Retrograde recollection

"So you guys couldn't figure it out?" Daria asked.

"No, though there were some good attempts," Mimoko sighed as she ate her dinner.

"Retrograde analysis is never easy. I'm sure someone will get the answer though."

"I could see the effort some were putting in. I'll admit, I was a tad surprised the AI couldn't come up with a solution during club time."

"Someone was asking one?"

"Yes, and it was clear the bot was in dire need of learning how to make legal moves. I swear, it started out with something interesting, then says the king moves to a square already occupied by another piece. If I wasn't already aware of how bad AI can be when it comes to playing chess, I'd be barking up the tree of the nearest science lab demanding they teach their bot how to play chess proper."

"Ah, that video where that bot was phasing pieces in and out of existence..."

"It reminds me a bit of how that clown cheated."

"Jester? Ah yes, he's infamous for cheating like that, but luckily his device is defective, and he's top of the wanted list worldwide for pretty much every crime under the sun. Though getting back to the AI, it's not a bad approach to try consulting a computer for help with this, considering it's hard enough for us humans just to think of where to move the pieces in the first place."

"I said something similar to the club."

"My, you're getting more like me each day."

"No, no I'm not."

Daria warmly smiled as Mimoko angrily resumed eating. "That's fine too. I'd never want you to become the cold monster I once was," she thought.

...

At Okisato's place, Okisato was deep in thought thinking about a different, but somewhat related matter. "Numakawa-san... Did he really change so significantly? I didn't know him well, so when he began acting haughty, I just passed it off as him being egotistical. Scientists can be very ego-driven and prideful. Yet Maida-sensei claims he was more like he was when he first faced me. Hmm..."

"E4 is the most statistically chosen opening for white."

"Well, I DID study chess textbooks when I was informed of the nature of the club's activities today."

"The puzzles are far easier than the game, I got all 10 right."

"One setback will not derail me. Science is all about trial and error after all."

"No, impossible! How can a mindless brute be so smart!?"

Okisato shook his head. "No, he didn't seem abnormal following Knightlife. I know he faced Peter and was clearly shaken, but during the chess boxing a week later, he still seemed within the confines of the personality I had pegged to him. It wasn't until he played Iori-chan..."

"E4? Why such an overrated move. I am not the fool I once was. Behold, the perfect counter, the Barnes Defense!"

Okisato shook his head once more. "No, it couldn't have been his loss to Iori-chan as he started out the game with a Barnes Defense. I get calling E4 overrated, but to say f6 is the best response to it? Could Peter's game against him really have been the catalyst?"

"Oi! Shit's beginning to snow outside!" Otona yelled as she slammed open the door.

"This early in December? Hmm, is it city-wide?"

"I don't know, but it's fucking snowing!"

Okisato sighed and got up. He'd have to think more about Numakawa another day.