The Champion at the Beginners Table

At the chess club, everyone still introduced Victor as the former regional champion. The title came from a competition twenty-five years earlier, but it seemed to arrive in the room before he did. Lately, younger players had been beating him regularly. He blamed poor sleep, bad lighting and a chair that made his back ache after an hour.

When the club asked him to teach beginners, he heard the invitation as a polite removal from serious play. He refused, then watched a new member struggle alone with the rules. The woman was a skilled electrician, perfectly confident in conversation, yet she apologised each time she moved a piece. Victor recognised the unpleasant feeling of being assessed through unfamiliar mistakes.

He sat opposite her and explained one position. Soon, he was enjoying a question nobody had asked him for years: why did he like chess? He began with strategy, then admitted he liked sitting silently with someone without having to invent conversation. She said that sounded better than the competitive speeches at the club's opening night, which had nearly sent her home.

Victor agreed to teach once a month but continued entering tournaments. He still disliked losing, and the lessons did not magically improve his results. At the next meeting, however, he introduced himself by name before anyone could mention the old title. His beginner opponent promptly asked about a move he could not explain clearly. They set the pieces up again and worked through it without a champion present.