An Age Old Problem

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Bit of a cheat this one. It's a piece of (very) short fiction originally posted you know where. It was one of the few things I saved and after reading it again I thought it deserved a wider audience. Apologies if you've seen it before! It's called 'Check Mate'. The Grandmaster allowed himself a brief moment of self-congratulation at his last move. It had to be the briefest of moments. So many boards to service! He sighed as he heaved his heavy, ageing frame into the seat at the next board. This was the one causing him trouble. All of the others were under control, going exactly how he wanted. But not this one! He was under attack from every angle, rapidly losing control. His brow furrowed as he checked his timepiece. 2000 or thereabouts! How had it got into this state? He did his best to get around every board as quickly as he could but there were so many. Even so, it was only 2000 years since he last intervened on this one. How the hell had things degenerated in that time? Others had lasted millions of years but this lot had managed to screw up so emphatically in such a short space of time. He checked his timepiece again, aware that he needed to make a move. Do something! A look of exasperation spread across his craggy face. "Forget it! They're beyond help. They're on their own now!" he growled, and with a casual flick of his hand the Grandmaster Of Destiny sent the board marked 'Earth' and all its accompanying pieces, spiraling into the void.