Now, on this day, the Restless Knight was busy, running around in her feet, looking for something. She went through all her shirts, jeans, and jacket but to no avail. She could not find the pack of bubble gum she was looking for. Her mother said "Restless, did you look under your bed." But, Restless replied "Mom why would it be under my bed." Her mother replied "Well you've looked everywhere else." Ahhh, the process of elimination, the reasoning behind all scientific, logical, non bubble blowing thought...and an adult's answer for everything. Restless looked under the bed but all she could find were her shoes, an empty bubble gum wrapper, and a pawn. Ahhh, a clue! "The Great Pawn Hunter must have eaten it," said Restless. "Well, put on your shoes and we will go to the store.", said her mother. Restless went to put on her shoes and what fell out but her pack of "Bigger Bubble" bubble gum, a God send, just what she was looking for. She felt guilty for thinking such bad things about the Great Pawn Hunter. But, all that was left, in the pack of bubble gum, were empty bubble gum wrappers and a half eaten stick of gum...only enough to practice with. "Can we pick up a pack of gum at the store?" asked Restless. "OKAY," said her mother "if it will make you happy."
On the way to the store they passed Old Maestro. Restless knew that it would take him some time to reach their street collecting bottles. They waved and beeped the horn as they drove by. Now, after they arrived at the store, Restless ran to the candy isle and started looking for her brand of gum "Bigger Bubble" the brand that astronauts chew. But she couldn't find it. That was her favorite gum. She would have to settle for a brand unknown to her. Well, "How about this one," said her mother. "That's chewing gum," said Restless "Not bubble gum." Adults...go figure. Finally, she picked a brand hoping for the best...
She arrived home with her mother to see the Great Pawn Hunter sitting on her porch extracting something from his hair. It was the remnants of another successful bubble. His smile was glowing from ear to ear and so was the bubble gum. They ran into the house, through the hallway and into the kitchen. This was the place where so many contests were held in the past. Yes, held in this perfect place were the pie eating contest, the house of cards contest, and now coming to a kitchen near you ...a bubble blowing contest.
Well, the Great Pawn Hunter took out a piece of "Bigger Bubble" bubble gum and started chewing. "You stole that bubble gum," said Restless. "I did not," said the Great Pawn Hunter "I acquired it." But, the look on his face could not be described as the Restless Knight produced her fresh pack of "Ultra Bubble,(new and improved)" bubble gum. "Want a piece?" asked Restless. The Great Pawn Hunter said "No thanks, your old brand will do just fine." He was very confident. The chess players chewed and chewed. Even though Ultra bubble was clearly the better bubble gum, the Great Pawn Hunter had more experience with Bigger Bubble. In effect, cancelling each other out. The chess players were still chewing as Old Maestro rang the doorbell.
Old Maestro entered into the kitchen and saw the two chess players in a heated contest with bubbles growing out of their faces as if they were blimps. He sensed the tension between the two. "Can I have a piece?" asked Old Maestro. The chess players didn't know that Old Maestro chewed gum. After all, he only had three teeth left in his mouth. But, somehow he managed. He blew his first bubble, and it was...a small one. "Sorry Old Maestro," said the Great Pawn Hunter "we have already blown bigger bubbles than that." But Old Maestro was not finished. He motioned with his hand as if to say "Wait a minute" and produced something grand something that would deflate the tension and raise the bubble blowing contest to a new level...a bubble within a bubble. They cheered and applauded and they forgot what they were fighting about. For, they both wanted to learn how to do it. Yes, Old Maestro was a true master. Now they had a common goal set by a great diplomat. But, some things are meant to be kept secret and revealed another day. For now, though, it was time for a chess lesson. They set up the chess board:
"A knight," said Old Maestro " moves like the letter 'L'." If you look at the knight upside down it is shaped like the letter 'L' too. However,
if you put a pebble on all the squares that the knight can move to you will find its hidden shape." The chess players did this and
found that the knight was really a 'circle'.
"Place the knight on the side of the board", asked Old Maestro. The chess players did and discovered that on the side of the board
the knight is only half of a circle. Old Maestro asked them "So, what would you rather have...a full circle or half a circle?". The chess players replied "A full circle". Old Maestro asked them "Where do you get the full circle?" and they replied "In the center". "Yes", said Old Maestro "and that is why we should attack the center...so our pieces can have full shape."
Old Maestro said "Knights are allowed to hop over other pieces, But here is a secret: Knights are better than the bishops
when the center is closed and locked up with pawns" and he showed them an example. "On the board", he said "the knight
can jump over all the pawns and can travel free. However, the bishop is controlled by the knight. It can not move because
the pawns block its escape and the knight controls the (d8) and (f8) squares."Well, the chess lesson was over but not before the Great Pawn Hunter had seen the error of his ways and offered Restless the rest of her bubble gum.
and the Great Pawn Hunter leaves you with this piece of wisdom: