My grandfather once told me life is like chess, with enough planning and foresight, you can win against anything the world throws at you.
My grandmother was quick to remind him not everything, She told him, if you play marriage like chess, you’ll lose a lot more than a game.
You see, the only way marriage is like a game of chess is if the board is flowing water, the pieces are made of smoke and you have no time to plan anything.
He had to admit, she was right. After all, the queen had the power and she captured him long ago.
They saw a scared look in my eyes when I heard that.
They asked why I was so scared.
I responded with, “How can you get anything right without planning? How can you win?”
My grandfather said, “It’s not about winning, if you’re trying to plan to get what you want and you treat marriage like an opponent, that’s exactly how you lose. You don’t plan things against your partner, you plan with them. You don’t win arguments, you have discussions. You don’t take them down, you build them up. It’s not capturing a king, it’s building a kingdom.”
“Life isn’t throwing your partner at you, it’s giving them to you. They aren’t the one across from the table, they’re the queen at your side.”
I’ll admit Simon, I haven’t had my luck at relationships and when I saw someone as controlling as you attempt marriage, I thought you had no chance at making it work especially with someone who’s just as headstrong as you, a literal queen in Pyre’s case.
However, you’ve proven me wrong, you two are working remarkably well together and to be honest, it’s slightly frightening.
However, I know you. You, me, and even my grandfather are similar in one way I don’t want to admit.
That planning side of us, that feeling of control is necessary for us to feel comfortable and only with someone you love and trust are you ok with giving that away.
How will you be when that isn’t the case?
Your partner this week isn’t your blushing bride, it’s the one competitor here who’s more obsessed with capturing things than you are.
With her, you could plan against us, build a strategy and make us play your game, one that is methodical where every move is calculated.
We’d be two kingdoms fighting each other where strategy and power reign supreme.
This week, it’s a kingdom fighting a king and a knight.
Whilst you’re slowly plotting every move, he’s making decisions where there’s always a twist and turn.
He thinks he’s blindsiding us, he’s confusing you even more.
He’s going to render you useless because you and I both know in chess, there is no way to win with only a king and knight.
The best you can hope for is a stalemate that makes everyone feel like they wasted their time.
The only way to end the game with any dignity is conceding to the better player.
Once you take away the queen, the king won’t be far behind.
When the bishop corners you, it’s checkmate.