17-02-2019, 12:24 PM
The one bright spot of the morning was, Ratna had turned up. She apologized for "going AWOL" as the colonel called it. She gave some wishy washy excuse about her son being sick, and it was obvious to me that she was lying. But I didn't press her on it. She was here, doing the dishes from the previous day, and that's all that mattered.
After Ratna left, when I was cleaning the living room, I noticed my chess trophies. And I was reminded of how much fun I had the previous day playing chess with the colonel. I wondered if I should go up to his apartment and ask him he wanted to play. But he had seemed so devastated at losing to me, I decided not to push it. Instead I started thinking about the money I had won. After Dhruv's behavior, there was no chance in hell I'd buy a present for him. I was going to stash it away and spend it on myself. There was this pretty summer dress I had fallen in love with at a designer boutique in Bandra. It cost 3000 rupees. In my previous life, I would not have hesitated for a second before buying it. But given our current situation, it was out of the question. I decided to put the 1600 towards my "dress fund". Once I saved up the remaining 1400 somehow, I would buy it.
A week passed by, and things between Dhruv and me veered along. We got over that big fight, but had several small ones occasionally. He started coming home from work later and later, and I started wondering if he really had that much work, or if he was just using it as an excuse to stay away from me. Things were especially cold in the bedroom. It had now been over a month since we had sex. Some times when I was in the mood, we would be too tired from working late hours. Occasionally when he did come home early and make the first move, I was tired from all the housework. The timing was always bad, and we had our longest dry spell ever. Life seemed like a murky stagnant pond and I was just going bobbing in it like deadwood.
Then one day, a small glimmer of pleasure. I had just finished cleaning the house and was about to start cooking, when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and found the smiling Major Raslan standing there.
"Hello Prerna. How are you today?" he said pleasantly.
"I am good, Major. How are you? How is the colonel?" I asked.
"The colonel is in the mood for some payback, to be honest. He has been practicing with me for the last week. And he wants to know if you'd give him a chance to win his money back. He's sent me to invite you for another double or nothing game of chess."
"Hmmm." I pretended to consider the invitation, but of course, I was ready to jump at it. Another chance to play some chess? Of course! And a chance to beat the doddering old colonel and turn the 1600 into 3200? Of course! But I played it cool. "Let me think about it."
"If you decide to join us, you know where to come." the major said, and started walking up the stairs.
Call it gamesmanship if you will, but I decided to get the colonel restless by making him wait. I skimmed through the paper and watched TV until an hour had passed when I took the money from my purse and finally made my way up the stairs and knocked on his door.
"COME IN!!" the booming voice said, and I walked in.
The colonel was sitting in his armchair in front of the chessboard. The major was on the couch.
"Glad you decided to come, Prerna." the colonel said jovially, "I admire your fortitude. let me warn you though. I am going to win my money back. Do you have it with you?"
I took the money out of my pocket and showed it to him, with a smile.
"Good. Then, let us begin. But before that, I wonder if you're alright if we extend the time limit to 30 minutes." he said.
"Sure, no problem, colonel." I said, while thinking to myself, take 300 minutes if you want, you old fool, I'm still going to wipe the board with you.
And we started. We had a toss this time and the colonel chose whites which suited me well. I noticed that the colonel had given up on the 4-move-checkmate. Instead, he started with a more evolved textbook opening - Ruy Lopez. The good old Spanish torture. It did seem like he had done his homework, and was actually thinking a few moves ahead this time. He also seemed to know the standard defensive as well as counter-attacking strategies that black can adopt and thwarted them when I tried. But ten moves or so later, I still had control over my pawn structure and he still had not gotten the upper hand that white playing Ruy Lopez would normally aim for. To his credit though, he was making me think a lot more than the last time. And although he had still used up way more time than me, I was noticeably slower than the previous week.
Anyway, I had been setting up for the Schliemann defence. And once I fortified my positions, I went on attack on the king's side. After that, the colonel was clearly punching above his weight. He had clearly run out the moves and counter-moves he had memorized and now was back to playing on instinct. Thinking just one or two moves ahead. Needless to say, it all ended soon after. I relieved him of his knight, and then his bishop. And then finishing him off was just a formality which I did not dwell over. This time, the colonel did not actually wait for a checkmate like amateurs do, and resigned 3 moves in advance.
"Well played, colonel. I mean it." I said, trying to be charitable, mindful of how surly he had been after the last time I beat him. But he seemed to be taking it well.
"You're really good, young lady. You should take part in competitions and all. Maybe get formal coaching." he said. I felt a pang of guilt. He was still taking me at my word. That I played chess only for fun and had never been formally coached. It was clear what was happening. I had been hustling this old man. And taking his money from his well-earned armyman's pension. I should not be this selfish. I decided to come clean and return his money. I opened my mouth to confess when he said something so offensive that I changed my mind,
"I mean, you're really good for a woman." he said, barely suppressing a smirk.
"For a woman???" I asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yes, I mean, sure you beat me. But I am an old man. My grey cells are not what they used to be. But you can't keep beating me. I mean honestly major, do you think a woman can keep beating me at chess for long?" he looked at the major.
"Sir?" The major looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He clearly did not want to agree with something that sexist, but he did not want to openly disagree with a superior officer, albeit retired.
"You heard me, major." the colonel boomed.
"I don't know, Sir. I mean, she is good." he trailed off when the colonel looked at him sharply.
"Okay, so let's have another double-or-nothing rematch." the colonel said, slamming his fist on his thigh.
"Right now? Sure!" I couldn't wait to take more money off this misogynist old bastard.
"Not now." the colonel looked taken aback at my eagerness. "I need to practise some more. One week from today. And in the morning. I always think better in the mornings than afternoons. So a rematch at 0800 hours next thursday."
"I can't make it that early. I have to make breakfast for my husband, and wait for Ratna to finish her work and...." I protested.
"Okay, so what time works for you?" he interrupted me impatiently.
"Maybe 930-10. Whenever Ratna is done, I'll come over." I said.
"Excellent! It is decided then." the colonel took his wallet and took out 1600 rupees and handed them to me. "This is just for safekeeping Prerna. Don't spend it. Remember, I am definitely going to win next time. So you'll have to return this money to me."
"We'll see." I said, trying not to gloat or sound cocky.
After Ratna left, when I was cleaning the living room, I noticed my chess trophies. And I was reminded of how much fun I had the previous day playing chess with the colonel. I wondered if I should go up to his apartment and ask him he wanted to play. But he had seemed so devastated at losing to me, I decided not to push it. Instead I started thinking about the money I had won. After Dhruv's behavior, there was no chance in hell I'd buy a present for him. I was going to stash it away and spend it on myself. There was this pretty summer dress I had fallen in love with at a designer boutique in Bandra. It cost 3000 rupees. In my previous life, I would not have hesitated for a second before buying it. But given our current situation, it was out of the question. I decided to put the 1600 towards my "dress fund". Once I saved up the remaining 1400 somehow, I would buy it.
A week passed by, and things between Dhruv and me veered along. We got over that big fight, but had several small ones occasionally. He started coming home from work later and later, and I started wondering if he really had that much work, or if he was just using it as an excuse to stay away from me. Things were especially cold in the bedroom. It had now been over a month since we had sex. Some times when I was in the mood, we would be too tired from working late hours. Occasionally when he did come home early and make the first move, I was tired from all the housework. The timing was always bad, and we had our longest dry spell ever. Life seemed like a murky stagnant pond and I was just going bobbing in it like deadwood.
Then one day, a small glimmer of pleasure. I had just finished cleaning the house and was about to start cooking, when the doorbell rang. I opened the door and found the smiling Major Raslan standing there.
"Hello Prerna. How are you today?" he said pleasantly.
"I am good, Major. How are you? How is the colonel?" I asked.
"The colonel is in the mood for some payback, to be honest. He has been practicing with me for the last week. And he wants to know if you'd give him a chance to win his money back. He's sent me to invite you for another double or nothing game of chess."
"Hmmm." I pretended to consider the invitation, but of course, I was ready to jump at it. Another chance to play some chess? Of course! And a chance to beat the doddering old colonel and turn the 1600 into 3200? Of course! But I played it cool. "Let me think about it."
"If you decide to join us, you know where to come." the major said, and started walking up the stairs.
Call it gamesmanship if you will, but I decided to get the colonel restless by making him wait. I skimmed through the paper and watched TV until an hour had passed when I took the money from my purse and finally made my way up the stairs and knocked on his door.
"COME IN!!" the booming voice said, and I walked in.
The colonel was sitting in his armchair in front of the chessboard. The major was on the couch.
"Glad you decided to come, Prerna." the colonel said jovially, "I admire your fortitude. let me warn you though. I am going to win my money back. Do you have it with you?"
I took the money out of my pocket and showed it to him, with a smile.
"Good. Then, let us begin. But before that, I wonder if you're alright if we extend the time limit to 30 minutes." he said.
"Sure, no problem, colonel." I said, while thinking to myself, take 300 minutes if you want, you old fool, I'm still going to wipe the board with you.
And we started. We had a toss this time and the colonel chose whites which suited me well. I noticed that the colonel had given up on the 4-move-checkmate. Instead, he started with a more evolved textbook opening - Ruy Lopez. The good old Spanish torture. It did seem like he had done his homework, and was actually thinking a few moves ahead this time. He also seemed to know the standard defensive as well as counter-attacking strategies that black can adopt and thwarted them when I tried. But ten moves or so later, I still had control over my pawn structure and he still had not gotten the upper hand that white playing Ruy Lopez would normally aim for. To his credit though, he was making me think a lot more than the last time. And although he had still used up way more time than me, I was noticeably slower than the previous week.
Anyway, I had been setting up for the Schliemann defence. And once I fortified my positions, I went on attack on the king's side. After that, the colonel was clearly punching above his weight. He had clearly run out the moves and counter-moves he had memorized and now was back to playing on instinct. Thinking just one or two moves ahead. Needless to say, it all ended soon after. I relieved him of his knight, and then his bishop. And then finishing him off was just a formality which I did not dwell over. This time, the colonel did not actually wait for a checkmate like amateurs do, and resigned 3 moves in advance.
"Well played, colonel. I mean it." I said, trying to be charitable, mindful of how surly he had been after the last time I beat him. But he seemed to be taking it well.
"You're really good, young lady. You should take part in competitions and all. Maybe get formal coaching." he said. I felt a pang of guilt. He was still taking me at my word. That I played chess only for fun and had never been formally coached. It was clear what was happening. I had been hustling this old man. And taking his money from his well-earned armyman's pension. I should not be this selfish. I decided to come clean and return his money. I opened my mouth to confess when he said something so offensive that I changed my mind,
"I mean, you're really good for a woman." he said, barely suppressing a smirk.
"For a woman???" I asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yes, I mean, sure you beat me. But I am an old man. My grey cells are not what they used to be. But you can't keep beating me. I mean honestly major, do you think a woman can keep beating me at chess for long?" he looked at the major.
"Sir?" The major looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He clearly did not want to agree with something that sexist, but he did not want to openly disagree with a superior officer, albeit retired.
"You heard me, major." the colonel boomed.
"I don't know, Sir. I mean, she is good." he trailed off when the colonel looked at him sharply.
"Okay, so let's have another double-or-nothing rematch." the colonel said, slamming his fist on his thigh.
"Right now? Sure!" I couldn't wait to take more money off this misogynist old bastard.
"Not now." the colonel looked taken aback at my eagerness. "I need to practise some more. One week from today. And in the morning. I always think better in the mornings than afternoons. So a rematch at 0800 hours next thursday."
"I can't make it that early. I have to make breakfast for my husband, and wait for Ratna to finish her work and...." I protested.
"Okay, so what time works for you?" he interrupted me impatiently.
"Maybe 930-10. Whenever Ratna is done, I'll come over." I said.
"Excellent! It is decided then." the colonel took his wallet and took out 1600 rupees and handed them to me. "This is just for safekeeping Prerna. Don't spend it. Remember, I am definitely going to win next time. So you'll have to return this money to me."
"We'll see." I said, trying not to gloat or sound cocky.
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