Italo Calvino
860 Words
He didn’t like playing the open Sicilian. He moved his pieces quite fast, while his opponent was deciding where he wanted to play.
Knowledge and theory are very important aspects of chess, especially at the beginning of a game. He played chess as if he was just repeating the moves that were in a book.
All the way through until the middle game, white was at a severe disadvantage. This disadvantage started in the opponent's opening and continued throughout the entire game.
We now reached the end game, and not before long his opponent resigned.
He had absolutely no chance.
After all, our protagonist was at the grandmaster level. It was indoctrinated into him.
What made the game interesting enough to write about, was how it was played. The man played not particularly interested in checkmate, but more for eating material.
It was a small sign showing his greed.
His senseless, unquenchable amount of greed.
His greed was seen in the game, as he would try to sacrifice as little pieces as possible and would take as many of them as he could.
He won the game, and the room entered his line of sight once more, suddenly coming back into memory. He was so focused he forgot anything else existed.
It was a very luxurious room, with a fancy aesthetic.
Even the chess pieces were made of pure gold and silver.
“You really are as monstrous as they say” said his opponent.
“Thank you.”
He exited the mansion, only to find a groundless floor.
He had almost forgotten where he was.
Dreams are really strange things, aren’t they?
But it did not bother him much, as he only fell for around fifty meters until he remembered exactly why he was there.
A few seconds later he reappeared in the real world.
Right now, he really wanted a good old burger.
Nothing fixes up a person more than a nice meal.
That was his motto.
Doesn’t matter if you failed, your family got killed, or that your soulmate left you.
A good shower and a good meal will always make you feel better.
The problem is when you don’t want to eat.
And so, he went to the nearest fast-food restaurant and got himself his burger.
The day progressed smoothly.
It was one of those really slow days that lucky people sometimes get.
He was sitting in one of the city’s bench, enjoying his burger.
People were walking by, all dressed funny-looking.
He was wearing his strangely black suit and was staring at these strangely dressed people.
A truck with a sign passed in front of him.
“Greed is bad” he reads out loud.
Huh, was his first thought.
Why would greed be bad?
Greed was the basis of the creation of the greatest country in the world. Greed is what makes you want to work harder and be better.
We all want something.
And having everything would be even better.
After finishing his meal, he went straight back to work.
Another individual was now sitting at the table. The room was entirely white and empty, except for two chairs, one for the dissected and one for himself.
He calmly opened the door leading to the room and sat down.
She really has tattoos on her face, which was the first thought our protagonist had.
He rolled up his sleeves and looked at the woman straight in the eyes.
After muttering the sacred words, they began.
This time, it was a colosseum.
“I guess I should have expected as much” said our dear protagonist.
The one he would be fighting, of course, was the woman he was facing.
He looked at the crowd. Most of them had bluntly boorish faces. People the woman had seen before and could recognize, but never gave too much attention to.
At the emperor’s seat, however, we had those that in the past had been her boss. He could tell easily, by the way the old, ugly man dressed.
The fancy suit was a dead giveaway.
The woman got ready. She wasn’t very trained in combat, from what he could see.
He could into his boxing stance, while she raised her arms in a clumsy attempt to protect her face.
What was not a giveaway, was the fact that she did have experience.
It was the strike to the knee that told him that.
He was not expecting it, as he was expecting only for her to fight with her fists.
She was a prisoner, he reminded himself. This would be different.
She tried to press her advantage, but the man was expecting this. He managed to grab her, and while trying to use brute strength, she had him won in that exchange as well.
She pushed him back, and he let go. He fell in a surprising pathetic manner. He then got up again and decided to go all out this time.
That being said, they did not last a long time.
As his roundhouse kick hit her head so hard, she immediately passed out.
And so, he was brought back again to the real world.
- Writer
