Turn the other cheek...

Speaking of chess, I learned Jesus' lesson to "turn the other cheek" rather than demand "an eye for an eye" the hard way. "How could this possibly relate to chess?" you might ask. Let me tell you.

If you've read the previous blog, you've heard of the infamous Rev. Mr. (soon to be Rev.) John Paul. And you know that the final game in the SPS chess tournament is between him and our very own Mike. To get to this point, the good Rev. Mr. had achieve victory in several games. Three of these were played against pre-theologians of the first floor. You could say that he "rocked first floor like a hurricane," leaving nothing but total destruction and mayhem in his path. I was the first of his first-floor victims.

This is a story of strong winds and heavy rain; it is a story of the pursuit of revenge and of utter defeat. This is my story.

On a beautiful spring Sunday afternoon the Rev. Mr. and I decided to play our chess game on a picnic table in the garden outside of the chapel. It was a very cordial game and the two of us, for the first 30 minutes or so, seemed pretty much tied. But Hurricane John Paul was gaining strength and becoming more menacing with every move. I was getting a bit concerned. I was also sick and tired of being on the defensive. So I thought to myself, "Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. He put me on the defensive, now I am going to shock him by putting him on the defensive by using my queen to put him in check. I bet he's not expecting that!" Indeed, I'm sure he wasn't, probably because he recognized that this would be a very foolish move and clearly I would be too wise to make such a move. Well, he was wrong. I placed my queen. He looked a bit shocked. However, not for the reason I suspected. It was not a shock or horror, but rather a shock of "how could he possibly make it so easy for me to take his queen?!" Yes. My desire for revenge turned out to be my Achilles Heel. For without a moment's hesitation, he picked up his knight and trampled my queen beneath his hooves. I was speechless (those who know me will probably tell you that this is quite rare). I had failed to protect my floormates from this most ferocious storm.

Moral: "Eye for an eye" in chess hurts us all.
Moral 2: Mike must put an end to the Rev. Mr.'s destructive pattern without acquiring it himself. Is he up to the challenge? We can only wait and see...