Poets And Writers Of Chess.com 1st Competition

 

Howdy All!

Welcome to our first competition. It is open to all styles of writing. Now if ye could just do the boring part of reading through the guidelines to get an idea of how its all going to work.

*Puts on serious face*


Entering your works:

The theme for our first competition will be chess. Any works which are clearly nothing related to chess will not be counted.

Each member may enter one piece of work if they wish to enter at all.

The entries are to be added as comments to this thread.

All work must be your own and not that of others.

Each piece of work must have a title.

You are all being given 14 days to enter your work. So on the 26th of August, no more entries will be accepted as the voting will then commence.


Voting:

Any member may vote once.

If a voting member has entered a piece of work  - they may not vote for themselves.

The vote must be sent by Private Message to me (LOB).

The vote should contain the title of the work and the writer. The name of the writer should be given as their displayed username.

Keep who your voting for to yourself.

The voting begins on the 27th of August when the final entries are in. Votes before this date will not be counted however you may vote once again when the voting is open.

 

Mid September I will have added up the votes and posted the winner alongside their work in a separate thread. Depending on how close the voting may be - a runner up may also be posted.

*Takes off serious face* Phew

If you have any questions just pop onto my page and ask away 

And finally of course - have the best of fun writing and reading what I expect to be great works.

LOB

Chess – The Sport of Kings

            Oh chess, the sport of Kings, the game of sages!  For how long has It been studied? For how long have the gruesome players looked deep into it, looking for a meaning, a purpose? For how long have we tried to understand it?

            Life, poetry, war.  No, chess is neither of those. Chess is the reflection of man. It was created by, perfected by, studied by, elevated by, and one day, inevitably, it will die with: MAN.

            So be silent you. You who raise your voice in contempt, claiming that chess is a pastime, that chess has the purpose of fun, that chess helps you develop.

 No, that’s not the purpose of chess. Quite simply, the purpose of chess, is the purpose of man. Whatever He searches for, he searches for it in chess. Glory, greed, annihilation. All goals that the untrained eye may miss, but a closer look will find without blinking.

This is why computers will never truly play chess. They’ll move the pieces, they will checkmate you time and time again, but at the end of the day, they weren’t playing chess. They might find the cold positional play, they might have found the strikingly strong tactic, but they will never find the need for victory that so well characterizes the human mind.

            So be silent you. You who silently shouts that chess has no violence, you who whisper to the passing wind and the falling rain that chess is merely a battle of minds. You are wrong. Mortally wrong. And if your naivety pays of in this life, then this life is not worth living. Minds cannot battle. Pawns battle. Bishops attack, knights block, queens fall. Not minds.

            And that’s the ultimate crime. You sit, comfortably reading the future, trying to stay three moves ahead, when a hundred of them are too few. But you never enter the muddy, dark and white squared battlefield. You stay well away from it, trying to maintain your precious god-like perspective. And for what? What will all those moves, all those advances and retreats give you? A chance to take down the king.

            Oh yes. When the dice are cast, and they roll like a thunder in a storm, that’s what you go for. The crown. The king. Nothing else matters.

            You give away pawns, calling it a gambit. You don’t give them a chance. You rationalize it, stating that it granted you “better development”. Guess what. You’re not developing life. You’re not developing technology. You’re simply developing an attack against an equally brutal foe.

            And when finally you have that winning strike, you’re even willing to give up the life of your trusted knight, your faithful bishop, and your loyal rook. Yes. You’re willing to let all of them die, including your own love, your own family. Your own wife. Your own queen.

Your willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Yes. That’s what you call it. A sacrifice. Something that has to be done for the greater good. And what is that greater good? To checkmate your opponent. But you don’t kill it. No!

            Killing an opposing monarch would be a brutality!! Barbaric. Bishops may be crucified, Knights may be severed, and pawns may be slaughtered. But they deserved it. Right? Because when the time comes, when they are near the final rank, they are willing to give up the lives of their companions so that they can get to be queens for a day. Until they are inevitably sacrificed too.

 But never the all important king. No. That one has to face the shame, when he looks onto the proud eyes of his enemy. And then he must stand up, shake hands and say “good game”. Silent be you. You who say that chess is but a game.

Couldn’t have this been avoided? Couldn’t the mighty king have resigned his kingdom when he faced the inevitable defeat? Couldn’t he have simply given up when his queen was lost in the shadows of memory?

No. He had to fight ‘till the end. For a little glory. For a chance of murdering – yes murdering – a few enemy troops. Even if defeat is approaching fast, that doesn’t matter. The honor is what is at stake. Not the lives of your servants. No! Those are meaningless.

Chess. The sport of the kings indeed.

 

 

Tiago Devesa.

I am posting this on behalf of pawnsolo2 who is having trouble posting it directly.

 

 

What rule can govern death and life apart!
How great thoughts burn alive a Black and White
War, so that now darkness reflects as light.
Has science shattered piece from peace as art?
Who but you and I see the end from start!
Hanging from a tower knowing the fight
Wanting us is not about wrong or right;
Hence forth our symmetry shall fall apart!
Waste us away our position and time,
Howl the difference between love and hate.
We are one with justice or two with crime,
Heaven and Hell gamble souls on such lines.
Where mortal desire is God and State,
Heaven has no Hell without a checkmate

                                 Internal Chess

                              By Mysicalfairymagic

“You know, for a smart girl, you’re a bit of a ditz”

I look ‘im straight in th’ eye with a smile.

You grow up hearin’ all these stories ‘bout blondes bein’ ditzes an’ all. However, I had always believed they weren’t true, jest…. Jokes and what-not. But I seem ta be livin’ proof that that ain’t so. On paper, I look like a genius. Top Ten Precent, Science Team, Calculator team, computer team, college classes in high school. I know what to say to sound all intelligent. I won’t deny that I’m smart, but, ‘course, true genius I don’t feel I got the spark for. An’, I like that I’m “smart”. Ya see, I like the unexpected. An’, a lot of people don’t think pretty blonds are too smart. Not that I’m sayin’ I’m pretty, just, a lot of other people say it ‘bout me. So, I like that. I like surprising people with my nerdiness when before they thought I a prep.

So here I am, sittin’ across from one of the cutest guys I’ve ever met playin’ chess. And I hate that… I hardly ever call a guy cute… I jest don’t see it in many guys other girl’s’ll point out and all. But, he’s cute… and I can’t deny it. So cute… and we’re playin’ chess. ‘Course, the question is, what’s wrong with that? I don’t like liking guys ‘cause they’re cute. He points to two pawns. “They don’t help you, that’s why!” He had been tellin’ me somethin’ about these pawns ya don’t wanna move towards the beginin’ of games… like, h2 an’ a2 I think…. He had pointed to them. I smiled. That was the right thing to do. He knew it somehow. I was a bit touched, even if he didn’t know he had done the right thing.

“Alright…” I said, pretendin’ I knew what he was talkin’ about. Kay… so they don’t help ya… and? I’m jest playin’ casual games… like I really care about strategy…

Alright, so he’s cute… and he’s a genius at chess… or at least, in my book he is. He’s better than me, which… I guess actually doesn’t count for much… I don’t really think ahead. That’s one of my main problems in chess. Heck, that’s one of my problems in life. Whether it’s natural or it’s because my parents always had the habit of thinking ahead and I just got use to them doing it, I da know. Maybe when I get out of my own, I’ll start doin’ that… it’s kinda necessary….

He’s cute, and he’s smart. A nerd. I like nerds. Why not like him? Well… he’s older than me. I’m not talkin’ two ta four years older ‘n me… I’d be alright with that… but… naw… he’s like… ten years older… he’s defiantly not 30… 28 at the most…. 25 at the least… though, I think somewhere in between. I don’t like that. I don’t. Well, it’s not like my parents ain’t 12 years apart… so, it’d be better than what my mom gone off and did… and my parents are still together… but… still… is it right? Is it really okay?

Oh, I might tell ya, I’m at a chess convention. That’s where we met… I don’t like that either…  I came here for chess, not boys. To get better, not flirt. An’… he don’t live no where close… I live down there close to Mexico, an’ he… well, lives somewhere up north where there be white Christmases, not these brown ones. *sigh* A white Christmas would be nice…. Ah, he’s showin’ me somethin’ now, I oughta pull back to the game… or… what had been a game…

“So….” I innocently ask, “What should I do?”

“You should open up in the middle. These two… You want to take control of the center.”

I look at ‘im seriously. Don’t know why, just do. “How come?”

He sighs at my ignorance. I watch his hands with a distant gaze as he goes for what had been my long dead knight. I shake my head a bit. No. No. Keep your head in the game… Listen to him. Listen. And I do. I hear his voice. Oh, his sweet voice.

He’s not the kinda guy I normally go for… I like the nerdy guys who may not really be that cute, but their shy personality makes ‘em that way, and all stuff like that. It’s cute. I don’t like the guys who have lots of girls that like ‘em, are really cute, and such and such… ah… his eyes are killers… I’m a sucker for the eyes… But, he has girls that likes him… and… he is really and truly cute… and he’s older than I like… and he lives soooo far away….

Keep your head on the game, girl, just keep your head on the game.

I glance into the sunset. It’s beautiful… Our first game was during a sunrise, I remember… just as pretty… my eyes are saddened a bit. He’s talkin’. I only hear his voice.

If I were to like him, if I were to over look the age and the distance… can I open up? I’ve never had a real boyfriend… I guess kinda like I’ve never really won a chess game… though I still enjoy the game. I have lots of guy friends, but that’s all they are to me, guy friends… I guess kinda like how I like just casual chess…

I stand up. He looks at me with quizzical eyes… naturally, of course. I just stood up while he was talking. I look at him with a smile, but it’s very distant… I wonder what he’s thinking… does he like me? Or does he find me annoying? Or… … does he see me as too young as I ponder if I should say he’s too old… I look away out into the sunset. I want to know what he thinks… I yearn to know. Heck, if I knew that… maybe I could actually beat him at chess for once…

But, to open up, to declare I like him, is like… it’s like trying to go after his king… and in the past, no matter how well I tried to back my pieces up… my opponent has always, always, won. They’ve had their pieces against me, and I don’t know how to get around their defenses, and… I’ve never been taught how… I don’t know how to checkmate anyone… I don’t…

My heart is yearning for me to go ahead and play this game. It wants me to invite him to play. But, I must say no… or… must I? I’ve already pulled my queen out, I can tell… I can… now, I must ask, should I retreat her and save her life, or should I go ahead, and go for the attack… is it to late? Has the game really already started without me realizing it? Yes… yes it has, and I need to put an end to it. Or… do I?

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

I’m thinking about retreating, going up to my room and forgetting all this happened. Not grabbing a way to keep in contact with him. Going home, going home, and finding someone else, someone else… someone more like what I had in mind… if there is such a thing… but, he’s close, he sure is… I hate thinking like this… I should think about more practical things, like my school work, or my books….

“R-” I stop as I say his name. Is it too late to take back my retreat? I arch my back, time has been short enough to allow that me standing up was for that… but, I realize what I did, and blush slightly, looking into the sunset. “The sky’s real pretty…” I’m off in my own little world. He’s been talking to me, but I can only hear the sound of his voice… I so love that sound. I normally listen to him better than this, I really do… it’s just… arg!.. these darn thoughts! Go away! Fye, fye! Be gone with you! This is a chess convention! Not a dating service or whatever you wish to call it! I didn’t come here for love… I came… I came… … … what did I come for? … … … to improve my chess skills… …

I don’t… don’t… like the sound of that… I sigh… then sit down nervously. I look him into the eyes.

“Are you alright?” he asks.

I nod. I smile. I wonder: What’s his move?

     I was playing for the computer team in the vote chess entitled  "Human Mind against Computers". The Human mind here was the same team who beat Cheater_1.

    The game started with the Human playing the  Stonewall Opening noted for its success against Computer chess. In Blacks' 25th move comes the inspiration to write my very first  poem about chess  now posted in our team's comments.

    You may view the game still unfolding in vote chess.

 

The Human's Last Stand

By Nereverine

 

Our walls are impenetrable ... and solid

Mock the Gods the human did

Let your mighty Silicon unleash

And test the walls at least

 

Battle a mighty soon ensued

That even Gods  were ridiculed

Flesh and bones vs nuts and bolts

Human vs computer unfolds

 

I think...18. Bd2 was the Trojan horse

That puts the human off the course

 Still had the blunder not been voted

The stone walls  I doubt  stand uncontested

 

Now...

 

The castle deepest nook the  king goes hiding

Shielded gently by her majesty the queen protecting

While foot soldiers fight their last  breath as kin

Truly, heroes of war they have been

 

But the Walls of Troy are crumbling

Matter of time for the final reckoning

Fritz, Rybka, and Hiarc of course know when

Yet... I salute you  Human on your  last stand till end

Generic for addicts addicted to chess:()

 

Dirty nails and old prescriptions,

  you know the feeling of used up needles

  the fat lady sings wise old fool your going to,

check check check mate

check check mate

check 

  I can't figure out why I'm here 

  seeking the seekers 

  they say I'm from outer space

  why I'm just day dreaming

  there you have it, my king is my greed

  my queen is a grand green bitch

  why I'm just on the rocks

  and my cold sweat begins to melt the ice

  hang mans time is 12 o'clock

  and castling is done

  ready to go for another round 

  around to pass,

                         checkmate my addiction.

choices

I'm on chess dot com and I'm starting a match against someone.

They say I'll lose, which gives me confidence, so I think.

 

White for how many days?                                                                                                       Could it be one, three, five, seven, ten or fourteen? 

They say it could take a while so I chose five days. Fine says my opponent, ( in the gameplay box )

So what's the first move ?

D4.

second

E4

now those are two out of twenty different openings I could choose from. And now comes the moment of my opponent what will they play ?

It is 23:00 now so I wait 'til dawn and they play when I sleep. So I must use time wisely.

What is my move at seven ( am )?

I don't remember.

It started last night.

So black on white where's the fight ?

Now I see I was in heaven

first move is to order 2 dozen hot  wings and a gallon of sweet tea

omg :( seems i cant write any poems on chess :(

It's voting time baby ;)

I think that if any post will still be accepted if you hurry up, however, you will probably get less votes :)

was there a large number of people voting? more than posted I hope.

The votes are coming in but I need to remind even the people who entered to vote! Obviously for  another entry!