Black And White

Playing chess with the kids at Future Hope, I've realized how much of their personalities come out so clearly through the game. Sujoy was the first boy I played with, eager, excited, and mischievous as he took advantage of my many mistakes but ultimately kind when dishing out my defeat.

Mangal was my next opponent. At first, he didn't speak much but after we had gotten to know each other's ways a bit better, he began to break out in hindi songs and remark comically on my moves. Ajay was always overconfident but also very helpful, letting me take back moves to try different strategies. Sandip started off quietly with little interaction but has started to become incredibly excited and laughs with glee after once again killing my queen.

Abdul has always been a boy of few words but incredible intelligence as he seemingly thinks ten steps ahead and always thrashes me, flashing a quick smile and respectfully shaking my hand each time, no matter how stupid I played. Milan always smiles as he moves his pieces, seemingly carefree but always calculating what to do next. Surojit has been humble from the beginning, exclaiming that he really couldn't play chess very well at all and proceeding to beat me three times (unfortunately it doesn't mean much to beat me).

Though Vikki doesn't play anymore, he tells me he learned chess by observing others, picking up and mastering the game as fast as he learns the world capitals and global knowledge. Even the younger boys join in. Firoz is always the helpful one, asking each time to assist me and making sure I know what I'm doing. Abhijit knows little but is always offering advice (although often he intuitively understands what's going on and always seems to surprise me). Zaihid naughtily steals pieces from the box but his goodhearted shines through as he returns all of them back, whispering "sorry Uncle" and smiling his unscoldable smile.

Each boy's temperament, so volatile each day, is made a little bit more clear and stable for the duration of our game on these sixty four squares. It's amazing how much their gameboard personalities translate to their actual thoughts and actions. Just by playing this ancient game, I think I'm learning a lot about who each child really is. In any case, I'm using this as my excuse to keep on playing.