Cauldron of GhostsThe moment they brought out the BSC people posing as Manpower pleasure slaves, Tsang and her people would get distracted and let their guard down a little further.
Well what do you know, Trojan horses in the Honorverse.
****** *
Aside:
Hope you all don't mind my sharing. But I just
have to!
What a weekend. My niece's recital was an extravaganza. As always.
Then the chess match of the decade. Tierney had been challenged by a master who is less than ten points from a Senior Master ranking. My niece hadn't played anyone on that particular level. My sister was a bit concerned as the buildup to this match had intensified over the last several weeks. A match that had taken almost a year and a half to arrange, as my niece is so busy and this guy lives in New York and attends a school for the gifted in Indiana.
First game, playing white, he managed to force a draw. Or perhaps I should say that my niece managed to force a draw, because this guy had taken a knight and two pawns free and clear. Then my niece lost her queen, but still managed a draw. Right away I'm thinking 'Uh oh, this guy is strong, my niece is in for it.'
Second game, my niece is now playing white. She wins a hard fought game, but barely. Although it isn't, she calls that game a draw as well, because although she mated the guy, his very next move would have resulted in a mate as well.
Tierney has always had a problem with these type wins and refers to them as either mutual draws resulting in a peace treaty or mutual cases of mass destruction. Someone suggested an alternate ending to the Battle of Manticore which offers up a victorious Havenite Navy and a surrendered Manticore before Honor could hyper in, resulting in Honor taking her forces directly to Haven and forcing an equal an opposite surrender. My niece argues that scenario to be "an impasse leading to a truce, or mutual destruction resulting from leaders with the IQ of a Byng or the mind conditioning of a Filareta."So, my niece is now involved in a friendly(she thought) discussion with this guy, after the first technical win — trying to relegate
this particular win to the "draw" category. All of my niece's cheerleaders are going "just shut up Tierney and accept the win!" Internally, I was too. I know her and what she was alluding to, regarding her feelings. I've played her enough and we've discussed the above alternate scenario.
The Turning PointTierney turns to me "You know how I feel about this Uncle. It isn't really a true win."
"You're crazy," says the guy.
"Perhaps you should just accept the win honey," pushes my sister. She thinks Tierney's in over her head and should just take any win she can get. I began to give it a try "Yes Princess, I know how you feel about this type of win but—"
"Yea, you should just listen to your daddy and take the win. You're not really a strong player and I just wasted my time coming all the way to North Carolina. You're not going to win another."
You could hear the proverbial pin drop after that remark. Even the kid's own parents were shocked at his attitude and rudeness. My sister's face showed concern for my niece's feelings whose face registered shock as well. Everyone was shocked to silence.
I was about to break the silence and offer my niece solace, but before I could, her Nimoy brow tried to launch itself. My niece raises a brow like Spock, but it goes up and down when she's startled, shocked, deeply thinking and angered. For the first time I liken it to Honor's nervous tick (in retrospect)...
Tierney altogether shocks everyone by bursting out into hysterical laughter. I mean, she couldn't stop herself. And that kind of laughter is catchy. We found ourselves laughing as well, though no one knew why. Except my sister wasn't much laughing. "Are you okay dear?" That only made her laugh harder, "No mom!" And more laughter.
Then the arrogant twit "Well, let's just leave dad. She's obviously lost it. She can't handle the pressure, and she's really not a good player at all."
"You just sit yourself right back down bucko. Not a good player? Ha! I'll have you know that
I(and boy did she stress that I) could have been riding Glue Factory(her horse). I haven't seen or ridden my horse for almost two months and
I wanted to visit with my Uncle and
ride. Instead, I'm stuck inside wasting a snowless day here on the coast playing chess with the likes of
you. I'm not a strong player??? The first game was a draw, but only because I wanted to see how you'd handle a grand left oblique
not supported en appui. NOT VERY WELL! You should have won that game. You had overwhelming material advantage
and position, but you blundered again by allowing me to sacrifice my Queen for much better position simultaneously pinning your bishop for the duration of the battle until she was lost.
"The second game, you opened up with a variation of my second favorite defense and my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see how well you'd handle yourself with a Queen's gambit. Guess what? NOT VERY! I could have beaten you easily. BOTH GAMES!"
The very silent pin-drop could be heard again. Everyone that knows my niece was shocked. She's so well mannered.
"We'll continue, from the beginning. Two four-out-of-seven falls as originally planned, but this time we'll eliminate the stupid clock."
My niece doesn't like speed chess. Actually she detests it. "It's like you have two opponents -- a stupid ticking clock, and if your opponent is stupid then there are two stupid sources vying for attention," she always says. Tierney just likes to be given a good game, and she says speed chess prevents a good game."Deal?"
"Clocks are to prevent novices from taking too long. I don't wish to be here all day," he says.
"Well I don't wish to be here
at all and neither of us are weak enough to take
that long. Are we?"
A challenge of a sort. And her brow shoots up to emphasize that point.
"Take her out Tommy," someone in his camp says.
"Are you sure you want to do this dear?," asks my sister. Still worried about her daughter, that this time she's in over her head. Tierney hasn't really had a serious defeat and sis worries how she'll accept it.
"Since I'm here mother, I may as well have myself some fun. But now, I'm not going to hold back, and it isn't going to be pretty!"
"Hold back? She was holding back?" All of my friends were stunned at that admission.
"I don't know. But if she says she was—"
My niece's older sister is grinning like a shark and rubbing her hands together. "Don't worry mom! Look at her. She's pissed. You do NOT want to piss Tierney off. (No you don't) This is going to be good."
A new round of four-out-of-seven commences, and even though there's no clock this guy is still moving as if there is. Nine complete moves into the game, and he finds himself in a world of hurt. He needs to castle but there are a few hazards. He recognizes his dilemma, and now it takes him about two minutes to move. My older niece is about to lose it, trying not to laugh. His camp is quieter than a mouse. He sacrifices a developed knight by allowing it to be pinned. My niece's next move puzzles all of us, but
she doesn't seem to be too concerned as she passes up a bishop and a pawn.
His next move is simply an attempt to free himself because castling King side is no longer a viable option. In my niece's next move she anounces mate in three. Everyone is stunned, with the exception of my niece. The poor guy turns beat red but carries on. Game over. Mate.
The second game, he's playing white and is anxious to get on with it. He opens with pawn to Queen 4. Big mistake against her if you don't
really know how to play that particular weaker opening against her favorite defense. Eleven moves into the game and he's already
in a double fork check, threatening mate and threatening his Queen. His Queen is history. His moves are now averaging close to three minutes. Her response time is still approximately thirty seconds.
She blew through five games before anyone knew what had happened, least of all that poor sap. One four-out-of-seven is already under her belt. She is about to win game six and the guy's hand is noticeably trembling. He's beaten, afraid, and embarrassed. Everyone in our camp begins to feel sorry for him. My sister the most. But she's only 13. He's almost nineteen, a senior, in a school for the gifted. After she handily wins game six, he quits the contest and exclaims "she is some sort of voodoo priestess!"
My niece laughs. "You mean Princess. Though I've never been accused of black magic before."
We've never seen anything like it. What a treat. This guy, at almost nineteen, has a chess rating of 2392. His father insisted on him playing my niece. We warned him, almost two years ago.
Oh, what a weekend. My niece elected to take the rest of a very nice day, riding her beloved horse.
Later that night, Duke beat Syracuse 73-54. Uh huh uh huh uh huh uh huh! Goooo ACC!
Then, at 10 PM on pay-per-view, Rhonda Rousey beat Cat Zingano in 14 seconds for the UFC Bantamweight championship. That's one-four seconds. Damn!
I paid sixty bucks for fourteen seconds! Phuck!
****** *
My niece was entertaining for most of the night. Giving Rubic's cube performances. Then Rubic's revenge, four-sided performances, lectures on the math involved, algorithms that allow you to perform the cube behind your back after getting one side.
She then alerted everyone to the upcoming pi day.
pi = 3.141592653...
3.14.15 9:26:53March 14, 2015 @ 9:26:53. What will you all be doing during this once in a life time?
