Chess - by Rainbow

I was walking about 4 blocks north of the University late one afternoon when I heard this funny clacking noise coming from a bar. Curiosity got me so I popped in to have a look at what was happening. Behind the bar was a young guy about 25 with an old man sitting on the other side. Between them was an old chess board, so worn that most of the black squares were just about gone. The game was just under way and the clacking noise was the fast and furious movement of the cheap plastic chess pieces between the squares. The old man turned and looked at me for a second when I came in and the poor old guy sure looked funny. He had really thick glasses but in the middle was extra lenses that looked like two magnifying glasses. They made the pupils in his eyes look so big that with his unkept hair he reminded me of one of those Great Horned Owls we get here every so often.

The pieces were moving very fast and it soon became apparent that the old guy was loosing badly. Several of his key pieces were already gone. Three more moves and he lost 2 more pawns and a rook. The kid started to grin when the old man moved his queen and said something I did not catch but the smile quickly vanished of the bar tenders face. Checkmate!!!!! I almost cheered for the old guy. The kid was so busy attacking, he forgot to watch his ass. The old man received a beer from the cooler, obviously the wager, and motioned me to sit down and try my luck. “No way buddy”. This guy was a master and I left a dollar on the table for him for giving me another one of those special lessons in life that I like to collect. He shook my hand and we parted but I know that this is one guy I will never forget.