ROOKies

i came to the startling realization recently that my five-year old now actually knows things that i do not. case in point: chess. i have never in my life learned how to play chess. i know most of the names of the pieces, but have no knowledge of the game past that. i don't know the objective of the game, i don't know the rules, i don't even know how the men move.

but as of last week, liam does. he stood in our playroom one of our seventeen rainy days (oh, it sure felt like seventeen days, after being cooped up with no end in sight) and perused the shelves of games we have stacked in there, and trotted out with chris's old chess set. i explained to him that the best i could do was checkers -- and even that would require a quick review via the internet -- but chris was home by then, thankfully, and sat down with him for the first of what became a series of lessons on the fine art of chess.

i know that chess is arguably the most difficult game ever created, but from all that i can tell as i get dinner ready in the evenings while listening to the two of them play in the next room, liam is starting to actually get the hang of it. i can hear him mulling over his options, and even thinking a step ahead: "if i move the pawn there, then next time i can do this." or, "i want to go here, but then you can move here and that wouldn't be good."

susanna has been a quiet observer through all of this, so it came as no surprise that she wanted to give it a hand herself one morning. she and i sat down with the pieces all in the right spots, and then realized that neither of us had a clue what to do. we stared at the board for a few seconds ... and then hers began jumping over mine. mine asked hers to dance. her king took my queen for a spin around the checkered dance floor, even going so far as to dip her. and after a few more minutes of maneuvers, susanna declared the game to be over. liam walked up at this point, interested in who the winner was. he saw the state of affairs on the board, with each of her pieces paired up with one of mine, and told us that clearly, the game was not finished. "oh yes it is," replied susanna, "because look! can't you see?" she showcased the board much like vanna white would on wheel of fortune. "all the people are now married."

and what's that called again? oh, right. check mate.