Chapter 8 – Texas State Championship

[3rd POV]

"And how in God's name do you know how to play chess?!"

Ms. Davis was calm on the way back. But she had questions. So once the group got back to the orphanage, she guided Apollo down to the basement and immediately started questioning him.

"I read about it in a book."

"And where did you find a book about chess?"

The orphanage was poor. The only books they had were a couple dozen outdated textbooks that were falling apart. And she knew he wasn't using those. Apollo spent all his time outside.

"I went to the library."

"The nearest library is an hour away! Don't lie to me young man!"

"It's the truth! And it's only 5 minutes if you run."

A pause enveloped the room.

Ms. Davis considered the situation. It was possible that Apollo was a chess prodigy. If that were the case, maybe she could use that to keep the orphanage open. She might even be able to get more funding.

As she contemplated the possibilities, Apollo interrupted her thoughts.

"If you let me go to the tournament, I'll win. Then I'll be able to the nationals. And if I win that, they'll have to send me to compete against the Soviets!"

Ms. Davis sighed. It's like this kid could read her mind.

If that happened, there would be no way the orphanage would be shut down. She supposed there was no other choice.

"Fine. I'll let you go."

Apollo cheered with a smile that could blind the sun. He hugged Ms. Davis and said a quick "Thank you" before rushing up the stairs before she could change her mind.

Ms. Davis rolled her eyes and sighed.

"This kid…"

.

Time skip to January 1984

[Main POV]

"So, when did you start playing chess?"

I was currently on a bus to the chess tournament. Obviously, Ms. Davis didn't trust me enough to go alone so she sent Olivia.

Olivia was one of the older girls at the orphanage. She was 17, and was tall for her age, with brown hair that went well with her blue eyes.

Like most girls at the orphanage, she didn't really know what she was going to do with her life. She didn't have the best grades, but she was sociable. It was one of the reasons she volunteered to supervise me. She wanted to get out of the orphanage.

"Last month."

"Wait what?! You just started playing chess last month? Then how are you so good?"

I turned away, looking around us. Luckily, there was nobody around us. Not that we had anything to hide.

"I don't know why I'm good." I lied. "I'm just good I guess."

After getting off the bus, I look over at the high school.

I was not nervous. Nope. Not at all. Being the God of Knowledge made it practically impossible for me to lose. Then why did something feel off?

"You ready?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah, let's –" I stumbled as images flash in my mind. I saw images flash in my mind.

I saw myself beating chess player after chess player. And an annoying kid saying, "I'm not insane, my mother had me tested."

As the images disappeared, I continued stumbling before leaning into it and doing a frontal flip.

Olivia rushed up to me and asked, "What the hell was that? Are you sure you're okay?"

I brushed some imaginary dust off my clothes before answering her.

"I'm fine. Let's win this thing."

.

Inside, we found a line of people signing up. Immediately, everyone looked at Olivia. Everyone wondered what a beautiful girl was doing here.

I glanced at her and saw that she was clearly uncomfortable. Sighing, I took out $5 and gave it to her, "This is going to take a while. Why don't you go explore the city. I don't want you to be bored here."

Like a lightning bolt, she swiped the money and rushed out of the room. I swear I saw a trail of dust behind her.

After she left, everyone eventually went about their regular business.

.

I stood in line and waited.

Five minutes later, I reached the front of the line and came face to face with a high schooler. Oh shit, I know him.

"Hi Paul, I'm here for the tournament."

He looked at me with wide eyes before calming himself down. He muttered "deep breathes, deep breaths."

"Do you have a clock?"

"No."

"We have a clock-sharing system. If your opponent doesn't have one, come back, and we'll loan you one. What's your rating?"

"I don't have a rating."

"Have you played in a tournament before?"

"No."

He looked increasingly frustrated. As I looked into his mind, all I saw was chaos. And a lot of screaming.

"I would put you in beginners, but I know better, so I'll just put you in the Open. What's your name?"

"Apollo."

.

As expected, the matches were easy. There were over 400 people from all over Texas all there to try to become the state champion.

But they didn't stand a chance. Chess after the Internet was on a whole other level. People had access to limitless resources and could practice to their heart's content.

But in the 1980s, it was a totally different scenario. Half the people I played didn't know how to handle the Catalan, the London System, or the Berlin Defense. While these openings had been played before, they weren't well known. Although, even if they did know, it wouldn't help them against a mind-reader.

"Check and mate. Good game."

After finishing my 9th match, I walked towards the table for the final match. There was already a crowd gathered around the table.

"You know who the kid is?"

"I couldn't even last 40 seconds."

"At least he's less annoying than the other kid."

Eventually the other semifinal match ended, and I saw my opponent. It's the kid from my vision. And he looks like Sheldon Cooper from Young Sheldon.

He robotically walked up to me and said, "Hello, I am Sheldon Cooper. You are Apollo."

"That's my name."

"You don't appear to have a last name."

"Really? I didn't notice."

"You really should. Last names are important. They're widely used in a professional and academic context …"

Sheldon ended up giving a 5 minute monologue regarding the importance of last names.

After he finished, the crowd around us let out a large sigh of relief. Some were asleep.

"That's great, Sheldon," I replied, "d4, your move."

.

"I lost."

Sheldon and I were currently sitting on a bench outside the high school. He was waiting for his dad, and I was waiting for Olivia.

I had a trophy that with "1984 Texas Chess Champion" written on it. Looking towards him, I felt kind of bad for him. His was curled up in a ball with his knees against his chest. So I tried to make him feel better.

"Sheldon, it's okay. It's not like you're trying to be a professional chess player, right?"

"Well, no, but –"

"But nothing, this doesn't matter to you."

Sheldon thought about what I said. After a while, he smiled and responded, "You know what? You're right. I suppose allowing a lesser-mind to have a small achievement in their life will significantly help them."

My eye twitched as I listened to him. While this kind of comment might be funny to hear on TV, it was totally insufferable in real life.

As I saw Olivia a block away, I couldn't resist. I quickly told Sheldon, "Agreed. Second place will be quite the achievement for a lesser-mind like yourself. Anyway, see you never!"

I jumped up and ran off with my trophy towards Olivia.

That day, my name went on a list. That list would not be the last.