64 squares

He stabbed her 64 times
and punched her 32 times
the court said.
It happened outside the tournament.

He lost his game,
then lost his nerve
then killed his wife.

By doing so
he killed chess
and us.

Opening Symphony

Evans played Giuoco's piano next to Ruy
and in the audience sat Petroff
who sipped on his Scotch.
A theatre in Vienna, with Dutch ushers
and a Yogloslav box office that collected
without fail.

An Old Indian took the stage
and sang "Evergreen"which ended
to a standing ovation.
Can and his friend Carro delivered a sombre
adage called, "Deep Blue",
and brought philosophers Paulsen and Tchigorin
to tears.

It spoke of a man who became
the King of the Indians
and who quit his passion
to save his people from a tyrannt,
whose punitive ways
needed correction.

The man lost his crown
to his student,
and chose to save the world.

Lions

Lions play differently at dusk
and when they get together
for a game
the whole forest shudders.

Big cats dont usually fall in love
but when they do
all pandemonium breaks loose.

Playing chess with a lioness,
one runs the risk of being gobbled up
after the game has ended,
if offcourse you are the victor.

If not, well, still you are most likely
to get eaten.

Lions play with big hearts
and being big cats
tend to get bruised
easily.

Lions play the bravest
of chess.

indecent proposal

it was a strip tease on g6
an evacuation from Hades
Serbian coercion at f3
vacant dark squares
after a Bishop cull.

Delirious, the King moved out
dagger in hand, wondering
without baggage,
a somnambulist blindfolded
feeling his way to dusty dearth.

No Dragon to defend him,
the Yugoslav sabre glistened,
a lascivious gaze at a misplaced
queen.
He offered her his head.

Instead she drew her sword,
and like a caged butterfly
taunted by a macabre collector
malicious sport was made.

The soil softened
dreams turned bright red,
to f3 metal whose cold kiss
invited the screams.

An indecent proposal.

gone

You held my pieces
They found you the one morning
reading a book, of your many interesting books...

this morning your pages filled blank spaces
and gently you lifted up your head
and breathed with the world.

You held my pieces
with a deep sense of knowing
that these would never leave you.

Rest now.
We will play chess again
in heaven.

away

it was in transit when I landed
between moves of a different kind
the night was black, while i saw
the geometry of hidden dreams.

to understand, i remembered words
of the masters, my heart smiled
at a glance,
and at a glance as seconds ticked almost
into stillness, was left,
near and as has been, away.

a lover's quarrel

He wanted to begin with e4
she insisted on a slower d4
he wanted open files and space
she preferred a slow build up.

He sacked, she found the fault
a game of black and white,
he attacked, her defence was sound
Tal unleashed against a Karpovian lady.

Yet, in the end there was no mate.
A drawn match was born,
and they spoke afterwards
with little words between them
yet discovered so much more.

signs

a cube has fallen from the stars
and on sixty four squares
the secrets of the universe are revealed

molecules breathe out micro seconds
and a world of many worlds project
images across the sky

every beat that ever past present
every registry that sunk into the soil
like trees show their leaves

a cube has fallen from the sky
and out of many values
i finally feel understood