The Kingdom of the Seven Stars: Chaturanga

Chapter 10

"Ma'am, could we possibly play from somewhere safer?" said Captain Zachary.

"I'm afraid not," said Chata. "This room was designed for people to watch from the outside. But you need to get through it, so we don't have a choice. But don't worry too much. The pieces can move at forty miles an hour maximum and they'll rarely move more than fifteen metres. You should theoretically always have enough time to get out of the way."

"Theoretically?" said Ellen.

"Yes. So let's get this over with quickly," said Chata. "Queen to Queen's Rook 5."

"Watch out!" yelled Captain Zachary, as the black queen slid across the board, bounced off the edge and sped towards them. They all dived out of the way again as the queen narrowly missed Alice's other bishop. It bounced off the edge of the board, leaving a new dent in the wall, and then the side and hit their first bishop, which started moving again as well.

"Again!" shouted the captain. They all dived back in the opposite direction to avoid their own piece. Ellen did not have time to shout a third warning, before they had to jump again to avoid the still moving black queen. They flattened themselves against the closed doors as the two pieces slid around the board, bouncing off each other, before finally sliding to a stop in the middle.

"Your move, Princess," said Chata.

"Umm," said Alice. "King to Queen 7?"

The white king slid forwards only one square. Alex realised now why they were playing with only four pieces. The kings, queens and bishops could all move diagonally. The lack of other pieces made it easier for them to hit the walls and gave them more space to rebound when they did, completely ruining how easy it should be to checkmate with fewer pieces. It did not help that the pieces were big enough to crush them if...

"Bishop to King's Rook 3," said Chata, before Alex could finish that thought. The black bishop moved, bounced off the side of the board, slid all the way across the centre, hit the white king and knocked it towards the edge of the board. They all leapt out of it way again, before the king rebounded back into the middle of the board.

"See? You've got plenty of time," said Chata. "Though you might find this room a bit harder than you found the last two. Your move again."

"Um... Queen to King 5?" said Alice.

"Bishop to Queen's Bishop 3," said Chata. Her piece moved and knocked the white queen off course as soon as it had completed its move. Alex, Alice, Ellen and Captain Zachary all moved as both pieces rebounded around the board, striking the other pieces and starting them moving as well. Alice desperately called out moves, which Chata responded to calmly, sending their pieces bouncing all over the board with her own, coming closer and closer to crushing them.

Alex waited for a gap in the moving pieces, then dashed into the nearest corner of the room. It seemed to be the safest – or the least dangerous – place to stand. He was trying to work out a plan, but it was impossible. In normal chess, you thought about where each piece could move to and where it could move after that, and how it would affect your opponent's pieces and the moves they could make. But when the pieces could keep moving further than you meant them to, and bounce around the board like hailstones, the number of possibilities that came from each move exploded. There was no way to plan ahead or work out a way to win.

A bishop crashed against the wall close by him. As it bounced off, Captain Zachary and Ellen ran through the space and slid into the corner with him. Ellen stared at the rebounding pieces, her brow furrowing. The captain pulled out his laser pistol and turned its power gauge to the highest setting.

"Your highness, I'm going to try and cut through the doors. We're dead if we stay in here."

"Will that work?" said Alex. The doors were old, but they were metal and still looked solid. The pieces were bouncing off without denting them. He could not imagine the captain lasering through them with just one power cell.