The Kingdom of the Seven Stars: Chaturanga

Chapter 10

"No, it won't. The doors are titanium," said Chata. "You're in here until one of us wins. But don't worry, just stay alert, keep moving and you'll be..."

"Wait!" said Ellen. "Lift me up!"

"What?" said Captain Zachary.

"Don't argue with me! Just do it!" said Ellen, holding up her arms. "I need to see!"

Captain Zachary hesitated, then holstered his laser pistol and hoisted Ellen up onto his shoulders, the way their father had done when they were younger and Ellen was too short to see over the top of anything. The captain had taken over this duty after he had died.

"OK!" said Ellen, studying the board. "Queen to Queen's Bishop 2!"

Alice was still by the doors. She paused and watched as Ellen's move happened. The white queen slid forwards and reached Queen's Bishop 2, just as Chata's bishop arrived there. The white queen knocked it away, sending it bouncing off the side of the board and then the edge, knocking Chata's queen towards them. Alex braced himself against the wall, ready to jump as the black queen hurtled towards them, but not sure which way, just as the white queen, rebounding from Ellen's move, slid in and knocked it away from them. The board in front of them was suddenly clear again.

"What?" said Alex. He could not tell what he was more surprised by; that they were still breathing, or that Ellen's move had worked. "How did you...?"

"We're not playing chess," said Ellen. "We're playing pinball. King to Queen's Knight 6!"

"It's my move!" said Chata. "Bishop to King 7!"

"Sorry. My mistake," said Ellen. "Queen to King 6!"

The white queen moved again, knocking Chata's piece away just as it reached the square and sending it across the board, where it knocked another of Chata's pieces away from theirs.

"Yes! Your move," said Ellen, as Alice ran over to join them in the corner.

"King to Bishop 6!" shouted Chata.

"Thank you! Queen's Bishop to King's Rook 4!" said Ellen.

What happened next was too fast to follow. It seemed to happen all over the board all at once. Alex lost track of the moves in two seconds. Ellen's bishop bounced off the side of the board at King's Rook 4. It hit Chata's queen and sent it sliding to hit her bishop, which rebounded off two other pieces, almost travelling in a circle, as Ellen's bishop – rebounding from hitting Chata's queen – bounced off all four edges of the board the other way. It hit Chata's king, knocking it straight into the middle of the black edge of the board, just as two of the other rebounding pieces, the white queen and bishop, slammed into it from both sides at once. All three pieces shuddered from the impact and stopped moving, with the black king trapped between them on Queen's Bishop 1, just as Ellen's other bishop, running out of momentum, glided to a stop on Queen's Bishop 2, cutting off the only direction the king could move in.

"Check and mate," said Ellen, folding her arms as Chata stared at the board in disbelief.

"That is not..." said Chata, open-mouthed. "How...? You've only got an organic brain!"

"True, but you're a chess-playing computer, not a billy-whatsit playing one," said Ellen, as Captain Zachary lifted her down. "I may not be good at chess, but I am good at pinball. And I play that in 3D. 2D is easy."

Alex stared at her in amazement. Ellen's complete lack of chess talent was something the royal steward had once offered to keep secret from the media for as long as possible, to avoid it embarrassing the royal family. Jessamine had said that would not be necessary and then told him – rather pointedly – to go and inspect all of the palace's toilets. The steward had taken the hint and never mentioned it again. But Alex now found himself wishing the steward was here, so he could see how Ellen's skills at her favourite game had just saved them.