Read Online Checkmate by Walter Dean Myers - Free Book Online Page A

draws,” Sidney said. “He played Sicilians both times. I think he’s going to try the King’s Gambit against me.”
    “And?”
    “The next time they play, Sidney will be Black, so Pullman starts the game,” Bobbi said. “He’s got all of the book openings down pat and relies on a strong middle game. You make a mistake and it’s death. It’s going to be a fun match.”
    They were talking like gunslingers. I liked it even though I didn’t know what they were talking about half the time.We were sitting having drinks like we were in Dodge City waiting for the big shoot-out at the O.K. Corral.
    Bobbi was doing more talking than Sidney, and I sensed that my man was getting freaked out by the pressure.
    A short black guy came to the drinks area, stood between the tables, and then did a little flip-doodle move with his hand for us to get up. All of the geeks and geekettes got up and started toward the stairs.
    Okay, so this is how the match was set up. There was a small stage and four chessboards on four tables. Each table had a clock and a chessboard. Above the tables were four computer screens, each with a chessboard and the names of the players. On board number one Pullman was playing a girl named Bashir.
    “She any good?”
    “She has a 1850 rating in Kenya,” Bobbi whispered to me. “But you can’t trust a foreign rating. I think she’s a rainbow trout.”
    “Which means
what
?”
    “Cute, but still a fish.”
    “Is she a nun?”
    “No, Zander, she’s Muslim,” Bobbi said. “That’s the
niqab,
the veil that some Muslim women wear.”
    Very cool.
    The games moved along slowly, with the geeks and geekettes watching them, analyzing every move and playing them on their own chessboards or on their laptops. For me, it was boring.
    “What do you think?” Bobbi leaned over and whispered to Sidney.
    “She’s going to force a draw against him if he isn’t careful,” Sidney said.
    “You talking about Bashir against Pullman?” I asked.
    “It’s the only game anybody is watching,” Bobbi said.
    I couldn’t tell who was winning and I was ready to leave. Nobody was making any noise, they weren’t selling hot dogs, they didn’t have any foxy cheerleaders, but they were
intense
!
    Bobbi seemed cool, but she was playing the game on her laptop. Every time either Pullman or Bashir made a move she would make the same move and then she and Sidney would look it over. Bobbi kept looking at Sidney when Pullman made a move. Sometimes he would nod, at other times he would give a little shrug.
    “How’s he doing?” I asked.
    “Okay, but I think he expected to have her by this time,”Sidney said. He was leaning forward, sitting on the edge of the chair. “He hasn’t broken out of any of the usual variations so far. She could be playing from memory. He’s got to break that.”
    “Memory of what?”
    A bunch of heads turned toward me when I raised my voice. I leaned forward and asked Sidney again, “Memory of
what
?”
    “Most players have the openings memorized through the first twenty or so moves,” he said. “Even the variations. But he’s tippy-toeing around waiting for her to make a mistake. She’s tippy-toeing around waiting for him to make a mistake. It’s going to look bad if he doesn’t get a full point against her.”
    I knew that a full point meant a win and a half point meant a draw.
    “He should take her inside and slam-dunk over her,” I said, smiling.
    Sidney didn’t smile. Neither did Bobbi.
    I sat. I watched the game. I sat some more.
    Then Sidney slapped my arm. “He made his move!” he said.
    “He got her?”
    “No, it’s a trap,” Sidney said. “But it’s risky.”
    Around the room I saw the other kids who were watching move around in their seats. They all knew something was up. I looked at the screen. I didn’t see anything.
    “Bobbi,” I whispered, “I don’t see anything.”
    “He’s going after her knight,” Bobbi whispered.
    I didn’t see it. I looked at her