How a TV Scene Helped Me Understand Chess

Random musings.

Photo by Wim van 't Einde on Unsplash

A few weeks ago, my husband accomplished something neither of us thought was possible: he taught me how to play chess.

For years, I declined his attempts to school me in the art of the game. I never had any interest in it. I grew up thinking chess was for Other People. You know, old guys who gathered in public parks or angry Russian men or Bobby Fischer. It wasn’t for girls who lived in the projects and spent their free time listening to hair metal while flipping through Bop Magazine. (It was the ’80s.) Plus, it looked boring. No game that requires that much concentration and stern staring can be fun.