The Game of Chess by Richard Short

Hector Stein spent every minute of every day playing chess against his good friend Heinz Spector. Sometimes he took a break from the game to fill their glasses with vodka and once a day he would take a bath while his friend snoozed, but it was not very often that either man looked up from the board. It could be expected of Heinz Spector; he was a terminal bachelor and would otherwise cause trouble in town. Hector Stein though had a wife, and all that chess drove her round the bend!"Hector, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me - Hector!""One second dear""Hector look at me""Just one minute, I've got my eye on something""Hector, you never look at me, always at your game!""I know I know, but I love you""Hector!""Please dear, one second""Gah!"Twenty years like this and Helda Stein had barely had a marriage to speak of. Twenty years of playing second fiddle to a board game, it was almost enough to make Helda throw herself in the canal. But then one morning Heinz Spector called on the house and Hector wasn't to be found. Heinz and Helda scratched their heads until Hector turned up in the afternoon, at a loss with himself; "I have a disease that will soon make me lose the feeling in my limbs" he told Helda and Heinz. So it did, almost at once Hector Stein lost all sensitivity in his fingers and within a week his arms stopped moving; swinging at his sides like hung meat. After a fortnight Hector began falling about in the house and not long after he lost the use of his feet and legs completely. Hector Stein was now in effect just a head and moving the pieces on the chess board was no longer possible. Instead Hector sat in the corner of the room with a face as black as coal barking orders at Helda who moved the pieces for him. This is much better thought Helda (who had begun to enjoy the game)."Now I know how you feel my dear Hector, chess really is a wonderful pastime!""Huh!" grunted Hector.This surliness in Hector didn't last long, before the end of the month he had lost all capacity for speech. For a while he held a pencil in his mouth and scribbled moves on a sheet of paper. This ability was soon lost, but not before Helda had begun to ignore her husband's instructions, which caused Hector to seethe silently. Heinz Spector felt pity for his friend and tried to interpret his wishes. But he didn't try too hard because Hector was a very good player whereas Helda was very bad; Hector Stein lived on for ten years in his vegetative state but he didn't see his wife win a single match against his friend.One day Heinz Spector turned up at the house drunk and challenged Helda to a game. Hector was wheeled up to the board and soon saw that the drunken Heinz was deliberately letting Helda win. What is he up to? Thought Hector. Then Hector saw Heinz looking down his wife's top. Hector thrashed around inside but there was not a ripple on the surface. Heinz and Helda played on but despite Heinz's worst efforts he eventually won. "Not to mind, let's get a drink Helda""Oo, yes, I'll just get Hector"But Hector had stopped himself breathing because of his shame and had died.