrored the move without looking down at the board. "Never."
"Is that because you've only ever played alone?"
Something shifted at the corner of his mouth. "I am the best at everything, Eva."
I let that sit and focused on the board.
I wasn't bad at this. I'd played tournaments in school—not casually, actually competed. I knew what I was doing. I slid my bishop in a clean diagonal line straight toward his king.
"Check."
He moved his queen to cover.
