s1e5 fork
part three :

benny watts, part two

ohio. 1967.

the next week, i walked down the streets of ohio, a sense of dejavu hitting me.

the us championships, again.

playing benny watts, again.

but i was prepared this time, i knew that.
but i was still nervous.

"why hello beth." a taunting voice said next to me the next morning, but i found a smile creeping onto my face.

"why hello benny." i spoke smoothly. the tournament was held in some college not far from the hotel i stayed at, and seemingly everyone in the tournament stayed at as well. it seemed odd, that the best players in all the US were stuffed in what seemed to be a college theater. the chess boards i had at home were better than the ones here.

"i read about your game with borgov," he said quietly, "that must have felt terrible."

"i felt like a fool." i sighed, able to talk about it more now. and even with benny, apparently.

"i know that feeling." he muttered, "who do you have first?"

i panned the room, looking for my next prey, "manfredi." i found him kissing the chess pieces.

he clicked his tongue, "that shouldnt take too long."

the days were long, in ohio. games seemed to blend all together, maybe that was just because there were so many of them.

just like las vegas, benny and i soared up the ranks. beating all of our opponents in record times, sometimes even at the same time. id shake my opponents hand, feeling the sweat coming off of them as a sort of prize, and look over to see benny doing the same. his opponents always looked a bit more beaten down than mine, but i tried my best to ignore that part.

id play in the theater, read in the cafe, and study in my room. on the third day, i left my last match, a half hour after benny did.

i still found him outside though, catching the end of what seemed to be an interview, "...i'd tell them to read my book, of course. and to get in shape," he placed one foot on a park bench, leaning down to talk to a boy, "most people think about chess players, they think about people who look like you." i almost snorted, looking over at the skinny, nerdy, small kid holding a paper and pen. i shook my head and continued to walk away.

"harmon!" he mustve seen me, because i heard his footsteps running toward me, "wait up!"

"found you a reporter i see." i muttered, side-eying him.

he smirked, "funny, ha." we both chuckled, "so what did you do to that poor guy you played in the third round?" he looked over at me.

"which poor guy are you talking about?"

"touche." i smiled, "hey, uh, some of us have been playing down in the student union, you know, beers, speed chess, the like... you should join us."

"no thanks, i have to study." i let the smirk on my face grow, "thought i'd head to my room, read your book, shape up."

he smiled at my words, "you do realize we have the whole day off tomorrow?"

"can i ask you a question?" i said quickly, not caring about what he wanted me to do tomorrow.

"oh." he hesitated, "depends on if my answers going to give you an edge."

"seriously?" i giggled, "are you that nervous?"

his eyebrows raised, "was that the question?"

"no!" i said quickly, rocking back on my heels, "whats with the knife?"

he nodded, pulling away his long jacket to reveal the knife that is always sitting on his waist, "its for protection."

i cocked my head, "from what?"

he shrugged, "whatever." he smiled down at me, winking, "study hard."

the next night, my head pounded from the studying i had done all day. i decided to take a break and went down to the cafe to refresh my coffee, not surprised when i saw benny and his crew eating around a chess board.

"beth!" he saw me before i could try to disguise myself. i slowly made my way over.

he introduced me to his friends, and of course, invited me to play with them.

"no, im just going to get some coffee, and then ill go back to my-"

"well, weiss will get you some coffee..." he said, and one of the boys nodded, "give me some apple juice, not a crappy plastic cup though, a milk glass." he ordered the boy, and insisted on me taking his seat.

"fine. one game." i said. i had never played speed chess before, and didnt have high hopes on it helping me study for tomorrow. where i'd be playing black against benny watts.

"alright." he nodded, taking a huge swig of his juice, "shall we say, five bucks a game?" he raised a brow.

"fine."

we weaved through the game, instinct onto another instinct. and in that moment, i met a whole other game. it was quick, it was smart, it was cunning. it was beautiful. my thoughts raced through my mind, i thought faster than i thought i could. my arm played my turns and hit my clock almost on a constant motion. but our arms never grew tired, the rush of adrenaline enough to keep our minds functioning at that level helped us with that. the world seemed to fade as my eyes focused on the board.

i knew my next move before i even did my current one. no imagination, no predictions, no visions. it all, just, came to me. it came to me like lightning, overtaking me like fire.

until he beat me.

in a sigh of defeat, i opened my purse, pulling out a crisp five dollar bill and holding it out for him.

"again?" he asked, and i felt the urge in my body telling me yes.

"one more."

he wiped me out five times. a crowd steadily growing around us, i felt all the eyes staring at our fast moving arms. our fingers that danced around the pieces and brains that thought everything at once. my brain was on fire.

but i kept playing. kept feeling that feeling that fueled me to continue, told me to say yes to the next game.

i went home to my room fresh out of fives, and ones for that matter. it was insane, the rage in my brain matched the amusement in his eyes. he was better at me at this, and he knew it. he liked it.

how dare i let him have that sense of pride the day before our game. what an idiot i was, i had given him an upper hand.

tomorrow, i told myself, he'll feel it tomorrow. what i do now.

i wrapped myself in my mothers robe, taking in her scent i had yet refused to wash off, and that was enough for my brain to allow my body sleep.

♖ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♖ ♞

the next morning, i woke up early so i could sit outside. watching kids throw a frisbee, i thought how proud my mother would be. she always preached to me relaxation would do me no harm, and i started to see that she wasnt wrong all those years.

i miss you mom.

a hand hit my arm as it met with the bench i sat on, and i shifted to see benny.

"its gonna be you or me." he said, tilting his head, "walking out that door a winner today."

i just took a deep breath, which he took as an invitation to sit next to me.

"are you trying to psych me out?" i huffed, not in the mood.

"no, i dont need to do that to beat you." he looked over at me, and i sent him a glare, "look, im sorry about yesterday, okay? i wasnt trying to hustle you."

"werent you?"

"come on beth," he groaned, "youre the best here."

"you held me up well enough yesterday."

"yeah but that doesnt count, thats speed chess."

"you beat me in las vegas."

"that was a while ago, beth." he said, meeting my eye, "you were too hung up on doubling my pawns, but youre better now. i won't be able to get away with that again."

i leaned forward to place my elbows on my knees, shaking my head, "do you ever go through games in your head? like just go all the way through them?"

he shrugged, "doesnt everybody?"
that did not settle the feeling in my stomach.

when we met again, it was twenty minutes later, on the stage that now just had one table instead of six.

this was it. benny, part two.

we shook hands, and took our seats.

i clicked his clock to let him start, and the rest was a blur.

♖ ♞ ♖ ♞ ♖ ♞

"in thirty moves..." benny muttered that night. he had asked me to a drink, and we sat at a bar, drinking beer.

"not many?" i smirked over at him, and he grunted in response.

i took the last swig of my bottle, tilting it further up.

"looks like youre gonna out drink me too." he muttered, glaring at the bottle when im sure he meant to direct it at me.

"i really appreciate the way youre taking this." i smiled, leaning my cheek on my palm.

he stared at his own drink, "im raging inwardly."

"well," i sighed "it doesnt show."

he shook his head, "what are you going to do about borgov?" the sentence made my vision blurry, but i shook my head quickly to clear it.

"i dont know, i dont even have a passport, or the right clothes."

he swallowed his drink quickly, shaking his head, "im not talking about paris, im talking about moscow."

i looked over at him, confused.

"what do they not deliver mail in kentucky?" he chuckled, "the moscow invitational. the us winner gets invited."

i shrugged as we ordered more drinks.

"how do i get to moscow if i go?"

"uh, well, when i went the federation got my ticket and then this church group covered the rest."odd.

"did you have a second?"

he laughed, "weiss." the kid from speed chess night.

"weiss?" i laughed as well.

"it would be tough to go to russia alone." he said and i laughed as we got our drinks.

we talked about moscow more, but i found myself not listening to his words. i focused on how his lips moved as he spoke, and his blond hair fell from behind his ear to cover the side of his face. on a moment of delusion, i moved to sweep it back into its place.

he just stared at me, and i felt my cheeks flush, "i like your hair."

seriously, beth?

"mhm, sure you do." he said, eyeing me, "but what about moscow?"

"four russian chess players is a lot of russian chess players."

"they'd be murderous," he muttered, "but youre the only american i can think of that has a chance at beating them."

i reminded him of my latest fate with a certain russian, but he seemed ot brush it off, "when do you go to paris?"

"in five weeks."

"well, youll need a good trainer." he said, taking my second beer for himself, "not beltik, someone better. more mature."

"i dont even know if im going anymore." i said, taking another sip of my beer. he pulled it away from my lips.

"what are you gonna do instead, huh?" he asked, lifting up the bottle in my hands, "get drunk?"

"i dont even know if im good enough-"

"youre the best there is." he seemed pretty set, his gaze never leaving mine.

i sighed, forcing my face to stay at a neutral expression, "whod you have in mind?" i asked, knowing full well who he wanted to train me, though.

he shrugged, "can you come to new york?"

♖ ♖