Checkmate
July 3rd, 2010
"You're go," said black. White glanced up, nodded. Sweat trickled down his face. They were at a chess tournament. People from all over the neighbourhood came out. Teens, adults, Elders, there was no age limit. These two fellows were about 25, competing for the grand prize totalling 10,000 dollars. The biggest prize yet, and both players were fighting hard to get it. White could defiantly notice that black was getting impatient with the how slowly white planned his strategy.
"Can you hurry up?" Black asked.
"This is a chess tournament my man," he chuckled. "Time is as involved in this game as strategy."
"I don't see your point."
"It takes time to think of a strategy," white replied with another brief chuckle.
"We're going to be here all day; I've got some things I still need to do." White looked up from the board, and into his opponents eyes. He grinned, "Then why have you come to play in a chess tournament?"
Black thought for a second.
"You're right," he replied. He thought over the question again and came to the realization that his opponent had a good point. Chess was a slow, strategy game. A game for those who love thinking. Maybe it was just him who thought Chess was a fun game, and wouldn't take hours to play. Then again there were tournaments which held games that were timed. Twenty minutes max. Even each move was timed. That would have been a better choice, thought black. Beats playing ridiculously long games.
White moved his knight to location f5. If you imagine the board as an 8by8 grid, then imagine that the columns are letters and the rows are numbers, you'll find that the knight was placed closer to the top right of his opponents territory. Three columns from the right, four rows down.
Black moved his pawn up one space diagonally beside the knight, g6, hopefully giving white no choice but to retreat his knight. If he didn't, then he'd lose his knight for no apparent reason.
"Have you played chess much?" white asked.
"A bit," black replied. He looked at his opponent, and then noticed a ring on his opponents' left hand. After playing chess for an hour, he just noticed it.
White moved as black spoke, "Are you a Christian?" White looked up and grinned again.
"Yes I am. I take it you saw the ring?"
"I just noticed it yes."
"Yup. I got it the day I gave my life to Jesus." Both players now took their minds and eyes off the game of chess.
"I've always thought Christians were hypocritical."
"Lots of them are." A pause.
"I hope you don't mind me asking you this, but why would you give your life to some invisible person?" White knew exactly why his opponent would ask that question. There were many unbelievers who ask that question. He himself included.
"I've felt His presence. I've been in many experiences, some good, some bad and even in the most hardest of time I've still kept my faith and felt the presence of God." Black shifted himself into a more comfortable position, looked down at the game and made his move. White continued, "Faith is something very current and very strong in my life and God has never let me go."
"So? Give me one reason, any reason that I should believe in a God or in a Saviour?"
"Well, I could tell you a story that my dad always brought up with the family?" White was interested in sharing with black anything that had to do with Christianity. "Every time he brings it up, I always have the sense of amazement, and the understanding that there is a God."
