Stephen Tranter’s The Mystery of Chess (Tara Turner) by GM Jon

Sucked into the vortex Of fear and wonder With glimpses of glory Or dread of blunder This ancient terrain Of the battle of minds Yields hollow promises And precious finds What is this land The gods have unfurled Where reality melts A kaleidoscope world? The glorious soldiers Myopic and brave Look only ahead To the battle they crave Some are assassins In the centre and wing Some dream of ascension Or stay with the King The resourceful knight A quirky friend Eyes up the foe From around the bend While the Bishop twins Look far, as they must To survey new targets Of their deadly thrust Now the patient Rook The Monarch’s best friend Keeps his latent power For the battle’s end But all must pray That the impulsive queen For the sake of the realm Stays strong and serene The Monarch’s traverse Whether long or short Ends with safe haven At the Royal fort There, loyal subjects Scour foreign terrain And must never incur The Sovereign’s disdain A timeless quest With no horizon in sight What Spirit conceived This mysterious rite? When you enter this world Let fear be your friend But with dreams of glory Fight on to the end Are you here just a guest With a dubious role? Or merely a witness With deluded control? Who really dictates These moments of awe? Do the chess gods alone Know what is in store?