Checkmate
Chess Alive - Castellvi vs. Vinyoles 1475, Part 6 (Final)
This story follows A Field Set for a Fall.
The Queen of Castellvi sent her encoded message to Bishop Lernid with a heavy heart.
Honorable Bishop Lernid,
Could I tempt you to join me in the offensive against the Vinyoles? I envy their spectacular scenery. Even a Bishop like yourself deserves to enjoy the natural splendor of the Western battlefield. Do come away from our settled lands to enjoy a new experience.
With Utmost Respect,
Your Queen
Bishop Lernid received the message and recognized the simple code. Every third word of each sentence led to the Queen’s true message, free of the uncharacteristic prancing that her other, distracting words danced around. If any enemy spies had intercepted this missive, they might assume that Bishop Lernid would come to his Queen’s aid in the West.
The true message commanded otherwise.
Tempt their Bishop away.
Bishop Lernid could hear the Queen’s command in her very own voice and his eyes began to sting. All the strategy games he’d played with her, all the time spent preparing her for the sacrifices she would have to make, and all the times he’d forced her to face the realities of war had honed her into the most formidable weapon the Castellvi Kingdom could wield.
It was only fair that she wield him in return, even unto his own demise.
He replied in kind, coding his true message into the third word of every sentence, aware that his words might not reach her before his own sacrifice.
My Most Respected Queen,
I remember it like it was yesterday, when I trained you in games of strategy and sacrifice. Your cunning has always surprised me. I’ve never been to Vinyoles, nor do I have any intention of visiting. Perhaps I’m an incompetent old fool for defying you, but I shall forge my own path with the guidance of the Sacred Darkness and refuse your invitation. If your honor demands retribution after the war ends, I shall face it, but I’ll not be manipulated.
With Utmost Love and Loyalty for our Kingdom,
Bishop Lernid
He sent his message and made his move.
Bishop to f4.
“Take their Bishop down while he’s undefended!” the King of Vinyoles commanded, pacing his chambers, restless and frustrated. “Surely my Queen won’t mind waiting to execute her plan if it means one less Castellvi threat on the board. Have Paolas take him before he takes Paolas!”
The King’s command went with the messenger to Bishop Paolas, and the Holy Bishop of the Sacred Dark Squares could see no reason not to comply. Surely this would be an advantageous move for the war effort, would it not? After all, that enemy Rook-keeper and her birds were starting to look quite hungry again. Better if he were far from the threat of them, surely.
Bishop takes Bishop on f4.
When the Queen of Castellvi received word that Bishop Lernid was dead, a single tear slid down her cheek, though her expression never changed, fixed into the same poised intentionality as ever.
Her ploy had worked, but at a terrible cost.
She drew her sword.
“Your Majesty,” Lady Sarenne called from nearby. The flock of rooks fluttered their restless wings all around her. “Would you prefer that I — “
“No,” the Queen interrupted. “Defend me. I will end this war myself.”
The King of Vinyoles was guarded by a single drunken Knight, until he wasn’t.
Queen takes Knight on d7. Check.
Fardock Vinyoles was helpless. There was nothing he could have done to help Sir Dorgon, nothing he could do to avenge the Knight’s death, nothing he could do to protect his vulnerable King, or even interfere with the Castellvi Rook-keeper’s line of attack.
He could see the rest of the board like a dream — a nightmare — because the Vinyoles Bishop and Queen were too far away to protect their beloved King, and could do nothing to put the Castellvi King in enough danger to require immediate defense.
There had been a reason the Castellvi Queen had waited to attack Sir Dorgon. She’d known, just as Fardock had known, that if she had tried any sooner, she’d be close enough to the King that he could take her down himself, and there would be no one to defend her. But that was only true so long as Bishop Paolas had stood between Sir Dorgon and the Castellvi’s Rook-keeper.
But Bishop Paolas had been enticed away from his position by the juicy offer of the Castellvi’s vulnerable Bishop. The temptation was a trick. A trap.
Now, not even the King could avenge his fallen Knight because doing so would put him at the mercy of the Rook-keeper’s terrifying birds.
With no one to defend him and no way to retaliate against the Castellvi Queen, the King himself would be forced to retreat. There were only three places he could go — and the Queen blocked two of them.
So Fardock watched from safety as his King did the only thing he could. He abandoned his throne and cowered behind his guards.
King to f8.
The Queen of Castellvi entered the Vinyoles Throne room unchallenged. The soldier at the gate had watched her pass with the helpless eyes of the doomed. The servants and courtiers quivered at the sight of her sword and the blood she wiped from its blade.
It was tempting to be moved by their fear, to see herself as they saw her. She was the villain, in their eyes. A ruthless, shameless monster. It was disquieting to be the focus of so much fear and hatred. So much so that the temptation to show mercy, to prolong the conflict, to paint herself as a merciful, benevolent Queen slid under her skin.
She gritted her teeth against it and looked around at her enemy. These were the same people who would cheer if her own husband died at the hands of their soldiers or warriors. If they could, they would not hesitate to take her life or the lives of the people she held dear.
They could not be allowed to distract her from her purpose, to move her to mercy, to endanger more of her people and their lives.
The message from Bishop Lernid hung in its scroll on her belt.
It has been an honor.
The Queen of Castellvi ascended the steps to the pair of empty thrones at the heart of Vinyoles’ lands.
Once there, she settled into the seat her counterpart had left vacant and laid the bare sword across her knees.
Queen to d8.
The Vinyoles soldiers, helpless against her, dropped their weapons. The King, crouched behind his own throne, slowly peeked out to glimpse his enemy.
The Queen of Castellvi met his gaze and spoke a single word, quiet and calm.
This word rang through both Kingdoms, over light squares and dark, into the hearts of the survivors and the graves of those who’d been sacrificed: Pawns, Knights, Bishops, Rooks, Queens, and Kings alike all faced the truth of this simple word and the end of this war.
Checkmate.
Thank you for reading! It has been fun to reimagine the chess game described poetically by Francesc de Castellvi and Narcis Vinyoles in 1475. I’ve learned so much about chess from Parkle Lee and many great players who make their games and analyses available to people like me.