(Untitled)

[merrimanlyon]

It's been quite some time since Merriman has spent any great length of time in the bar, but tonight he has a picked a table slightly out of the main traffic area in the bar. A glass of cognac, a folded newspaper and a chessboard are on the table in front of him

Comments

[msmartha]

A girl with a milkshake (chocolate) is nearby watching.

"Isn't it difficult to play with only one person?"

[merrimanlyon]

Merriman looks up from the board, and gives her a slight smile. 'It can be, at times. But sometimes it is good to play against oneself and see how the pieces move on the board.'

[msmartha]

Martha approaches, slowly, watching the board.

"But how would tha know how the pieces were to be arranged?"

[merrimanlyon]

'Every game starts out the same way.' He gestures to the board, his hand passing over the pieces that have not yet been moved. 'So to play alone, one has to pretend to be both players. White moves on White's turn, Red moves on Red's turn. And you play as if you want your side to win, on its own turn.'

He glances back down to the board. 'It is tricky, though. You cannot favour one side or the other, if you want to play the game properly by yourself.'

[doctor_weir]

Elizabeth's been meeting a lot of people today -- far more than she's seen in six weeks on Earth, after returning there.

"You seem to be missing an opponent," she offers kindly. "I could take up the position if you'd want."

[merrimanlyon]

'Sometimes it helps to not have one,' Merriman says placidly, as he moves a red pawn one square forward. 'Life tends to provide us with enough opportunities for that as it stands.'

He looks up then, one corner of his mouth quirked in a half-smile. 'But I rarely decline an offer of a game. Do sit, please.'

[doctor_weir]

"Thank you, sir," Elizabeth smiles as she sits at the opposite side of the chessboard from the old man. It's a few seconds before Elizabeth makes her first move on the chessboard, and looks to Merriman.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself -- my name is Elizabeth Weir."

[merrimanlyon]

'A pleasure, madam,' he replies, inclining his head to her courteously -- and then holds out his hand across the chess-board. 'Merriman Lyon. Professor of Archaeology at Oxford University, amongst other things. Do you frequent this place often?'

[dragon_twin]

There's a teenage boy sitting in a backwards facing chair, watching intently. It may appear as though he's unfamiliar with the game, but that wouldn't exactly be true.

He's just never played it himself.

[merrimanlyon]

Merriman's hand hovers over the board for a moment, poised to select a piece. Finally, he picks up a red knight and delicately lifts it over a pawn, moving it out of the last rank and onto the game board proper.

He does not look up, though he is not exactly unaware that he is being observed.

[dragon_twin]

Melou figured as much.

"How do you know when you've won? Do you have to take all the other pieces?"

[merrimanlyon]

'The basic idea is to put one's opponent's king in a position from which it cannot move without fear of capture.' Merriman picks up his glass of cognac, and takes a small sip from it. 'A position known as checkmate. It is possible to checkmate one's opponent without taking a single piece -- but such games are very rare.'

[pwyll_twiceborn]

Paul pauses by the chessboard, studying the placement of the pieces in silence for several long minutes.

"You must," he says, finally, raising his eyes to the player, "be Professor Lyon."

[merrimanlyon]

Merriman's hand, which had been poised to move the white king's bishop out of its place in white's back rank, pauses in mid-air.

After a moment, he looks up.

'That would be correct, yes,' he says quietly. 'Has my reputation for solitary chess-playing preceded me, then?'

[pwyll_twiceborn]

Paul nods.

"Professor Lyon, I was told, has a board out in the bar some nights. I have somewhat of an interest in chess."

He pauses, then adds, raising his eyebrows, "And your air is - certainly very professorial."

Among other things.

[merrimanlyon]

There might be a very faint lessening of tension in Merriman's posture, at the explanation.

'Nearly the time of year for it, at least,' he replies, nodding. 'The Michaelmas Term at Oxford starts in early October, most years. But I suppose that if any aspect of my reputation here must precede me, the chess-playing is one that I would undoubtedly prefer.'

He clasps his hands in front of him on the table. 'You said that you have an interest in chess?'

[ghostwitch]

And it's a curious Air Nomad who has stopped by his table now. She studies the board, as the set-up looks a bit similar to her world's Pai Sho.

"Excuse me," she speaks up "but what game is this?"

[merrimanlyon]

He looks up from the board, finishing his movement of the red bishop two squares forward diagonally. 'It is called chess -- a game of strategy. Have you ever seen it played before?'

[ghostwitch]

Malu shakes her head. "No, not on my world. There's a game called 'Pai Sho' that seems a bit similar to chess."

[merrimanlyon]

'I see,' Merriman says, nodding. 'Well, this game is played in a fairly straightforward manner. The object is to move pieces around to prevent the opponent's king' -- here he touches the crown of the red king -- 'from being able to move. And different pieces on the board can be moved in different ways, to achieve that end. There are people who spend years and years learning how to play the game well.'

He picks up his glass of cognac, but does not drink from it yet. 'Is Pai Sho a popular game, in your world?'