AnAn: One Square at a Time
Anything to win the game. I gritted my teeth and glared at the other side. They had taken my friends. They had taken the family I’d known. They would not take the victory.
BY ANAN LIU - Gwinnett School of
Mathematics, Science, & Technology
HER LEAGUE MEMBER & HER NEWS COLUMNIST
One square at a time, King Kevin had said. Make it across the board one square, one step at a time.
But he had failed to mention the insane amount of pieces blocking my squares.
“Can you move?” I hissed to Knight Knox. “I’m trying to get promoted.”
Ah, the dream of being promoted. Every pawn’s wish was to reach the last rank and transform into a greater, more powerful piece. Usually, the lucky ones would become a queen, and the unlucky ones would become either a rook, a knight, or sometimes a bishop.
“No!” Knox said. “King Kevin put me here. Until he moves me, I’m stuck.”
In front of us, Pawn Percy was sweating against the glare of the black pawn in front of him. “I didn’t choose to be here,” I heard him whisper on his e5 square. “Your king chose to play the French Defense!”
The black pawn offered an apologetic smile. “Yeah, King Kaiden loves that opening. By the way, the name’s Parker.”
Just then, a black knight landed behind Pawn Parker, and King Kevin responded by sending out Knox’s brother, Knoah, to c3.
“Hello, Knoah!” Knox called obnoxiously in front of me. He waved to his brother.
The next move by King Kaiden was to send a pawn to c5, challenging the center.
“Is that not a free pawn?!” I exclaimed, shocked. How cruel of a king! To offer a free pawn!
“No, because if we take, the black knight can simply go to g6 and open the diagonal for the black-squared bishop,” Knox replied, his tone annoyingly scholarly. “Do you know nothing about strategy?”
“I know one strategy to win,” I replied. “Getting to the eighth rank and becoming a queen.”
“Ambitious,” Knoah called from his new position. “But ever considered the odds of you actually making it?”
Both the knight brothers chuckled.
“Surviving? No, I want to be remembered,” I shot back, even though I felt myself shake at the thought. Here I was, Pawn Paxton, just one step above being expendable. Was glory worth risking my life?
Suddenly, a loud clang! rang out as one of our fellow Pawns, Patrick, slashed at the pawn on c5. The black pawn screamed and fell back, thudding to the ground.
“Sorry,” Patrick whispered to the pawn he’d just captured. “It’s part of the game.”
On the other side of the board, King Kaiden gave an unreadable expression as he directed a knight to g6.
“Uh-oh . . .” Patrick breathed as he faced the angry-looking bishop.
Realizing he was about to lose one of his soldiers, King Kevin commanded Bishop Bennett to the square diagonal to me.
Bennett was one of my first friends in the chess set. He was a few years older than me, but already battle-scarred and tough. He had a deep scar beneath his circular top, which ran past one of his eyes,
“Hello, Pax,” Bennett said, winking with his only eye. “Having fun with your first game?”
“Lil’ Pax here wants to be promoted,” Knoah said before I could answer. “Care to enlighten him, old pal?”
“Hey!” I protested even as I looked expectantly at Bennett. “King Kevin said that we should all hope to become promoted . . .”
“Look here, buddy,” Bennett said with a sigh. In front of us, King Kaiden sent the other knight out, blocking Patrick’s path. “Life isn’t that easy.
“You know, long before you came here, we had other pawns. Pawn Pedro, Pawn Porter, Pawn Pierce, Pawn Peyton . . . man, Peyton was my friend. We traversed the whole board together, and under King Kevin’s command . . . we won game after game after game.
“That is, ‘til the day came . . . I still remember it. It was a bishop-pawn endgame against the black king and his bishop. Peyton was on the left side of the board, I was on the right.
“‘You got this, Peyton!’ I remember shouting at him. ‘Come on, win this one!’
“‘Just like every time,’ he called back, and I saw him march, one square at a time, to the other side of the board.
“The only problem was, you know what happens to pawns when they’re one of the only pieces on the board? Everybody else hones in on ‘em, making sure they never get to become a queen.
“So there went black’s bishop, slashing out at Peyton . . . and he was . . .” Bennett turned away, unable to finish his sentence. “. . . gone.”
“I’m sorry, Bennett,” I said awkwardly. “I . . .”
“Promise me, Pax,” Bennett said roughly, cutting me off. “Promise me, that, when you get to the eighth rank . . . promise me that you’ll remember me. That you’ll remember us.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I whispered, now completely cold with fear. “I don’t know how to.”
“You will make it,” Bennett said grimly. “I’ll defy orders if I have to. And don’t worry,” he added, his light-heartedness back, “I’m here to protect you.”
Suddenly, I realized that Knox was gone in front of me. “Knox!” I cried out. “Knox!”
“He’s gone,” the light-squared bishop said behind me. “Traded off.”
The black knight on e5 leered at us, and I saw Knox’s broad figure on the ground next to him.
“No!” I screamed, and as I turned to King Kevin, I saw him nod. I charged at the knight, completely ignoring Bennett’s be careful!, jumping two squares to f4. “Get away from him!”
“Ooh, I’m scared of you, little pawn,” the knight laughed, as he prepared to jump away.
Instead, King Kaiden chose to counterattack Knoah, pushing a black pawn to a6.
I saw King Kevin calculating. Would it be wiser to trade off the knights, claiming the center, or would it be better to evade the attack?
Suddenly, Knoah leaped to d6, checking King Kaiden. With an angry snarl as he realized his mistake, King Kaiden sent his dark-squared bishop to attack Knoah.
“Knoah!” I cried, as I watched him topple to the ground, one square away from his brother.
With a battle cry, Patrick ran at the bishop, ramming him down.
“Goodbye, little pawn,” the knight who’d taken Knox leered. He leaped back to g6. “Until next time.”
As the game progressed, the board became more and more confusing. King Kaiden was up one pawn, and King Kevin had just pushed a pawn to c4.
When King Kaiden took with the d5 pawn, I flinched again as the sound of a wooden body thudded to the ground. King Kevin recaptured, and now both queens were exposed.
“Queen Quianna —” I began, as the two kings’ intentions were made clear to me.
“Hush, Pawn Paxton,” she said, but her eyes too were filled with worry and fear. This was my first game with Queen Quianna, but with my time next to her in the chess board, she’d proved to be a kind and patient noble. “Anything to win the game, dear.”
CLAAAANG. The resounding crash was louder than any of the pieces so far. In a blur, the black queen had sprang at Queen Quianna. I looked away, seeing that even King Kevin had his eyes turned to the wooden ground.
Anything to win the game. I gritted my teeth and glared at the other side. They had taken my friends. They had taken the family I’d known. They would not take the victory.
The game continued and I finally had another chance at catching the knight who took Knox. “Get out!” I screamed, charging at him, but he merely laughed.
“What can you do?” he chortled, leaning forward to taunt me. “Watch as King Kaiden moves me —”
He was cut short as the pawn behind him moved forward. “What . . .” he said in disbelief, his eyes suddenly wide with fright. Behind him, King Kaiden gave a roar of outrage.
He had blundered.
“No!” Both King Kaiden and the knight cried out together.
“I take back! I take back! It’s a takeback! I call one!” King Kaiden screamed across the battlefield, his figure shaking with both anger and terror.
“You may not!” King Kevin shouted back, his eyes blazing. “You may not take back, we agreed to it before the game. You have taken nearly all my soldiers and my queen, and I shall do the same to you!”
Now that I had gotten my revenge, I thought that my fury would be quelled. Instead, it only brewed louder, making me hunt for the win. I narrowed my eyes and zeroed in on King Kaiden.
“Watch out, Pax!” Bennett called, zooming next to me and capturing the h6 pawn. “Endgame time. Be on your A-game.”
All of King Kaiden’s pieces were trembling with fear. “Why won’t King Kaiden resign already?” I heard the pawn next to me whisper. “I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to be traded off, or captured, or —”
“Hush,” the pawn in front said, but he sounded terrified as well. “King Kaiden will pull out a comeback. You mustn’t show that you’re scared.”
“Pax!” I heard King Kevin yell. “Pax, get ready!”
“What?” I screamed back, my voice high with panic. “King Kevin, what do you mean —?”
“You’re getting promoted, friend,” Bennett said grimly, but there was a sparkle in his eye. “And we’re gonna do everything it takes to do it.”
“You’re . . .” I realized what he meant, and I tried to pull him closer to me. “You’re not going to. Don’t.”
“Pax, MOVE!” King Kevin yelled, and I obeyed, moving up one square. King Kaiden, in his haste, moved to e8, only to realize his grave mistake.
“Destroy them!” Bennett cheered, and I saw my future ahead, saw it in the light colored square, saw it in the eighth rank. My destiny.
The battlefield fell silent as King Kevin bellowed, “Pawn Paxton to the eighth rank! Promotion!” My heart pounded as the transformation began. The air around me shimmered, and my pawn form lifted as I grew taller, sharper, and more radiant. My once-simple curves sharpened into regal edges, and my body changed into a shape of unmatched power and elegance: a queen.
The board erupted in cheers from my comrades. Bennett’s singular eye twinkled with pride. “You’ve done it, my friend. You’ve done it.”
On the other side, the black army stood frozen, their once-menacing presence now wilting. I turned my gaze to King Kaiden, who glared back with fury and disbelief painted across his face.
He knew it was over.
“Resign,” I said, extending a hand at him. I was now the same height as him, and I looked him in the eye.
King Kaiden’s proud shoulders slumped as realization dawned. He would not go for any more captures. He would save his soldiers. He stepped forward and tipped his crown, letting it fall to the board with a resounding clink. “I resign,” he said, his voice barely audible.
Victory was ours. Cheers and roars erupted from the white army as King Kevin picked up the black crown in triumph. Yet amidst the celebrations, my thoughts lingered on those who had fallen — Knox, Knoah, Patrick, Percy . . . and all those who I had not yet met. Those who had given everything for this win, they deserved to be here, deserved to be celebrating with us.
I raised my gaze to Bennett, who nodded solemnly. I had kept my promise. They would all be remembered. Not just in this battle, but in all other ones, in every move I made as a queen.
The pieces retreated to recover for the next battle, but I knew I’d earned a new identity. I was no longer a small, weak pawn. No, I was a queen now — the hope and strength of the white army.
Below. view the game, moves, and computer analysis: