LITMIR.BIZ

      ISBN 978-5-0060-0995-0

      Created with Ridero smart publishing system

      Elena Shatrandzh

      Three worlds: Earth, Rukkhaya, Bellas. Three teams of chess players, three eternal comparisons: Russia, West and East. Sophie, Keira, Mark, Artem and Alisa, a team of young winners, end up in Chaturangi, a world of chess full of mysteries, wonders and magic. The children stand to learn the secrets of other worlds, get acquainted with creatures originating from different parts of the Universe… Will they, just children, be able to take the varnish off, defeat evil thanks to friendship and protect their world? To do this, they must win the main match of the Grandmaster Tournament. On the other hand, would our Russian boys and girls refuse to play chess? A game that bestows clear consciousness, analytical thinking and the geometric art of moving chess pieces?!

      Chapter 1.

      Sophie’s team feeling bored

      A year ago, Sophie’s team won all the competitions held in Russia and now it was in Cuzco, an ancient city in Peru, hosting the famous Secret Games tournament that gathered together children’s chess teams from all over the globe.

      “Why are all tournaments held in the most remote corners of the planet? In the most boring cities, where there is absolutely nothing to do?”, Keira, the second board and Sophie’s right hand, the most courageous and cheerful girl on the planet, said, whining as always. Certainly, it is difficult to stay put in one place for a long time if you have such a fiery competitive spirit. She was an attacker playing lightning-fast, attacking games, ready to give up all her pieces so that they didn’t prevent her from checkmating her opponent in a few brilliant moves. This, however, was also her weakness. Therefore, the team would not let her play against opponents who loved positional styles.

      “Keira, such places are needed so that we cannot focus on anything but chess, plus, you must admit, there is a certain magic about small towns”, the captain tried to reason with her.

      “Sophie, only the high stone jungles of Singapore or New York have magic to them. It was there where really cool tournaments were held last month! Mark, tell her we need some adventure to recharge our batteries before the final round and make sure to get out and explore every dark secret corner of this ‘magical’ town,” Keira finished sarcastically.

      “Keira is still a nuisance, but now she is right”, Mark a merry fellow, the soul of the company, always ready for adventure, said, agreeing with Keira. His playing style was attack. However, he didn’t attack as violently as Keira did. His style was more of an advance and retreat, kind of probing the opponent. Magnus Carlsen was his favorite chess player. Mark had a passion for difficult games and complex end plays that required the quick calculation of a lot of moves without a single mistake.

      Virtually from her birth, Sophie could not do without a chessboard. Chess was an inseparable part of her life full of constant tournaments, different cities, all kinds of gatherings. She was 11 years old. She was just about to finish elementary school, but she was already a world chess champion among her age mates, just like her friends – a dream team – were champions of city-wide as well as Russian and world championships.

      Sophie united all the guys by pure accident, since she always considered herself a loner. Playing in a team was a big responsibility and, most importantly, she never wanted to lose just because someone couldn’t keep up with her or let the team down by losing – the worst thing that could happen. The mood of each team member was important for everyone. They were like arms and legs of one organism. Sophie was the leader of her team, a real captain. She was strong in spirit, responsible, kind, fair. Her playing style was ‘creative’. She liked to mix different styles, set brilliant traps. She liked to play for the sake of art and the beauty of the game and not just for the sake of winning. Sophie dreamt of becoming a doctor without giving up participating in major chess tournaments and, perhaps, she was already obsessed with the Hippocratic oath that invoked huge responsibility she felt for her team. So, when Mark agreed with Keira, there was no option but to find an adventure for everyone.

      “I would quote Alice’s favorite Shakespeare now: “These violent delights have violent ends…”, the Captain started.

      “Oh nooo, no more of Shakespeare, Sophie! Suffice it that Alice always quotes him!!

      “I won’t”, Sophie said, laughing. “Yesterday, after the game, I found in my room a handbill for an underground labyrinth that only the ‘most worthy’ can pass”.

      “And you didn’t say a word?”, Keira even leaped up in anticipation.

      “That’s what we need!”, Mark agreed.

      “Great, since you agree, get prepared in 15 minutes. Have Artem and Alice prepared as well. Keira, since it’s an underground labyrinth, a white dress will not be a good idea…”

      “Yes, I’ve got the point,” Keira shouted leaving the room.

      When Marka and Keira left, Sophie quickly found that handbill, put it in her backpack, having first memorized the approximate location of the entrance to the labyrinth, put on her favorite purple sneakers, wrote to her mother a note that the next couple of hours she would be busy getting prepared for the next game and made for the exit from the hotel. Indeed, the guys were already there waiting for their captain.

      “Keiiiraa!!” they had nothing to do but exclaim since the main attacker was wearing a knee-length white dress with rhinestones and a bell skirt, shining like a New Year’s tree laden with her neon bracelets.

      “We tried to reason with her, but you know if someone wears a white dress, only another white dress can make her take it off,” Alice said, joking. “You know, Sophie, I’m almost sure that today we’ll need luck, and Keira is our Caissa.”

      “Does the goddess of chess, Caissa, have any idea that she is being compared to our Keira?” Sophie said and gave a smile. “And if this is the case, Alice, then maybe we should all wear white?”

      Not that the team believed in the paranormal, but Alice was not by chance the team’s intuitivist, psychologist and a game planner and played many other roles; but most importantly, if she believed that luck was needed, then it would be needed for sure.

      “No, I think one white dress will suffice, and one more thing: we have to go, tick-tock”.

      Alice literally felt what would happen next, knowing when to retreat and when to attack. Her playing style was indefinite. She, like a chameleon, skillfully adapted to the opponent she played with. The style resembled something between that of Alexandra Goryachkina and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Her excessive gentleness was a flaw that had become a virtue, deceptively tempting the opponent into a trap.

      Sophie led the guys quite confidently – Cusco is a small town, so memorizing the approximate location of the labyrinth was not so difficult; the guys smoothly got to the place, almost in silence, as if everyone expected something important to happen, and, therefore, tried to remember the exciting sensations for future victories, like when you recall the nights and mornings of Christmas in order to achieve a feeling of complete happiness and tedious waiting for a miracle. What makes us think that something magical is about to happen? We do not analyze our happiness; we just feel it, hoping for the best. That’s what the guys felt for the time being. So, they seized the moment to take part in the important last game the next day full of strength and energy.

      It was only when they approached the place, they kind of woke up and looked at each other in surprise.

      “Do you feel the

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