It occurs to me that my offspring do not know that my Daddy was an avid checker player. We always had a checkerboard handy and anytime a visitor came over sooner or later he was asked if he would enjoy a game of checkers. It was a happy interlude for Dad and a quiet time for the rest of us. Sometimes, when it got serious, we would all stand around and watch. All of us learned to play both checkers and chess, but checkers seemed to be Dad’s favorite. He seldom lost.

All this comes to mind on viewing the story of chess champion Magnus Carlsen.
Mozart of Chess: Magnus Carlsen

We may have a latent chess genius among us. Could be in the genes?  How would we know? The young are consumed with twiddling their thumbs over video games that seek to splatter fellow humans over the landscape. It occurs to me that chess or checkers present a more peaceful battlefield as well as a more challenging game. How would I know, never having done any virtual killing. (O, I forgot about Whackamole!)

I must find a checkerboard somewhere and get it out when the kids come over. Wonder were I put the chessmen. Do I remember rightly that the pawn moves forward one or two spaces, but captures on the diagonal? Time to freshen up.