Читать книгу Sophie’s team in the world of Chaturangi - - Страница 3

A year ago, Sophie’s team won all the competitions held in Russia and now it was in Cuzco, an ancient city in Peru, hosting the famous Secret Games tournament that gathered together children’s chess teams from all over the globe.

«Why are all tournaments held in the most remote corners of the planet? In the most boring cities, where there is absolutely nothing to do?», Keira, the second board and Sophie’s right hand, the most courageous and cheerful girl on the planet, said, whining as always. Certainly, it is difficult to stay put in one place for a long time if you have such a fiery competitive spirit. She was an attacker playing lightning-fast, attacking games, ready to give up all her pieces so that they didn’t prevent her from checkmating her opponent in a few brilliant moves. This, however, was also her weakness. Therefore, the team would not let her play against opponents who loved positional styles.

«Keira, such places are needed so that we cannot focus on anything but chess, plus, you must admit, there is a certain magic about small towns», the captain tried to reason with her.

«Sophie, only the high stone jungles of Singapore or New York have magic to them. It was there where really cool tournaments were held last month! Mark, tell her we need some adventure to recharge our batteries before the final round and make sure to get out and explore every dark secret corner of this ’magical’ town,» Keira finished sarcastically.

«Keira is still a nuisance, but now she is right», Mark a merry fellow, the soul of the company, always ready for adventure, said, agreeing with Keira. His playing style was attack. However, he didn’t attack as violently as Keira did. His style was more of an advance and retreat, kind of probing the opponent. Magnus Carlsen was his favorite chess player. Mark had a passion for difficult games and complex end plays that required the quick calculation of a lot of moves without a single mistake.

Virtually from her birth, Sophie could not do without a chessboard. Chess was an inseparable part of her life full of constant tournaments, different cities, all kinds of gatherings. She was 11 years old. She was just about to finish elementary school, but she was already a world chess champion among her age mates, just like her friends – a dream team – were champions of city-wide as well as Russian and world championships.

Sophie united all the guys by pure accident, since she always considered herself a loner. Playing in a team was a big responsibility and, most importantly, she never wanted to lose just because someone couldn’t keep up with her or let the team down by losing – the worst thing that could happen. The mood of each team member was important for everyone. They were like arms and legs of one organism. Sophie was the leader of her team, a real captain. She was strong in spirit, responsible, kind, fair. Her playing style was ’creative’. She liked to mix different styles, set brilliant traps. She liked to play for the sake of art and the beauty of the game and not just for the sake of winning. Sophie dreamt of becoming a doctor without giving up participating in major chess tournaments and, perhaps, she was already obsessed with the Hippocratic oath that invoked huge responsibility she felt for her team. So, when Mark agreed with Keira, there was no option but to find an adventure for everyone.

«I would quote Alice’s favorite Shakespeare now: «These violent delights have violent ends…”, the Captain started.

«Oh nooo, no more of Shakespeare, Sophie! Suffice it that Alice always quotes him!!

«I won’t», Sophie said, laughing. «Yesterday, after the game, I found in my room a handbill for an underground labyrinth that only the «most worthy’ can pass».

«And you didn’t say a word?», Keira even leaped up in anticipation.

«That’s what we need!», Mark agreed.

«Great, since you agree, get prepared in 15 minutes. Have Artem and Alice prepared as well. Keira, since it’s an underground labyrinth, a white dress will not be a good idea…»

«Yes, I’ve got the point,» Keira shouted leaving the room.

When Marka and Keira left, Sophie quickly found that handbill, put it in her backpack, having first memorized the approximate location of the entrance to the labyrinth, put on her favorite purple sneakers, wrote to her mother a note that the next couple of hours she would be busy getting prepared for the next game and made for the exit from the hotel. Indeed, the guys were already there waiting for their captain.

«Keiiiraa!!» they had nothing to do but exclaim since the main attacker was wearing a knee-length white dress with rhinestones and a bell skirt, shining like a New Year’s tree laden with her neon bracelets.

«We tried to reason with her, but you know if someone wears a white dress, only another white dress can make her take it off,» Alice said, joking. «You know, Sophie, I’m almost sure that today we’ll need luck, and Keira is our Caissa.»

«Does the goddess of chess, Caissa, have any idea that she is being compared to our Keira?» Sophie said and gave a smile. «And if this is the case, Alice, then maybe we should all wear white?»

Not that the team believed in the paranormal, but Alice was not by chance the team’s intuitivist, psychologist and a game planner and played many other roles; but most importantly, if she believed that luck was needed, then it would be needed for sure.

«No, I think one white dress will suffice, and one more thing: we have to go, tick-tock».

Alice literally felt what would happen next, knowing when to retreat and when to attack. Her playing style was indefinite. She, like a chameleon, skillfully adapted to the opponent she played with. The style resembled something between that of Alexandra Goryachkina and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Her excessive gentleness was a flaw that had become a virtue, deceptively tempting the opponent into a trap.

Sophie led the guys quite confidently – Cusco is a small town, so memorizing the approximate location of the labyrinth was not so difficult; the guys smoothly got to the place, almost in silence, as if everyone expected something important to happen, and, therefore, tried to remember the exciting sensations for future victories, like when you recall the nights and mornings of Christmas in order to achieve a feeling of complete happiness and tedious waiting for a miracle. What makes us think that something magical is about to happen? We do not analyze our happiness; we just feel it, hoping for the best. That’s what the guys felt for the time being. So, they seized the moment to take part in the important last game the next day full of strength and energy.

It was only when they approached the place, they kind of woke up and looked at each other in surprise.

«Do you feel the same?» Sophie asked.

They had no secrets from each other and shared everything from their personal family lives to fears, dreams, wishing someone good or even bad luck. So, they weren’t afraid to be ridiculed in front of each other just like one couldn’t laugh at their own arm or leg or head.

«It’s great, but it’s also strange that we all froze, feeling the same thing at the same time. We, however, walked confidently across a foreign town and, most importantly, came to the right place,» Artem, the team’s analyst, said. «Sophie, show me the handbill for this place,» Artem said in a very calm voice. He was thoughtful, kind and compassionate. His playing style was positional. Sergey Karjakin was his favorite chess player. His favorite opening was the Caro-Kann Defense. He took losses as life lessons.

Sophie took the handbill out, opened it, and only then they realized that it was written in the Quechua, and that standing there, in front of the entrance to the labyrinth, they did not understand a word, although before that Sophie had somehow managed to understand both the map and the attracting handbill that led them directly to that increasingly mysterious and strange place.

«It looks like we are in for not just an adventure but something more,» Alice intoned.

«Well, since we are here, it means that someone wanted it this way, and how fortunate that the desires of the Universe have coincided with ours! The stars shine and we all need it,» Alice decided to calm herself and others down by paraphrasing the words by Vladimir Mayakovsky from his immortal poem «Listen!».

«I and Artem will lead the way followed by Sophie and Kiera with you, Alice, bringing up the rear. If something happens, then you, Alice, turn around and run away. It’s only you with your power of suggestion who can send the entire Peru into a tizzy and make them rescue us,» Mark said and entered the labyrinth without waiting for the team to realize the whole horror of his words.

The guys had no choice but to follow the team’s intellectual and main prop to immerse themselves into the biggest adventure that would change their lives forever and – they did not know that yet – the life of the whole world!