The Chess Move.

“Shut the bedroom window in the morning
Go to the shop, make plans to be leaving
In the morning”

Light shone through the upper window in the loft in such a way that I perceive it to be the perfect embodiment of what it feels like to be 19 years old and in love with the world.

I was playing yet another game of chess with Owen. It was a game I was taught as a child by Julian Hodgson, one of the best chess players of all time – but by the time I had moved into the shared accommodation in Llanbleddian Gardens I had forgotten the rules entirely.

Owen, my housemate, had brought a chess set into the loft some months after I had moved in, sparking curiosity amongst the would-be intelligentsia that occupied that house, and, as a result, game after game rightfully ensued for the rest of the year.

My greatest chess move against Owen was a move that, out-of-nowhere, pinned every one of his pieces on the board, threatening to take all of them simultaneously, including the queen, which would have been a truly miraculous move in isolation – except that the move itself was checkmate, tipping this play in my mind into legendary status.

It must be said, however, that this is not the greatest chess move of my life.