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 Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:22 pm
Ian's head snapped up when he spoke; he was not really surprised or anything, but the silence had been one of those slightly awkward ones that seemed to last much longer than it actually had. Chess was definitely something he could talk about, though, and so he thought for just a moment before responding:
"I like that it's so different every time, and so many ways to go about accomplishing the same end," he said, glancing back down at the dominoes shyly but smiling nonetheless. "And it's also sort of like a bloodless battle. I can fight people, moving my soldiers around the board and they follow my every order, but in the end, no one has to die."
... Okay, maybe a bit too philosophical a thing to admit since he had just met her. Keeping his eyes on the game, Ian fidgeted a little, and fiddled with one of his tiles while he considered the layout, and all the possible open locations where he could place his pieces. Hopefully Sophie would not think him too weird.
"Ah, I guess dominoes are smaller, but then I play chess on the internet, too. All I need is the laptop," he added, hoping to pull the conversation out of the weird realm of his gamer philosophy.
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:52 pm
Perhaps it would have been better if she had remained silent, Sophie thought, watching her opponent react. Then again, it was too late to worry about that now that she'd spoken. The awkwardness passed quickly, and Sophie found herself very interested in what he was saying. She had expected a basic answer, but wound up with something much deeper.
"If only everyone else could think of it that way," she said quietly. "Chess is called a game of war, but it seems that these days, so many people consider war itself nothing more than a game. You hear on the news about the horrors of war, but how many people really take it seriously? They say 'oh, that's terrible' over coffee and they move on with their lives, while people are dying. If that's the kind of nonchalance we're dealing with, why can't they wage their battles on a board instead of a field?"
It was a variation on an old theme for Sophie, a fight against ignorance and apathy that had spread across the country like a virus. War was not one of her championed causes- there was only so much one person could do- but that didn't stop her from feeling strongly about the subject. And when she felt strongly about something, she felt compelled to share her vision with those around her, whether they wanted to hear it or not.
"A lot of people are drawn to false battles. Not just chess, but video games, martial arts... sometimes life itself seems to be a war of survival. What do you think draws us to this behavior?" Sophie's tone was still light, even though the subject matter was rather serious. "Your desire to avoid harming others is admirable, but if you don't mind my asking, what about fighting, even for sport, is fun?"
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 2:55 pm
Ian was, on one level, pleasantly surprised and relieved that she took up his weird train of thought regarding chess and war. On the other hand, his shyness started to get in the way, making him nervous anyway. Talking over the internet was always so much easier, though the red-haired boy was not confident he could quite explain why.
"Chess isn't like fighting," he posited quietly, staring at the dominoes on the table. "It's no more violent than checkers, with pieces being taken off according to very simple rules. There's no ... no visceral pleasure in the force of punches or watching even fake blood fly when, say, a knight takes a pawn." Ian pushed his glasses up his nose again, looking up at Sophie across the table but still seeming to want to hide behind his fringe. "Chess is pure motion and tactics, with no blood."
He was quiet for a moment, then squirmed on his seat. "The video games I play, though, I guess I like the fighting a little," Ian admitted, then was quick to clarify, "I don't like them just for the blood, though. The goal is to stay alive, and in my strategy games, I have other people to keep alive, too. I don't fight with the aim of seeing as much blood as possible, I fight there to keep my own heroes alive." The boy trailed off, and took a drink of coffee. He could understand why people played the more violent games, too, but that was also not really something he was sure he could explain. Ian just hoped she would not think him a hypocrite for being against fighting, but still liking war games.
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 3:35 am
If Sophie noticed his discomfort, she didn't show it. She did sit in silence as he explained his feelings, smiling encouragingly between sips of now-cold coffee. She nodded once or twice at points she agreed with, but didn't shake her head when her opinions differed. It was all practiced, all ways to try to get people to talk to her about things that bothered them, or interested them, or that they just needed to talk about. Some people took to it better than others. All Sophie could do was try.
When Ian was finished, she took a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking again. "You're quite right. Chess is no more like fighting than any competition is. Yet all people crave competition in some manner, and any competition can escalate into something more serious. What can stay a game between two people can turn into something dangerous between others. Why do you think that is?"
It wasn't a hypothetical question. Sophie had no answer for it herself. She knew that the truth was somewhere in the nature of humans, both as a collective and as individuals, but she was still puzzled by what the truth might be.
"Staying alive is a good goal for anyone to have, but I've never understood why people pretend to put themselves in danger for it." She was still smiling, trying to emphasize that she didn't find what he was saying wrong, or judge him for it. "Strategy has a lot to do with common sense, doesn't it? Knowing the facts and making deductions. Logic and reason. But I've always wondered how those things can apply to situations that we create ourselves, just for the challenge of it.
"Then again, I'm also an avid gamer." Sophie smirked and waved a hand over the dominoes on the table. "So I'm not sure I'm one to talk, really."
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Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 1:14 pm
His immediate response?
Laugh like an idiot and shrug. "I don't really know why."
But she continued, giving Ian a moment to think about it. He nodded a little, and squirmed slightly again, and then added, "Well, in chess, there are a bunch of parts working together, too. Only the King needs to stay alive, so you have to be willing to sacrifice...." He trailed off, taking a moment to study his dominoes astutely; whatever the look she was giving him said, he always felt slightly weird, bringing up the point that there was a lot of sacrifice for the more valuable pieces involved.
"I guess," Ian began again, reaching up to brush some of his fringe back away from his face, "It's common sense, but try telling that to a pawn." He glanced up at her over the rims of his glasses, smiling awkwardly. "At least it's just a game where no real people die, though. I ... I'm not sure I could make that choice if it was a person."
The red-haired boy placed a domino, and chewed his lip.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 12:18 pm
Sophie didn't laugh. To her, that was too easily misconstrued. She didn't want anyone to think that she was laughing at them, instead of with them, and it wasn't funny enough that it was an impulse. Instead, her smile got a little bit wider, which might not have been any better. "Well, that's interesting. On the surface, it seems that chess is a tutorial in the strategy of war- the sacrifices that need to be made, and the faceless nature of many of the participants, while someone is overseeing everything. But if you dig a little deeper, couldn't you also call it a tutorial in life in general?"
Now she was truly waxing philosophical. Usually, Sophie considered herself more of a doer than a thinker. She would consider her actions before making them, but the actions themselves were what was key. So why did this conversation seem so important somehow, not to mention intriguing?
"As I'm sure you know, common sense is not nearly as common as the name implies." If it was, the world wouldn't be in the state it was in, Sophie was sure of that. "And I'm certainly glad to hear that you wouldn't be so calm about making those decisions with real people- though, out of curiosity, have you ever seen a live chess match?" A bit of a tangent, there, but then again, wasn't all of this? Hadn't she started out teaching him dominoes?
As if that reminded her of their game, Sophie looked down and drew one domino from the pile, placing it at the end.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 10:58 pm
"Live chess?" he repeated, looking up again. "Oh, yeah, a few times, at the Renaissance fair. Until I figured out that they only have two different games they ever play." Ian took a sip of coffee and then shook his head. "I don't know if they do non-staged ones anywhere, though. I suppose it could be interesting."
Ian regarded the current layout of dominoes, licking a drop of coffee from his lip, then smiled a different sort of slow smile of genuine interest. "I wonder what it would be like to be the king on that battlefield, though," he murmured, then made his next move on one of the ends they had not played at for a few turns.
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:17 pm
"Really?" That took Sophie by surprise. She had always been under the assumption that human chess was just a larger version of the usual kind. It was a little bit disappointing to hear that the whole thing was just a show put on for the audience. "I... well, I admit, I thought otherwise."
Still, that put a whole new spin on things. "It makes me wonder, though, just how many parallels can be drawn between life and chess. The need for strategy is one, certainly. But what would you say our role is? Are we pieces performing a written role? Pieces being moved by a higher power? Or something else entirely? We'd like to think we have the ability to decide our lives for ourselves, but many of us have lives we wouldn't have chosen. So how can those two points of view be reconciled?"
That was a lot deeper than she usually cared to think. Sophie was surprised at herself, and tried to hide it by placing another domino down quickly. Why did she care? It's not like she believed anything he was saying, not really. He was just telling her what she wanted to hear. So why did she press on with these meaningful questions, when the answers meant nothing to her?
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Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:59 am
He peered across the table at her, mouth hanging open a little as he nodded slowly, then shrugged. Ian had thought this would just be dominoes lessons, not philosophy. He was into it, though - it interested him more than if she had wanted to talk about, say, pop culture.
"I really don't know about a higher power," he responded honestly. Usually he was not so forthcoming about his religious beliefs, but that was mostly because people also did not usually ask. "So I don't really think there's any grand plan or anything like that. It's all ..." Ian trailed off briefly, chewing his lip. Then a small smile spread across his features. "I guess it's like chess, to me. Things happen, and you can only control your own pieces, but you have to make the best of what's there."
The red-haired boy then abruptly seemed to notice his own dominoes again and he grinned sheepishly. "Ah, what do I do if I can't put down either of the ones I have left?" he asked.
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:39 pm
When Sophie had asked the question, she hadn't been thinking of religion. Arguably, she hadn't been thinking at all, or else she wouldn't have asked in the first place. She was confused, that was all, and mistaking a simple meeting for something more. It wasn't that Sophie had a problem with people; on the contrary, she loved to be social, and enjoyed talking to others, working with them, having fun and making a difference. But most of the people she was acquainted with were just that: acquaintances. She laughed and joked and talked, but was never serious. So why now, with someone she hadn't even met an hour ago?
Because even if what he was saying was true- and it wasn't, because how could anybody tell their real feelings to a complete stranger?- it was interesting. Even though he must be lying to her, the lies were making her think. Life was, she decided, like chess. "You have a point, though I'm not sure that we have any pieces to control other than ourselves. Even if we are the masters of our own destiny, that doesn't give us reign over anyone else's. Even if our actions inevitably influence theirs, in the end they make their own choices, their own lives, and we're all left to our own devices."
That sounded a lot more cynical than she had meant it, and it was almost exactly her own view of life. Sophie was actually angry with herself then; just because she was indulging in supposedly meaningful conversation did not mean she had to rattle off her real views. What would she do if he decided to use them against her somehow? The change in subject was more than welcome, and Sophie touched the pile in the center of the table. "When you can't play a domino, you draw from the pile until you can. Of course, the rules can vary. Sometimes you only draw one, and pass if you can't play it, but I find the game takes forever to finish that way." She paused, thought for a moment, and ventured what she hoped was still a safe question, one that wouldn't lead to more rambling on her part. "Does chess have house rules?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:21 pm
Ian nodded, and added, "Oh, yeah, I meant chess pieces like the things you can control in your life. Not like ... other people." He trailed off before finishing with a slight sheepish smile; he did not want this new girl to think he was some kind of weird sociopath, treating people like game pieces or anything like that.
Her answer to the more mundane question of what to do about his dominoes came as a relief, then, as he selected a tile, turned it over in his hands, then played it. "Ah, got lucky that time. What are your usual house rules?
"As for chess," Ian went on, fixing his glasses, "I guess it could. I mean, there's the standard set of rules for the big tournaments and stuff. But I suppose you could technically make up whatever rules you want for the set of pieces on the board, you know?" ... Perhaps a whole extra can of worms, especially if they got philosophical in that regard, as well, but Ian did not think he would mind. He had conversed with strangers at the coffee shop on a few occasions in the past - usually they initiated, having seen him there before - and he had suffered numerous insipid drivel about what movie stars were dating whom, and so forth. To talk about something with substance excited the red-haired boy.
Assuming Sophie really was actually interested in all his answers. He was honest because he saw no reason not to be, but the shy part of his mind that told him he was not what girls looked for in a guy, especially in high school, just kept insisting that she was only playing along, and probably wanted him to shut up.
Part of him still hoped she was sincerely interested, though.
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Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2011 11:04 pm
"Chess pieces as an analogy for situations or objects, rather than people?" Sophie confirmed, nodding thoughtfully. She could buy that. "I tend to see situations more like puzzles. There's different kinds of situations, of course, but also lots of different kinds of puzzles. If you're looking for something, it's a jigsaw, of course. If you need to get things organized, maybe a Rubik's cube. And if you're trying to get out of something, one of those puzzled with the linked rings you need to get apart. Do those have a proper name, do you know?"
Since she'd said so much about her real thoughts already, Sophie decided to stop berating herself over it. They were highly stylized pictures of her real thoughts anyway. She rarely compared life to a game, unless she was in the middle of playing one. Especially with a particularly interesting opponent who was willing to humor her with what could pass for meaningful discussion, instead of the usual banter between players. Sophie never went looking for anything more, but now that she had something unusual and altogether more substantial, she was keen on keeping it going. "Either way, you could say that all games are related- even games of luck and games of skill- and make a metaphor out of any one of them, if you put your mind to it."
She was almost disappointed to go back to her supposedly safer question, but since she was still genuinely interested in both teaching her favorite game and learning about someone else's, she got over it quickly. "Well, like I said, I generally play with the 'draw until you get one you can play' rule. Those aren't really house rules, though- house rules would be that you only draw one, then pass if you can't play. There's also different ways of determining who plays first, and the scoring can sometimes vary. Oh, that's right- there is no scoring in chess, is there? It's like checkers, where whoever wins, wins?"
The two games were quite different, really, but Sophie had never thought about how or why before. She smiled as she tapped the edge of one of her dominoes against the table. In tournament play that sort of behavior would be illegal, so it was rather freeing to be able to do as she pleased. When was the last time she'd played a good game? Long enough ago that she couldn't remember off the top of her head, at least.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 2:38 pm
"There are a ton of different ring puzzles," Ian replied, cheerful to be supplying some information. "But there's one famous Chinese one called 'jiu lian huan' or 'nine interlocking rings' that's pretty cool. It's been studied by people who do computer algorithms and stuff like that, just like the Towers of Hanoi puzzle." He watched her for a moment, ready to explain the Towers of Hanoi if she looked confused. The puzzle theories were perhaps one of the few ways Ian would tolerate mathematics, since they usually made interesting reads up until the terminology exceeded his knowledge of the subject. More interesting than, say, calculus or trig, in general.
As for scoring in chess, "Oh, sometimes people will put point-values to the pieces that are taken off the board, like the queen is worth more than pawns, but I never really saw the point of it." Ian shrugged a little. "I mean, sometimes there are ways to sacrifice a more valuable piece to win the game. It's usually bad to lose more pieces, especially your queen, but I don't really think you can generalize progress in a game down to counting how many pieces are taken all the time."
He nodded to her response regarding the rules of dominoes and fell silent for the moment. Ian hoped that neither his philosophy nor his skill at dominoes was annoying her, but then, well, she was still there.
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