The Princess, the Knight, and the Lost God: A Chess Story

By Victoria Winifred

A 12-year-old princess flees to Earth to complete a kingdom-saving mission:

Princess Kassie, daughter of the gods Caïssa and Mars, lives a charmed life in the dazzling kingdom of Chess Mountain, where chess pieces are alive and flourish as loyal citizens.

But when Kassie's best friend Dimitri mysteriously disappears and her parents are blamed, Kassie's world shatters.

War is declared, and the princess escapes to Earth on a mission to strengthen her kingdom. Chaperoned by a trusted (and fashionable) knight, Maurice, Kassie desperately misses her family. She masquerades as a student in a chess-loving classroom with a quirky teacher. Mysterious threats and clues make it hard to tell friends from enemies, and Kassie lives under the constant risk of abduction.

To her amazement, she finds she has much in common with her mortal classmates, who encounter their own daily struggles. By sharing the magic of chess thinking, Kassie empowers her newfound friends to face the challenges in their own lives, including dealing with the class bully.

But when their tormentor presses hard and kingdom enemies draw near, Kassie must choose whether to cut her mission short, or risk everything to protect Chess Mountain.

When the ultimate showdown takes place, Kassie must make her decision—with no time to spare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Victoria Winifred
• Release date: Apr 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223554394

Book preview

THE PRINCESS,

THE KNIGHT,

AND THE LOST GOD:

A Chess Story

by Victoria Winifred

Cover, maps, and illustrations

by Luisa Galstyan

The Princess, the Knight, and the Lost God: A Chess Story. © 2022 Victoria Winifred.

Published by The Enrichment Connection.

Paperback ISBN-13: 979-8-9869675-0-9

1st Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without express written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Please refer all pertinent questions to the publisher at The Enrichment Connection at [e-mail].

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

For Emily, my mother poetess

and my big brother Alex, who taught me chess

"Caïssa, allow me your needs to supply,

I’ll nobly win, or nobly die."

Her eager heart accepted the lure

And by his invention

found Mars more pleasing than before

By gifting her chess, Mars won her heart

Immortality shared, bound never to part

––––––––

Inspired by the poem Caïssa by Sir William Jones, 1763

CONTENTS

Chess Vocabulary

Map of Chess Mountain

OPENING

CHAPTER ONE: Discovered Attack

CHAPTER TWO: Move Order

CHAPTER THREE: Queens Puzzle

CHAPTER FOUR: Safe Squares

CHAPTER FIVE: A Knight’s Tour

MIDDLEGAME

CHAPTER SIX: Let the Games Begin

CHAPTER SEVEN: Turnaround

CHAPTER EIGHT: Outer Spaces

CHAPTER NINE: Gaining Material

CHAPTER TEN: Decoys

ENDGAME

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Chess Rockefeller

CHAPTER TWELVE: Queens Return

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Missing Pieces

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Sacrifices

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Variations

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Critical Thinking

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Promotions

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Vision

EPILOGUE

CHESS MOUNTAIN ANTHEM

THE COURTSHIP OF CAÏSSA

On the Morals of Chess (1779) by Benjamin Franklin

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Awards

CHESS VOCABULARY

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A Blunder is an extremely bad move that can change a winning game to a loss.

Castling is a move when the king moves two squares toward a rook, and the rook jumps over to the other side of the king.

Check is when a king is threatened by an opponent’s piece.

Checkmate is a check from which the king cannot escape.

The Dragon Defense is a popular sequence of opening moves for the black pieces to protect themselves and attack the white pieces.

A Draw is when a chess game ends in a tie.

Files are the columns of the chessboard.

The Fried Liver is a tricky order of opening moves where a bishop and knight work together to attack the opponent’s pieces.

Notation in chess keeps track of both players’ every move by using letters and numbers to identify pieces, actions, and squares.

Ranks are the rows on a chessboard.

Scholar’s Mate is a four-move checkmate that beginners often use against each other.

MAP OF CHESS MOUNTAIN

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CHAPTER ONE: Discovered Attack

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At dawn, Princess Kassie strode down the path that led from the castle through Chess Mountain’s already bustling marketplace. Tree spirits—the dryads—displayed the ripest, brightest, and juiciest fruits. Maternal chess pieces cradled their infant chess babies. As the amber sun rose and painted the kingdom with its tawny hues, others lined up freshly baked goods on a granite table while Kassie passed by.

Happy birthday, Princess! a cheerful voice called from behind her. There’s a very special cake waiting for you this afternoon!

Kassie swung around and waved at the baker, a mature bishop. Thank you, Chef Vishy! The sun’s rays caressed Kassie’s skin, and she tucked back a dangling lock of her chestnut hair to feel the full warmth on her face.

The other sellers waved and bowed. Happy Birthday, Princess Kassie, they called. May you—and all of us on Chess Mountain—be blessed today!

Off to her right, her father’s guard marched into the castle courtyard. Strange. She couldn’t imagine why they’d be assembling today.

Oh, I know! Maybe Father is planning a surprise ceremony for my birthday! Kassie brightened at the idea.

Today was her twelfth birthday—which was both exciting and frightening. Her father, Mars, was the god of war and the king of Chess Mountain. Caïssa, her mother, was the queen goddess of chess, thanks to Mars’ invention of the game and his gift of it to her. So, Kassie was already a princess—and would get her own goddess title upon completing her twelfth-year mission. Her success would strengthen the kingdom’s power. Caïssa, who often had visions, had recently been enlightened in one that her daughter’s mission would start sooner rather than later.

Kassie would need to visit one of Chess Mountain’s sister realms— Vesta, Minerva, or Earth. She hoped to be sent to Vesta and experience its vivid landscapes. Minerva presented a darker environment, but the famed wisdom of its population was appealing.

Last on her list was Earth. Everything she’d studied about that planet depicted it as a crime-ridden, corrupt place with terrifying natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Her professors painted Earth’s inhabitants as foolish, weak, and helpless.

In the meantime, she’d already memorized the goals she must accomplish to receive her goddessship:

1. Experience daily common life. Living in a native habitat, eating local food, attending school and social functions, and interacting with commoners.

2. Teach chess to someone or help someone improve their chess game.

3. Change someone’s life for the better. Her exact goddess title would depend on the process used to accomplish this objective.

Kassie continued her walk and smiled at the swish-swish of her new purple and gold ruffled dress as she took her steps. The day’s early light now shone on colorful and patterned garments set out on tables in rows, overseen by cheerful grown pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, kings, and queens. Baby chesslings and tree toddlers danced together in a sprawling crimson field behind the vendors. Their little homes and farms could be seen in the distance, behind the grazing goats and cattle just in front of the rolling green hills. Extending high, wide, and behind it all stretched majestic Chess Mountain, a mammoth marble masterpiece. Its angled squares within squares gleamed and glinted in the growing beams of sunlight.

Kassie crossed the footbridge, and, as always, admired Pawn Island and its welcoming pavilions across the sparkling teal waters of Bishop’s Bay. Her pace quickened toward the pristine plaza where the main structures of Chess Mountain City towered.

Glancing up at the position of the two crescent moons, she was pleased to see she’d be on time to help the chesslings practice their morning routines. And, hopefully, she’d meet up with her best friend Dimitri before her birthday luncheon.

But as soon as she entered Chessling Academy, shouts and shuffling came from the corner. Kassie ran to the commotion. A young pawn lay face down and rolled back and forth, sobbing.

Oh, dear Scout. Kassie leaned down and put her hand gently on his back. What is wrong?

Princess, we’re sorry for the disorder, but Eddie won’t listen, grumbled one of the instructors.

Kassie looked over at the little king scrunched down against the wall, arms folded, his face in a pouty grimace.

He’s not playing fair! shouted Scout from the ground, pounding his fist. He’s moving two spaces instead of the one he’s allowed.

Kassie stood up and approached Eddie. She gathered up the ruffles of her spangled dress, folded her legs under her, and sat down next to him. Eddie, again? I know you want to move more than one square, but you can’t. When you’re older, I’ll teach you a special move made just for the pleasure of kings. But not yet. For now, we must stick to the rules you’ve learned thus far, she said. "You know that as a pawn, Scout is allowed to move two spaces on his first turn."

But there’s a special move? For me? King Eddie’s eyes opened wide, and he sat up straight.

Not yet, Kassie repeated. As much as she was tempted to teach him, the time had not yet come for Eddie to learn castling. Just wait till he finds out he moves two spaces on his own, and a rook flies over his head! Kassie stifled a giggle as she rose to her feet.

Oh, Princess Kassie, it’s just that— King Eddie hung his head. He’s just a pawn, and I’m a king, so why can’t I—

Whaddaya mean, ‘just a pawn’? Scout jumped up from the floor and reared to his full height, which was halfway up to Kassie’s knee. Say you’re sorry! He glared down at Eddie.

The king got up and brushed himself off. He was twice as tall as Scout. I’m sorry, he mumbled, his eyes cast aside.

Scout looked at the floor. All right, the pawn finally said, begrudgingly.

Now I won’t let you leave until you look each other in the eye, and don’t either of you dare laugh! Kassie held back a grin.

After locking eyeballs for a moment, the two chesslings broke into chuckles and guffaws.

There you go. Kassie set free her smile as the two scampered off on small feet and returned to play.

All around the room, groups of young, ambitious chess pieces chatted, romped, and practiced on their squares with diagonal, horizontal, vertical, and L-shaped moves. Born of Caïssa’s original kingdom of trees, the acorns had formed on the dryads, fallen, and were collected and raised by eagerly awaiting chess families. Woody skins glowed deep or pale, developing into dark or light pieces. Some of these little ones would later grace the living chess sets of awaiting gods who would order moves from their thrones, while others would stay on to serve in the kingdom according to their gifts.

Kassie sighed. She wished she had that option. Instead of gallivanting around the universe, she longed to just stay on Chess Mountain and help the chesslings. Maybe after her mission, she’d be allowed to do so.

After working with some more of the little ones for a few practice sessions, the princess rearranged her long tresses and turned to look through the open back doors at the paved golden road. The street was still quiet. But soon, servants would carry long tables—as well as lavish platters, cups of ambrosia, and nectar delights into the Grand Hall for her day-long birthday feast. All the gods and guests would come to help her celebrate.

Even though the Pawn Island Olympics had ended just last night, she already couldn’t wait to see her friends and family again. Especially Dimitri. He was the son of Euphron and Tory, the gods of sports and victory. It was ironic that Dimitri wasn’t very good at athletics. But yet, he was greatly skilled at chess. As much as his ability challenged her, she admired his chess strength and passion for the game. I must defeat Dimitri today. After all, my father invented chess, and I’m the daughter of Caïssa, the chess goddess herself! She smiled at the thought.

Already envisioning her first moves over the board—and still hoping Dimitri would be early—she made her way across the floor to leave. As she did, the chesslings flocked after her, calling her name. She turned and smiled down at them. Oh, I must go for now, my dear ones!

Wait, Princess Kassie, we have a surprise for your birthday, burst out a little bishop from a corner. So, she waited to see.

Three lovely, lithe oak trees, their leafy hair bouncing, rustled forward and shooed a group of the students into formation. At the same time, a quartet of dryads carrying stringed instruments swiftly assembled and began to make music. Then, in front of Kassie, the little chesslings showed off their moves with a wobbly and precious dance as they sang:

On this day, this day of rejoicing

Kassie arrived that glorious morn

Our goddess-child,

our friend and our princess

Blest this day that Kassie was born

Kassie beamed and clapped her hands at their performance.

A noise like thunder shook the