The Kingdom of the Seven Stars: Chaturanga

Chapter 8

The first room contained a giant chessboard.

The squares were blue and white and each one was at least two metres square. The chess pieces standing on them were black and white. They were not quite as big as the statues in the Chess Garden at home, but they were still taller than Captain Zachary. The walls of the room were crumbling. The holes in them showed the bare concrete, electrical wiring and plastic pipes hidden inside. More plants were growing in the gaps and water was dripping down from the ceiling. Hundreds of broken multi-coloured fragments from what must have been murals were scattered all over the floor and the chessboard. Two more repair robots fitted with long whirring floor brushes were sweeping the fragments off the board as they walked in.

"Here we are then, Stephen's grandchildren," said Chata, appearing on several wall screens around the room. "Welcome to your first challenge."

"Thank you, Chata. We're very happy to be here," said Alice.

"Yes. Great," said Ellen. "What do we have to do?"

"I thought we'd start with something simple," said Chata. "Out of fairness, we should both have a chance to look at each other's capabilities first. I imagine the chess-playing computers you've grown up with are a lot more advanced than I am. So we'll begin with a basic game. I've linked the lock on the doors to the next room..."

Alex looked across the room and saw the doors on the far side of the chessboard in the opposite wall.

"...to the chessboard," said Chata. "If you can achieve checkmate, the doors will unlock and you can continue."

"What happens if you checkmate us... ma'am?" said Captain Zachary.

"The same thing in reverse," said Chata. "If I win, the door you came in through unlocks and you can go back to the start and leave with no hard feelings."

"Hold on. We need the notebook." said Ellen.

"Yes. So you all keep telling me," said Chata. "But fair is fair. If you want it, you need to win."

"She's right," said Alice. "If we can't win a simple game, we don't deserve to get it."

"That's the spirit, Princess," said Chata. "And remember, Lord Blackstar and your weird friends from Sirius are in the same boat. If they lose, they're out as well. So, are you willing to play?"

"Yes," said Alex.

He was surprised again at how sure he sounded. He had never played chess like this before, not for such high stakes and not when one mistake could mean it was all over. But, as Ellen and Alice had pointed out, they were Stephen Tarquin's grandchildren. They had all been playing chess since they were old enough to understand the rules. Alex was not a grandmaster, but he was not bad either and Alice was even better. They could do this.

"Good," said Chata. "Then let's begin. As you're my guests, take white. The pieces are automatic. Just say the move you want to make out loud."

"OK," said Alex.

Nothing happened. Alex looked across at Alice, waiting for her to start. She, Ellen and Captain Zachary were all looking at him, and Alex realised he had just volunteered.

"Oh. Right. OK."

He stepped forward to the edge of the board. The giant chess pieces seemed to tower over him. It felt like standing at the edge of a forest and looking in. This was going to be a lot less convenient than looking down at a chessboard from above. He was going to have to be careful to keep track of what was going on in the parts of the board he could not see properly. Alex breathed in, hoped to the seven sisters that he was not going to make a mistake and ruin this, and started.