Topic: A Friendly Challenge

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-22 17:12 EST
An envelope arrived at Riverview Clinic addressed to Miss Xenia Cherikova, from Cucina Marthae. When opened, Xenia would find that the note within simply said, in a typewritten font:

1. e4

Good luck!

—Guill

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-04-22 17:20 EST
Xenia was sitting at her desk, in the middle of writing a letter, when the envelope was dropped on her desk. Usually, she'd let it wait, but she could use a distraction. Gloved digits gingelry opened the envelope, a slender brow raising as honey glanced over its minute contents.

And then she laughed.

With a shake of her head, she turned the parchment over and wrote:

1. c5

May the best man win.

-X

Folding it back up neatly, she retrieved the envelope it was in and slid it inward. Then she called for the mail carrier to 'return to sender'.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-22 17:50 EST
The mail carrier delivered Xenia's response promptly. Guill opened the note, and while the response was familiar, it did surprise him just a bit. After all, he had figured Xenia to be Russian, not Sicilian. In any case, he decided to continue with this gambit, so he sent back a proper note that read:

2. Nf3

—Guill

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-04-22 18:04 EST
The envelope was set back on her desk, and she opened it slowly, honey reading through it quickly. "Mm," she murmured, grabbing a fresh piece of parchment and scribbling:

2. f6

-X

Her handwriting was in perfect script as she addressed to Guill, Cucina Marthae and sent it back via mail carrier.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-22 18:09 EST
Guill received another missive back from Xenia. If anything, this distraction will keep his mind sharp, as the physical mind games inside the rings were now beyond him, as far as he was concerned. He thought for a minute, and then rushed to the typewriter, feeding an index card through, and typing out:

3. Bc4

—Guill

He then took the index card, placed it in an envelope marked "Xenia, Riverview Clinic" and had the mail carrier send it back. Meanwhile, by the typewriter, he had set up a board to match exactly what had been done so far.

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-04-22 18:35 EST
Guill's response came quickly enough, and Xenia nearly ripped the envelope in half in her haste to open it. "Hmm," she thought to herself, mentally visualizing the board before she scribbled her response on a half piece of parchment.

3. d6

-X

Guill, Cucina Marthae she neatly penned on an envelope before passing it to the mail carrier on her way to meet with Maranya.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-22 19:39 EST
Guill received Xenia's message in record time, and he pondered. He had a few options after what she had done, so he set out with a pretty straightforward option. Another typewritten index card, this one reading:

4. Nh4

—Guill

After moving the requisite pieces on his board (and writing down a record of the move for himself), he sent the note on to "Xenia, Riverview Clinic".

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-04-22 20:04 EST
There was an envelope on her desk when she returned from seeing Anya, and a slender brow perked. Gloved digits were slower this time in opening the letter, and she spent several moments contemplating its contents as she eased into her chair. Mentally visualizing the board in her head, she analyzed it from several angles before making her decision.

4. Na6

-X

She scribbled in hasty script before tucking the half sheet of parchment into a nearby envelope. Again she addressed it to Guill, Cucina Marthae, and send it off with the mail carrier before returning to her work.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-22 20:20 EST
He was just finishing the dinner shift when he saw that an envelope from Riverview had arrived. After giving a quick consideration to the move contained within, and making the move on the board, he decided that he was going to play the move:

5. Nc3

—Guill

After typing out the move, and making it on the board, he mailed it off to "Xenia, Riverview Clinic." The game was just starting to get interesting.

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-04-22 21:28 EST
Xenia was actually just about to shut everything in the office down and take off for the evening when Guill's next move came via courier. "I, oh," she blinked, sitting back down to look at Guill's note. She squinted a little, trying to place his move on the board and where all of their pieces were. "Hmm," she thought to herself before neatly scrawling her response.

5. Nb4

-X

She folded it neatly into a envelope addressed Guill, Cucina Marthae, and dropped it off for the mail courier on her way out.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-22 21:36 EST
He himself was just about to leave for the night, when the courier gave Xenia's next move. An interesting move for her; she had opened up the potential for a fork on her next move. Although he found it unlikely that she would make that move, he decided not to give her the choice. The move was selected to be:

6. Bb5+

—Guill

He typed up another index card with the move, noted it for his records, and had the card sent via courier to Riverview. Xenia would surely get it in the morning.

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-04-24 13:08 EST
Xenia actually had so much work the next day, that she didn't even see his letter hidden beneath the massive amounts of paperwork. She didn't even manage to get through the entire amount until Saturday morning, where she finally found the envelope. "Oh!" she gasped in mild surprise, gloved fingertips taking it in her hands and opening it.

The index card slid out easily enough, and honey roved across it in amusement. "Ah," she sighed, internally cursing. Xenia hadn't anticipated for that one. After picturing the board in her head, and where all their pieces were situated, she thought of several moves before settling on one, which she scribbled down on a half-piece of parchment.

6. Bd7

-X

In neat script, she addressed the envelope to Guill, Cucina Marthae and sent it off on her way out.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-24 17:11 EST
He receives the note from Xenia that Saturday. He knew she had a choice of about four moves, and that was not the move he expected. Regardless, he had settled on his next decision, so he hurriedly typed out the move:

7. Qh5+

—Guill

He addressed this move to "Xenia, Riverview Clinic", before sending it out in the post. He had already started plotting his next line of attack, as he had a feeling he knew exactly what she was going to do next.

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-04-26 12:55 EST
Xenia eased into her chair behind her desk with a collective groan as she opened Guill's envelope and read his next move. A gloved palm rubbed tiredly at her face and she tried visualizing the board. She moved through the moves each made over the last few days, placing each in their current places. That really only left one move.

7. g6

-X

Guill, Cucina Marthae was neatly penned in script on a fresh envelope, and the half sheet of parchment folded into it before tucked into her outbox for delivery.

And then she got down to actually working.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-26 15:22 EST
Guill received the missive from Xenia later that afternoon, and as he expected, it contained the pawn move, which was the only thing that could be done. He had already prepared the next move:

8. Nxg6

—Guill

He then looked at the board, and contemplated, moving his piece into position. The missive was sent off to "Xenia, Riverview Clinic", and he went back to working on the night's dinner service.

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-04-29 20:17 EST
Xenia had been preoccupied the last two days between work and her own feuding thoughts, hence why the late reply. She finally caught up with everything and found the missive poking out from under her mug of lukewarm tea. "Oh," she softly uttered, tugging on it and peeking inside to read its contents. "Hmph." Reclining back in her chair she spent several, long moments contemplating the next course of action. Multiple moves were hashed out and attempted, while likewise anticipating his following moves. Finally, she decided.

8. Nxc2+

-X

Guill, Cucina Marthae was also scrawled in neat script before being sent out with the mail courier on her way home.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-04-29 20:26 EST
Guill received Xenia's message after the dinner service was over. After maneuvering the piece on the board, he saw that she had decided to fork him. He saw only three possible moves for himself, and he decided to exert at least a small bit of pressure with one of them.

9. Kd1

—Guill

He typed the missive out to "Xenia, Riverview Clinic" and sent it on its way.

Xenia Chirikova

Date: 2010-05-04 00:44 EST
Xenia had gotten the missive the earlier, when she came into the office, and strategically responded after a very long moment. The envelope was addressed to Guil, Cucina Marthae. Except she forgot to mail it.

9. Nxa1

-X Luckily she stayed late, and caught it on her way out. She dropped it in the mail on her way home.

(Lost To Time)

Date: 2010-05-04 00:49 EST
Guill received her missive shortly after finishing cleaning up for the night. As he had hoped, she had taken the piece that she had forked on the turn previous. That left him no choice but to play:

10. Nxh8#

We need to play another game soon.

—Guill

He addressed the envelope to "Xenia, Riverview Clinic" and had it sent on its way.