A Fool's Mate

By Neil Holmes

A game of chess can lead to many things. In this case he wanted to get back with his ex-girlfriend through his friend, but his ex-affair shows up and it suddenly gets more challenging than predicted.

Can he still find the way to win his girlfriend's heart?



A short story

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9780244300463

Book preview

A Fool's Mate

A Fool’s Mate

Neil Holmes

A Jakey Publication

I would like to thank my wife, Larissa for her time and patience and support in writing this book, especially when I had doubts and felt like giving up on it.

I also want to thank my friend Rafael Izquierdo Fernandez (Rafa) for reading this book as my main beta reader and providing some powerful insight into making this a more enjoyable story.

I also want to thank Hugh Ditmus, a good friend, my editor and chess expert in providing me with the finer chess points in making this story more accurate in its details.

Although this story is fiction, it is loosely based on a true story where I learnt to play chess while working nights in a hotel while studying in Canterbury, Kent, UK with my good friend, Warren Day. I’m still eternally grateful to you for this experience.

Published by

A Jakey Publication

Copyright © 2017 Neil Holmes

All rights reserved

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other that that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

First Published in 2017

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-244-30046-3

Other books from Neil Holmes

A Lot to Lose

The Black Watch

Samples are available at the end of this book

Contents

A Fool’s Mate

The Set Up

The Opening

Middlegame

Endgame

Resignation

A New Beginning

The End

A Lot to Lose

Terra Firma

All I wanted was to Cycle Home

In the Office

The Black Watch

In the Near Future… Just Before ‘A Vote of No Confidence’

Today… Kaneda and Alex

Evey

Where is it?

A Fool’s Mate

A Short story

http://www.chesscorner.com/tutorial/basic/scholars/fool.gif

Written by

Neil Holmes

The Set Up

f3   e5

g4   Qh4#

http://www.chesscorner.com/tutorial/basic/scholars/fool.gif

Fool’s Mate

I’m unbelievably bored sitting here alone and with no customers here to tell my sorry tale. Absolutely nothing has happened for the last couple of hours. It’s finally half past ten in the evening in this lovely little twelve room hotel where I’m responsible for its running through the evening and night. It sounds really important, but all I really need to do is fulfil the guests’ wishes; should they want a wake-up call, I organise it. Whether they need a drink at the bar I prepare it. Or if they simply want to have a chat because they may feel lonely, I listen attentively. Occasionally I have people coming in and asking whether we have a room available for the night. Sometimes they call when I’m asleep in bed. The reception telephone is linked to my private room upstairs, so I have every opportunity to bring in as much business as possible for my understanding boss. What’s annoying is when someone comes back late to the hotel and didn’t take their key with them. They ring the door-bell and I have to go downstairs to let them in. It disturbs my night’s sleep, but I suppose that’s what I’m paid for. It messes up my day when that happens, especially when I have to attend those lectures early next morning. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen all that often. As I said, I’m sitting here all on my own tonight and there is no one to talk to. The guests I told my devastating story to last night understood my problem. Each was completely behind me and all the way. I wish my friends, who I no longer seem to see, had shown me the same support. The guests are more like friends to me than my supposedly real ones are. And I would have done the same for them if roles were reversed. Really! I would have understood their situation and stood behind them had they gone through a similarly difficult time to that which I’m battling with. I know about these things, especially what the right thing to do is in such circumstances. And I know you do too. That’s why you’re behind me, all the way. Ah, a customer who had a drink in the bar last night comes in. Good evening, I say, standing up, and expecting him to stay for a chat. Same tipple as last night? He turns me down. Thanks, but I need to be up early in the morning, he says rather quickly, glancing around and seeing I’m here alone. Without waiting for me to convince him otherwise, he dashes up the stairs two at a time to his room on the first floor. He ended up as one of my most ardent supporters last night, even though he had teased me relentlessly the whole evening. What goes around, comes around, he said to me in front of the others. They all agreed. I skip over a chapter in my text-book that I should have read and understood today. The problem is I’ve lost my appetite to study since the separation. It has completely thrown me off-kilter. So much so that my commitment to the more difficult and boring lectures has diminished significantly. Not only that, I’ve had to miss a couple of key assignments I should have already handed in. I’ve explained the situation to my course tutor. He understood and nodded in all the right places. He said I could hand them in two weeks later. I only have three days left and haven’t started them yet. I’ll do them tomorrow. I have to say though, I don’t know how she manages to do anything since we separated. Yet she ‘distracts’ herself with a dramatics group she joined after I... she... we... How could she do something new that’s as involved as that at this diabolical time in our relationship? I just don’t know. Then again, tomorrow’s another day where there’s always a chance of a new beginning. And I’m sure all our past mistakes will be put behind us and we can get on with our lives again. The thing is though, I would like to forgive her so we could move back in together and make a new start. A female customer comes in. She’s a specialist in something or other helping out somewhere not far from here. I forget where exactly. My, she is lovely, and sympathetic, too. She really understood my problem last night and didn’t tease me like the others did. She held my trembling hand in her soft and delicate fingers. She gave me that knowing look that pierced deep into me while whispering; those who are guilty are usually similarly punished, so be careful for what you wish for. It was as though she had penetrated into the depths of my mind and understood everything. Even those controversial bits I delicately left out. I don’t know if I really want to see my ex-girlfriend punished so much as suggested, even though her reason for separating from me was neither right, nor fair. I don’t want to see her suffer any more than what she’s going through by not having me in her life for these last couple of months. Revenge is usually sweet for the betrayed, this lovely guest said to me before she went up for the night. From the guest, was that an offer for me to come to her room later to take revenge against my ex-girlfriend? Maybe we can talk more about it tomorrow evening. Just the two of us, I replied to her with just enough of a hint as she left. Since we’re alone this evening perhaps she’ll stay for a drink and keep her promise.