Armin Justice vs Zayn - Round 1

"Knight to f6."1

I commanded my knight to mirror the exact maneuver of his, and the two warriors on steeds locked eyes across the battlefield. 

"c4."

One of Zayn's peasants took two steps forward, trembling at the might of my army that was just three steps in front of him.

'English opening.'

"g6."

I ordered one of my pawns to take a step forward. It stood beside the knight that previously galloped past the front line.  Zayn scoffed before moving yet another one of his knights forward. "Knight to c3." This knight stood behind the aforementioned pawn of his, a formation I'd noticed him use before when observing one of his other matches.

Without even a moment's hesitation, I commanded my bishop just behind the knight and pawn on row six. "Bishop to g7."

As if he felt challenged, Zayn responded even faster than I did, placing a pawn right beside the pawn he moved earlier. "d4."

The entire classroom was dead silent. I could probably hear a pin drop, though I was so locked into the game, it would have probably been ignored. Even the teacher was completely enamored by the match in front of her as her two prodigies went head to head. I knew this because I could hear her holding her breath.

I followed up by castling, which is a technique that allows one to move two pieces at once. My rook moved two spaces to the right while my king moved two spaces to the left. With that, my setup was completed.

My king was surrounded by his rook, bishop, knight, and three pawns, creating an impenetrable wall. If Zayn wanted to kill my king, it would take sacrifice and strategy, however, he was more than capable of doing so. Just because my formation was completed, the war wasn't won just yet.

Despite my intimidating formation staring his army down, Zayn moved the moment I placed my pieces down. "Bishop to f4." His bishop glided across the battlefield and stood face-to-face with my formation without even an ounce of fear in its eyes.

This surprised me, though only for a brief moment. Zayn could tell I wasn't expecting it as he chuckled slightly under his breath. He thought he was getting in my head, but I wouldn't break that easily.

"d5." 

My pawn took two steps forward, finding himself face-to-face with Zayn's two pawns. My pawn on d5 and his pawn on c4 were in killing range from each other. However, to my surprise, Zayn did not command his pawn to make the killing blow, no he moved his queen beside his knight, just a step diagonal from his pawn.

"Queen to b3."

'He brought his queen out?'

"Pawn takes c4." Swiftly, my pawn assassinated Zayn's, removing it from the battlefield permanently. Though before my pawn could celebrate the defeat of another, Zayn's queen made her move.

"Queen takes c4."

The queen, with her sword in hand, stepped forward and sliced through my pawn in the blink of an eye, making light work of the peasant. It was an honorable sacrifice, a pawn for a pawn.

'Is he insane?'

Making moves with the queen this early wasn't a typical strategy, yet there she was standing in the frontlines beside her pawn and bishop. I figured he must've been confident to pull off a stunt like that.

I hovered my hand over my rook who waited patiently to get into the action, however, my hand stopped as I made a realization. In my mind, I scanned the battlefield, and like two hungry beasts, Zayn's bishop and queen were staring at my c7 pawn, towering over it with an undying itch to destroy it.

"c6."

I commanded my pawn forward by just a single step, pushing it to safety for the time being.  I heard Zayn exhale humorously as if he expected me to fall for his bait, but I'd be a liar to say I wasn't close.

Instantly, Zayn commanded yet another pawn to move forward. 

"e4."

His e4 pawn stood side by side with his pawn on d4, having the queen and a bishop right beside them. It was an intimidating line of defense, but I wasn't dumb enough to engage with it just yet. 

My knight on f6 could easily kill his e4 pawn, but if were to do that, it would be slain in an instant. Zayn's playstyle was unlike anything I had ever seen before, it was as if he only had intentions of baiting me into a bad move. 

"Do you think because I can't see, I'm going to fall for your tricks?" 

"It's your move."

The bastard ignored my question, but we both knew the unspoken answer.

"Knight to d7."

I commanded my knight to move directly in front of our queen, protecting her for the time being and blocking my bishop for now. Zayn let out a confused hum for just a second, perhaps due to my uncommon maneuver, before commanding yet another one of his soldiers.

"Rook to D1." 

Zayn's rook marched horizontally to stand beside his king. This move may have seemed like it didn't serve any purpose to the uninitiated, but if he ordered his d4 pawn to move, his rook would have the perfect line of sight on my queen. Regardless, I continued on with my own attack. 

"Knight to b6."

As soon as I made this move, I could hear some reactions from the crowd around us. His queen was in the line of sight of my knight whose sword was aimed directly at her neck. Murmurs from the crowd only continued when Zayn made his move.

"Queen to c5."

'He is insane.'

At this point in our battle, his queen was the lone warrior on the frontline of the battlefield. This is something you are taught to never do as a beginner. Knowing this, some might see this as a sign that this kid must not know what he's doing, but I wasn't foolish enough to have thoughts such as that. No, Zayn was undergoing some sort of unseen advanced technique and it was honestly horrifying.

Regardless, I didn't hesitate as I commanded my bishop, who then had a clear path. "Bishop to g4."

Instantly, Zayn commanded his bishop directly in front of mine. "Bishop to g5." he said it nonchalantly as if he knew I was going to make my exact move and did this as an instant reaction to it. I tried to understand what the purpose of this move was, but I didn't have time to think.

I could feel my heart pounding, hell I could even hear it. Part of me thought maybe Zayn could hear it too. As my heart raced, I felt myself losing my cool. 

'Why is he being so aggressive? I'm fully set up, yet he's the one on the attack. Why?'

But then it hit me. I understood why my grandfather forced me to learn this game. 

I understood what chess had to do with boxing.

"Knight to a4."

I commanded my knight to take a position on the right-most part of the battlefield, right in the jaws of his queen and c3 knight. I heard a few whispers as I made this move, and I could sense Zayn hesitate for a second for the first time in the entire match.

This move might seem crazy to anyone who's been keeping track of the match closely. His queen and knight could easily slay my knight right where he stood; however, that would win Zayn the fight, not the war.

If either of his units were to change positions on the battlefield, it would open up the opportunity for me to make a move on the units they were protecting. I was simply sacrificing my knight for the greater good of the war, for the good of the king.

'Boxing isn't just about who is the strongest physically, it's about having a strong mind as well.'

Zayn's plan was to overwhelm me, to psych me out by being aggressive. I imagined him and I in a ring. His punches were fast, powerful, and overwhelming. I dodged and weaved, but I found myself with my back against the turnbuckles. 

I realized I couldn't let myself be intimidated by him. As I found myself blocking his assault, I waited for an opening before delivering a punch to his liver, changing the flow of the entire fight.

That is what my knight to a4 was. 

A punch to Zayn's liver.