PLAYER L1GHTN1NG34 HAS WON! [Short Story]
“I click on Lightning’s profile and see that, according to his profile, 96% had been a win and 2% had been lost, with the remaining 2% being a draw or forfeit. This guy is either super talented or cheating.”
BY ANAN LIU - NORTH GWINNETT MIDDLE SCHOOL
chess-site.com
PLAYER PR15MHUNT3R HAS WON! My screen read.
“Yes!” I cheer, as I smile at my opponent’s checkmated king. “And 57 rating points behind, too!”
Quickly, I type in gg to my opponent in the chat bar. He replies, gg, go again but this time I can play black :).
“Isaaabel!” My mom hollers from downstairs. “Can you clean your room? It’s getting pretty messy.”
“Okay, Mom,” I call back down. “Wait one minute.” Fingers flying, I type, sry. i gtg, play u later?
Ok, he replies. See you.
Bye
I know, I’m such a good chatter. Anyways, I go downstairs to my room and sigh as I open the door to the chaos there: clothes on the bed, desks sideways, and books on the floor. I can do this.
Ten minutes later, I return to my computer screen and go to the PLAY button. I select Play live and wait patiently while the computer finds a good opponent.
READY, STEADY, CHESS! My screen reads. The graphic slides to reveal my opponent: a user named L1ghtn1ng34. Lots of ones. I groan as I realize that I will have to play black. Lightning starts first. e4. e5. Typical opening moves. As we get to the mid-game, I’ve lost a rook, both my bishops, one knight, and two pawns. Huh. We have similar ratings…
A few moves later, I’d lost my queen, too. This was getting really suspicious. I decided to let it go. Maybe he was that good.
Move 32. Move 33. Move 34… PLAYER L1GHTN1NG34 HAS WON! My screen reads. Uh-oh. My rating drops 24 points.
good game! My opponent types in the chat.
good game, I type back. how are you so good, do u practice a lot?
Haha, they type, I don’t know. I guess so.
Later that night, I decide to analyze our game and see what I got wrong. I pull up the accuracies: Pr1smHunt3r: 64.3 | L1ghtn1ng34: 99.8. What? No way. 99.8% accuracy? I’d done so badly. But how had he played with 99.8% accuracy? This was really fishy. I look at the moves and see that every single one of his moves were either good, great, brilliant, or game-changer. Only a few were mistakes, and those were waiting moves. I click on Lightning’s profile and see that, according to his profile, 96% had been a win and 2% had been lost, with the remaining 2% being a draw or forfeit. This guy is either super talented or cheating. I have a theory in mind about what might be happening, but I’m not about to take action until I have proof.
Ding-dong. My computer alerts me of a message from someone named… skyrulerakagoddess2? I open it up.
Hey, skyrulerakagoddess2 writes. I saw you played against Lightning today… how was it, anything fishy?
Hmm. Is this meant as a trap to see if I suspected him of cheating? I decide to reply innocently as best as I could.
Uhh… I don’t really know, I wasn’t really paying attention, lol. I can check the accuracy later, maybe? Why do you ask? I type.
Lol, no apparent reason, I played him a few days ago and he seemed really good. I dunno, maybe we are seeing a genius.
Haha yea, maybe I type. so what are you saying?
Kinda fishy to be honest...
Well, I mean we can’t message the chess team or anything, like they’ll do anything.
Try it - I bet it might work.
Ok?? I reply, wondering if Sky was actually wanting me to message the chess team. I don’t know if this is legit or just a fake. I think for a moment and decide to message them –– I would do it anyway, even if Sky hadn’t messaged me. I open the Support page and type in my name, username, and message.
Name: Isabel Anders
Username: Pr15mHunt3r
Message Type: Community Guidelines
Message:
Hi readysteadychess.com team,
I have a concern about cheating. Today I played @L1ghtn1ng34. They played extremely well and I checked the accuracy after the game, which was 99.8% for them. I am concerned if this is normal or if this player is using some device to check their moves.
Thank you for reading through,
Isabel Anders (@Pr15mHunt3r)
I press Send and wait for a reply. A few minutes later (yes, minutes!), I receive a reply.
Hi Isabel!
We have analyzed your game and discovered that there was no use of engines or any other form of cheating involved. As a member of RSC, @L1ghtn1ng34 will be aware that the consequences of cheating are severe and can result in a ban from chess websites. We will take appropriate action and study further, but for now, this is all that we can say is true.
Thank you for your message!
Ready, Steady, Chess!
I groan and flop back in my chair. Bleh. Okay, maybe I didn’t get a lot of information and proof that they were cheating. Okay, maybe I only played one game against Lightning. Okay, maybe they weren’t cheating. But what if I was right? After all, it seemed unlikely that Ready Steady Chess could’ve analyzed our game in minutes.
Ding-dong. It was skyrulerakagoddess.
So? What did they say? Did they help or what?
Nada.
Nothing??? Not even an “it was fishy”??
Nope
Arghhhhhhh
I know right? But what if Lightning didn’t cheat and we were wrong?
That’s not true, I know he cheated. I found a flier that was about an upcoming in-person tournament, though, about Ready Steady Chess.
Ok… and?
So if we go there, they can’t cheat because it’s in person! Then we’ll bust them out and prove how bad they are and like, everything!
Okay, first we don’t even know if they’re going or not, have we even considered if he lives in our place? Or if WE even live in the same place?
Your icon on Ready Steady Chess shows you live in San Frans. So do I, and Lightning’s profile says the same thing.
Second, what if he’s not cheating and we’re totally wrong? And then we’ll get busted.
Come on, we can do this!!!
If you say so, but first I have to ask my mom to go. What’s your number? I can text you there.
415-555-0199
I found you! I sent you a message.
Lol, your name is Isabel Anders? Nice name, can I call you Isa? Or Belle? Or just Isabel?
Haha, your name is Megan Walker. What about Meg? Or Gan?
That’s fair, Belle.
Same, Gan. Be right back.
Ok Belle
My mom said I can go, but only if she gets your mom’s contacts. How far away is it?
My mom sent you her number. Give it to your mom, and I dunno, like 15 minutes?
Ok. My mom said we can go. See you on the 25th!
You too, Belle!
I smile and close my computer. This will be interesting I think as I force my thoughts down and head downstairs to dinner. I didn’t know if this plan would work. Was this tournament open to the whole city or just one particular section? How did I know that Megan was an actual person? What if this was all fake? But my mom had told me that I could go, so it must be legit… right?
“How is your tournament planning going?’ my mom says, placing dishes on the table.
“Pretty well. I’m super hyped,” I reply.
“This Megan Walker girl seems pretty nice; her mom and I are chatting.” She excitedly opens her phone and shows me a bunch of text messages.
“Nice! I can’t wait for the tournament to come!” I exclaim.
—
Ding. Ding. Ding. Groaning, I reach over and slap my alarm clock. Ding. Ding. Ding.
“What is it?” I grumble, sitting up. The clock reads 7 AM. Way too early for me. Suddenly, I remember. Tournament day!
All my tiredness disappearing, I jump out of bed and hurry into the kitchen, grabbing bread and cereal. My mom is already awake, preparing to go. When she sees me, she smiles.
“I didn’t know you were already up! I was going to call you!” she laughs, and I do too.
In the car, we drive past many signs that we have never seen before. But my mom’s GPS shows that we’re going on the right track, and that’s what matters. Today’s the day I can finally meet Megan. And Lightning. Ew.
“We’re here!” My mom sings. “Good luck on your tournament, honey. I’ll be cheering you on. I wish your dad was here… too bad he’s in Florida, working.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I smile. “Me, too. Dad would have liked it.”
“Good luck,” she says with one last hug.
As I enter the building, the first thing I notice is all the trophies. Hundreds of them line fancy cases on the side of the walls, while others are just set up on tables, greeting newcomers. A big banner says Ready, Steady, Chess! The tournament is on the 25th. All ages welcome! As I walk into a big room lined with arrows saying tournament players: enter here, I begin to hesitate about this decision. We might fail at proving Lightning’s score. He/she could actually be that good.
“What’s your name?” a volunteer asks me.
“Isabel Anders,” I say, and a blonde-haired girl turns to me.
“OMG, ISABEL!” she shrieks, tackling me. “I’m Megan! Remember? Remember?!”
“Oh, yeah,” I say awkwardly. “Nice to meet you.”
“I am SUPER HYPED UP!” she jumps. “I’M SO EXCITED! I have had like five spoonfuls of sugar, sorry.”
“I can sure tell,” I say, and we laugh.
“C’mon! It’s starting in 5 minutes,” she says, dragging me to the tables.
My opponent is a nervous-looking girl, who says a small “hi” to me when I sit down.
“Hey,” I reply back. “Good luck.” I smile.
“Thanks, you too,” she says.
“Match starts… now!” an announcer announces, and everybody sets their mind to work. I’m black, and we open up with the King’s Pawn Opening.
A few moves in, the girl’s lost one bishop and both of her knights, while she’s only taken two of my pawns. It’s not looking too good for her.
In about 15 minutes, we’re done. I’ve trapped her in a checkmate, her king in a corner while my rook and queen stand guard around it. Sighing, she shakes hands with me and writes down her score while I write mine.
In the waiting room, I check all the bags. Susie. Grace. Thomas. Lily. Phineas. No sign of any super-genius chess master. Just as I turn to leave, a boy about my age, maybe older, enters.
“Hey,” he greets me, walking past, picking up the bag that was named Phineas.
“Oh, hey,” I say, surprised that there’s already someone done.
“How did your game go?”
“Pretty good.”
“Nice. Maybe I’ll play you next round!” he grins almost eagerly and saunters back out.
For some reason, this guy seems familiar but nice. I don’t know the feeling; it’s like I’ve known him before.
Five minutes later, I’m opening a pack of gummies I brought when Megan flies into the room. “I won!” she screams, hugging me while jumping up and down.
“That’s… n-nice,” I reply, my teeth chattering from her shaking.
“How did your game go?”
“I won,” I reply.
“Yay!” she squeals. “Did you meet that dude? You know -” she leans in - “Lightning?”
“No…” I say, but then correct myself. “I mean, there’s this guy, Phineas… he reminds me a lot about someone I can’t remember.”
“Really?” she raises one eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”
“There’s something weird about him and the way he acted. I don’t know… maybe I’m too judging, but he seemed almost… happy to play people and win.” I retold my encounter with him.
“So what you’re saying is that this guy, a random, complete person you maybe knew but forgot, could be a cheater online?” Megan asks incredulously.
“Oh. You’re right. Doesn’t make sense.” I facepalm myself. “Forget I said that.”
“We could look at some of his games, though,” Megan adds. “See if we find anything
suspicious.”
“Good idea. I’ll go ask some TDs.” I reply.
Minutes later, we’re crouching around an iPad with notations on it. Seems like Phineas was black, and his opponent, Eva, began the game with d4. Phineas responded with d5. Seemed pretty normal. As the game continued on, it was obvious that both players were well-matched and experts at chess. At move 20, both players had lost one bishop or a knight and a few pawns. Then, the move came.
Phineas pushed his pawn forward, threatening Eva’s knight, which was threatening his bishop. In return, Eva retreated, seeing that the bishop was no use, as the space was tight. As Eva did so, Phineas suddenly came out with his queen, forking the king, rook, and queen. Even worse, none of the pieces other than the king was protected. This was surprising - neither Megan nor I had spotted this.
It was clear that Eva had hesitated - she used one minute to think. Finally, she moved her pawn out forward to attack the queen and protect the rook. It was no use. Phineas captured the white queen and escaped freely to the safe side.
As the game progressed, Eva was slowly losing her points. In no time, Eva only had a few pawns, a king, a rook, and a knight. Meanwhile, Phineas had his queen, his king, one knight, two bishops, both his rooks, and some pawns. It wasn’t looking very good for Eva, as her moves took longer and longer to make. Soon, the fifteen minute start had ended up to a two-minute race with her. Phineas, of course, had plenty of time: six minutes.
It wasn’t long before their game ended. It was obvious who the winner was: the one who had both rooks while their opponent had only a king.
“Well,” Megan says, “that was a nice game.”
“Yeah. Maybe he just plays well. After all, his rating is pretty darn high,” I say.
“Hello? May you help us?” Megan taps a TD’s shoulder. “Could you tell us what the average time it took for Lightning - ah, I mean, Phineas to make a move?”
“Suspicious on how he played so well, aren’t you?” the TD laughed. “He plays pretty well. Hasn’t played for months, but studied quite a lot, he said. Not cheating, I assure you - there’s just some geniuses in this world.”
“We’ll see about that,” Megan whispers, gritting her teeth as the TD scans the game.
“Well, I’ll say, about six seconds for every move? And, ah, seven for white.”
“May I see?” Megan asks politely but firmly.
“Yes, of course,” the TD replies, handing his device over. “Be careful with it!”
“So… in the beginning, Eva took 23 seconds every move. Meanwhile, Phineas took 15. In the middlegame, Eva took 27 seconds, on average. Phineas took 17. In the endgame, Eva took -”
“Okay, okay,” I interrupt her. “But it could be that Phineas is just really consistent.”
“That, or…” she leans in. “He was cheating?”
“You know what? Let’s just ask him.” I start towards the waiting room.
“No, no, no!” Megan leaps in front of me. “We could be wrong.”
“See who’s now changing her mind about Phineas.” I roll my eyes. “Look, we could be missing the point entirely. He - or she - could be named Basil for all we know. They could be in their house right now, playing against other people in RSC and we don’t even know it.”
“Yeah, but at least we have a decent chance of getting this right. Or wrong. Look, we got a six-second average, and that’s really suspicious, but we can’t just go marching up to Phineas and say, ‘Hey! We were analyzing one of your games and noticed your six-second consistency! Also, we never met you, but we have a really strong suspicion that you were cheating. I mean, we just met on a chess website that expands over the world, right? So you’re probably the one person that we somehow figured out to be Lightning!’”she looks blankly at me. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“Fine, fine, fine,” I say, turning back towards her. “What do we do, then?”
“You’re playing against him in the next round, which starts in five minutes.” Megan points to a board. “So, tell me if you notice anything suspicious.”
—
As I sit down nervously, Phineas smiles widely. “Nice to see you again,” he greets me. “Good luck.”
“Y-you too,” I reply shakily. My insides are knocking me down right now. This is so much pressure. I have to be on the lookout for any devices…
“Your turn,” Phineas interrupts my thoughts. I look down at the board. He’s already counterattacked my knight with his black bishop.
“Oh, uh…” I glance at the timer. Twenty seconds had passed. Phineas was on good time, only ten seconds in. Ten and fifteen - so Phineas wasn’t cheating? Five seconds early. I retreat my knight and Phineas opens up his pawns, taking seven seconds. Huh. So we might be really wrong.
As the game progresses, I see Phineas’ true skill more and more. He takes varying times and even more varying strategies to trap me. I try to pretend I dropped my pencil to duck down under the table, checking if he has a device in his lap. Nope. No sign of one at all. Huh.
In the endgame, I’m left with my king and rook, as well as two pawns, whilst Phineas has a king, a bishop, two rooks, five pawns, and his queen. Well. Guess I’m losing to him.
It’s no surprise who ends up as the victor, as we shake hands with an enthusiastic and a dejected “good game.” After the round, I go search for Megan in the waiting room. Surprisingly, she’s in there.
“How did you finish so quickly?” I ask.
“Oh, my opponent blundered his queen and rook, so he resigned. How was Phineas?”
“No device, varying times, but still amazing at chess,” I reply. “You know, let’s just ask him.”
“Ask me what?” a voice inquires. Phineas comes into view, tossing a chess king into the air and catching it.
“Oh! Uh -” I stammer, hoping for a good response.
“We were going to ask you about how you manage to play so well,” Megan answers, a sparkling smile pasted across her face. “What chess teacher do you have?”
“Oh,” Phineas laughs. “I have many. My schedule’s full of chess lessons daily. My main teacher used to meditate a lot, so he taught me good time management when I move my pieces, and to think about each move thoroughly. What about you?”
“I don’t take chess lessons,” I reply, gathering my wits. “So… if you don’t mind me being nosy, what’s your rating?”
He told us a number that made our jaws drop.
“W-what? Your USCF rating? The official rating?!” Megan exclaims. “No. No way. No freaking way.”
“Give us a minute?” I ask Phineas, who nods, confused.
“His rating!” Megan whispers to me once we’re out of earshot. “Why -?”
“Shh!” I warn her. “Look, on RSC, his rating was like, nine hundred points away. I don’t think we got the right guy.”
“Ask him!” Megan prods me. “I changed my mind. Ask him if he has a chess account!”
“Fine!” I groan and walk back toward Phineas.
“What were you all talking about…?” he wonders.
“How to comprehend your rating,” I smile. “So, just wondering, do you have any chess website accounts?” I cross my fingers.
“Chess website aliases? Let me think. I have one…” he scratches his chin. “It’s… um… hang on… oh! Yes, it’s called L1ghtn1ng34. On Ready Steady Chess. Why?”
“Uh -” I stop short. Lightning. We have him right here. The maybe-cheater.
“Lightning?” Megan asks incredulously. “Um, so, uh, my friend here, Isabel -” she pokes me hard in the ribs - “she played you a few days ago… Prime something. Remember?”
I shoot her a glare.
“Hm… yes,” Phineas says, tilting his head towards me. “That was you? You played extremely well.”
“Thanks,” I say, blushing. It’s always hard for me to answer when someone compliments me on chess. Even if the complimenter is a cheater.
“Why?” Phineas asks.
“I’m just curious… what’s the big rating difference between your RSC and your USCF rating?” Megan asks innocently, giving a big smile that seems way too wide to be real.
“Oh! That,” Phineas says, laughing. “I hadn’t been on Ready Steady Chess for months. During that time, my parents signed me up for at least four chess teachers. I… I didn’t play on RSC at first, because I was scared people might think I was cheating, but the truth is, it’s practice. Sorry,” he adds.
“It’s fine,” I say. “I’m sorry for thinking you were a cheater.” I was a bit skeptical about Phineas’s tale at first, but as he went on, I started understanding. Maybe he wasn’t true to his online rating, but wasn’t that the case for everyone?
“You thought I was a cheater?” Phineas asks, confused.
“Er…” Megan glances at me, then launches into our story of how we thought he was fishy, contacted the RSC team about it (here, Phineas gave a smirk but didn’t interrupt), and went to the chess tournament together. When she was finished, we all stood in awkward silence.
“You did this all just because you thought I was cheating?” Phineas asks incredulously.
“Well,” I say, feeling a bit defensive, “your online rating was really low for someone playing that well, and… that game with Eva, you were always sticking with the fifteen-second mark.”
“Well, time management is always good,” Phineas says, slightly confused. “And like I said, I hadn’t been on RSC for months.”
“Um… I guess,” Megan resigns, and so do I. His tale makes sense now - everything was in place. Except. Some suspicions needed to be confirmed first.
“So, you had lots of chess lessons, hadn’t been on RSC for months, and you're a big fan of time management?” I ask. “What chess website were you on, then?”
“None. Or, not a lot. I was playing chess with people - real people, not with computers, so no chess website for me. Also, uh… shouldn’t we get back to the tournament? I think they’re arranging something in there.”
I noticed that it wasn’t an effort to ditch us, but to instead go and party. I sighed. “Fine, yes, yes, let’s go,” I say, and Megan glances at me irritably, her face making the words, you’re not going to interrogate him more? and I glare back at her.
As Phineas turns and heads out, I call out, “Wait, one more question.”
“Yes?” he asks, turning around again.
“If you ever want a rematch… I’ll be online,” I say.