Work Text:
There was a chess board in the Express passenger compartment. It was there mainly for decoration. The crew was so busy on various missions that no one paid it a thought.
Until, one day, a certain iridescent-eyed girl walked by the table…for the umpteenth time.
Strange, she thought. Why hasn’t anyone ever used this board? Aren’t chess sets meant for playing chess?
What was perhaps even stranger, was the fact that it was now that she realized this.
“Hey Dan Heng,” March 7th called, gesturing to the chess board. “Wanna play a game?”
He considered it. The Astral Express was parked outside Herta Space Station. Himeko had been talking to the lead researcher, Asta, for the past half hour. Dan Heng’s job was to guard the train, but they haven’t had any encounters with the Antimatter Legion for a while now. Maybe it was safe. Just this once.
“Alright,” he said.
“Awesome! Let’s go.”
They sat down. March took a pawn of each colour in her hands and placed them behind her back, mixing up their positions so that neither of them knew which hand the pawns were in. After a few seconds, she held out both hands closed into fists, each containing one of the pawns. “Pick a side,” she said.
Dan Heng chose the left. March opened her left hand, revealing a white pawn. “Okay, you’re playing White,” she said, replacing the pawns on the board.
“What time control?”
“It might not be very long before Himeko gets back, so let’s go with rapid.”
“15+10?”
“Sure.” March nodded and set up the chess clock.
They shook hands, and Dan Heng made his first move.
1.d4
Starting with the queen’s pawn was a tried-and-true opening, controlling the centre of the board and often leading to a solid and patient game from White.
1…Nf6
Rather than responding in kind with the queen’s pawn, March decided to mix things up right from the get-go.
2.c4
Typical Dan Heng, March thought to herself. Going down well-worn paths because they’re safe. Well, with what I have in mind, he’s gonna be anything but safe!
2…g6
3.Nc3 Bg7
The King’s Indian defence. A dynamic, risky and aggressive approach from Black, giving White full control of the centre with the intention of striking back against it later. Black has good attacking chances, but nevertheless, White is objectively slightly better in this opening.
So she wants to attack, Dan Heng thought. Well, now I’m objectively better. If I just defend correctly, I should be winning in the long run.
4.e4 d6
5.Nf3 0-0
“Hey guys,” the Trailblazer said, walking up to the table. “Can I watch?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Sure! But no kibitzing!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” The Trailblazer smiled and sat down.
They were in the middlegame now. Dan Heng was quite happy with his position. He had a space advantage, and his king was safe. His long-term positional edges would see him through.
Or so he thought.
March had been deep in thought for quite a few minutes now. Is she seeing something that I’m not? A hint of worry crept into Dan Heng’s mind.
The move came like a slap in the face.
He was stunned as March placed the piece onto the square with a triumphant look on her face.
It was a rook sacrifice. Dan Heng adjusted his position in his seat. He leaned in slightly closer to the board, head in hands.
He thought he had all the bases covered. Apparently not. As he regained his composure, he calculated an ostensible path to safety. My king may be exposed now, but I should be fine. A draw at worst.
They played some more moves. As Dan Heng examined the position further, it became clear that he was, in fact, not fine. He was now in a checkmating net. There was no escape.
He could have resigned, but the foreseen final checkmated position was a very nice one. I suppose I will play this one out all the way to the end.
A victorious March 7th played her final move. They shook hands.
“Let’s go!” March celebrated, rather quietly, with a fist pump. “Gotta get a photo of this.” She pulled out her camera.
The Trailblazer, who had been just as immersed in the game as the two players, marvelled at the final position on the board. “Wow, March, that sacrifice was amazing! And what a picturesque finish!”
Dan Heng, too, was amazed by the final combination. “That was very impressive indeed. Well played, March.”
She looked at him. “Thank you for playing, Dan Heng.”
“Thank you for playing.”
A part of him was still curious. He really did think he was okay when he was calculating the variations. Maybe he missed something.
“March, do you want to check the position with the computer? I am not sure that your sacrifice was completely sound.”
“I’m pretty sure I was winning when I played it, but yeah, let’s see what the engine says.”
They loaded up the chess engine. As it turns out, the sacrifice was an inaccuracy. With an extremely hard-to-find, seemingly miraculous counter-sacrifice, White could have escaped relatively unscathed with a very slight advantage. The engine’s best recommendation for Black in lieu of the sacrifice was a boring-looking move that consolidated a path to an equal position.
“Hmm, interesting. It seems my judgement was correct. I just couldn’t find that clever defence.”
“Yeah, guess so…but I’m glad I played the move that I did. The game was so fun and exciting afterwards! You know, even if I did see the best move, I would still play the sacrifice. The computer’s recommendation is way too boring!”
“I agree!” the Trailblazer affirmed.
“Hmm…I suppose you have a point.”
Rejecting the best move in favour of one that would lead to a wild, exciting game. It was the type of thing March 7th would do. Some might say that her ideas were always too crazy. But in chess, being crazy can yield spectacular results.
As the Express train’s guard, Dan Heng was always concerned about security and consolidation. Being safe and solid was ingrained in his mind. That would not change. However, he did learn something from his game with March.
Arguably, March’s rook sacrifice was dubious. But the best move was dull, leaving White scot-free with a comfortable position. The risky, unexpected attacking move was the one that gave Black the most winning chances.
The next time they faced the Antimatter Legion, he would keep this in mind. An unorthodox approach could cause the enemy to falter, giving the Express crew the edge in battle.
It seems like I have some things to learn from her.
Himeko walked up to join the chessist trio. “That game was truly remarkable. March, that was a very cool move you played there.”
“Himeko, you’re back! Wait, you saw the game?”
“I’d say I saw most of it.”
“Huh?! When did you get back?”
“About 20 minutes ago. I was watching just a few metres away from you guys,” she smiled. “I didn’t want to disturb the silence.”
“Whoa, that was really stealthy. I didn’t hear a thing,” the Trailblazer said.
Himeko chuckled. “It looks like you all had fun. Next time, I’ll join you. Wouldn’t want to let you have a party without me.”
“Ooh, do you think we could have weekly chess games? Oh, what if we held a tournament with the entire crew?” March gasped in excitement.
Himeko looked at March, and then at Dan Heng.
“We’ll see.”