Chapter 1

Jake had always known that he was different from everyone else. Even as a child, he found joy in things that were different from his peers. Toys and games did not interest him, and he found them boring because he was very good at them. It took him only moments to figure out the patterns in games, and he found that there was no excitement in any of it for him. This led to him not having many friends, as many saw him as a know-it-all who could solve puzzles and beat them without any effort.

But one day, everything changed when his worried father introduced him to the game of chess. His father had hired a grand master to play with him, and for the first time, Jake lost consecutively. He couldn't believe how many patterns there were in the game of chess. Playing the game was the first time his father had seen him excited and smiling. From that day forward, Jake knew he was going to play the game of chess for life and be the best at it. The game felt like the missing piece to himself, and he was able to live a normal and happy life for a long time. He made friends and even moved on to having a family, marrying his high school sweetheart, Angela, and having a beautiful child together, Mary.

But everything changed when Jake, at the age of 27, had been winning flawlessly in the global chess tournament until his Sudden loss in the Finals which made him spiral into depression, shutting everyone out of his life. This continued for a year, until the eve of Mary's birthday.