The queen is dead

Russia, February, 2014...

Following the conclusion of a major sporting event, many athletes that had competed in it gathered for an after party. They all came for fun and to unwind, but little did they know, nefarious actors were in the crowd watching.

"Well look at that. A downhill skier, a biathlete, and a figure skater. All gold medalists too! You wouldn't be successful in a field like that without mental fortitude and smarts, wouldn't you agree?" a bearded man chuckled as he glanced over at his colleague.

"I'd say a curler is probably closer to what we're looking for mentally in regards to this project," a scruffy man with hardly any hair left, grumbled as he took a sip of his drink.

"That's why you're so narrow-minded. The more physical stress, the more your mind has to work to get out of it! That's the kind of prowess we need for this experiment. Now, why don't we go scout them."

Three girls turned as the two men walked up to them.

"Uh, security? Something wrong?" one of the girls asked.

"Ah, apologies for the startle. Despite the suits, we're not security, just sports recruiters," the bearded man chuckled.

"Got a sponsorship gig? I do love posing," a girl with long blonde hair tied up tightly in a bun, grinned as she struck a pose.

"Flexible on and off the ice, that's our national pride, Arina Drobysheva."

"Why you giving her all the praise? She just spins on ice. I'm speedin' down hills when it's poundin' snow!" a girl with short multi-colored hair, grinned as she shoved Arina away.

"Why you're Lowri Wyn. How amusing your surname reflects your persona."

Lowri proudly puffed up her chest, drawing attention to all the gold medals hanging around it.

"She only has more because she competes in more events. I won the individual, yet my team was unable to provide during the team event," Arina scowled.

"Do not fret, I'm not judging by how many medals you have. You all have gold, have become best in the world at a demanding discipline. I have interest in all of you, that includes you, ah..."

"Esther Korotkih," a girl with long black hair grumbled.

"Cold and to the point. I take it that mentality is what led you to sweep all possible golds in women's biathlon?" the bearded man chuckled.

Esther didn't reply and turned to head away.

"Ah, interested-"

"No."

The bearded man chuckled as he watched Esther vanish from sight.

"I do beg your pardon, but why on earth would you want to have such a bland face in an advertising campaign? All the makeup in the world couldn't make her look halfway decent," Arina scoffed.

The bearded man began to laugh. "Ah, my delayed introduction has sown such confusion. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, I am Vasily Asimov, a key member of the Russian Chess Federation. I was approaching you to ask if you all by chance had any familiarity with chess."

Lowri began to grimace. "Yeah, nuh-uh, that shit's boring. I only do fun n' exciting stuff."

"Heh? But chess can be very exciting."

"Uh? It's just sitting at a board, waiting. Like fishing, but worse."

"My, have you not heard of speed chess? One minute on the clock, hands scrambling to try and make a move? I assure you that's the kind of excitement you live for."

"Uh, no."

As Lowri began heading off, Arina too began to shift away.

"Ahh, not a chess fan?" Vasily smugly smiled.

"I've dabbled in chess, but I'm not very good at it. My apologies," Arina mumbled.

"Haah, three strikes in a row. What a terrible outing," Vasily chuckled as he shook his head and shrugged.

"Your smile says otherwise," the balding man grumbled.

Vasily's smug smile morphed into a malicious grin. "Well, I did have everyone in checkmate... from the start. Ivo, the chessboard."

The balding man sighed and followed Vasily to the center of the room with a briefcase in hand. He could more or less guess what was going to happen.

"EVERYBODY! CAN YOU SEE ME!?" Vasily shouted as loud as he could as he hopped atop a table.

The music screeched to a halt as all eyes centered on Vasily. Security forces slowly began to head over, but stopped as Vasily turned and smiled directly at them.

"My apologies, but I was told that I was to provide a little entertainment for the party around this time. Only a minute of your time will be drawn to me, I assure you," Vasily proclaimed as Ivo opened up the briefcase and pulled out a chess set and clock.

"With a minute and 5 second increment on the clock, this match will be a battle of speed. Now, care to see if I can beat the humble Candidate Master, Ivo Bogush?"

A crowd slowly formed around the table as Vasily and Ivo sat down and set up the board.

"To a nice quick match," Vasily smiled as he shook hands with Ivo.

As soon as the clock started, Vasily and Ivo frantically moved their pawns to e4 and e5, respectively. Knight f3 came next for Vasily as Ivo began to scowl. "I'm not going to let you get the better of me before such a crowd," he thought as he moved his knight to f6.

"The Russian Game. What a patriot you are, but now you lose," Vasily thought as he grinned malevolently and slammed his king down on e2.

Ivo was taken aback by the play, just as Vasily had hopped, taking time off the clock as he recalibrated his mind before capturing the pawn at e4 with his knight. Vasily rapidly moved his pawn to d3 as Ivo anticipated the play and moved his knight back to f6.

Pawn g3 came next, but rather than respond with d5, Ivo instead moved his bishop to b4. "King e2 might've thrown me off, but now I can see clearly. Thanks to the 5 second increment, I can gain back the time I lost and then some by playing a forced line, while you, will gradually be worn down as you struggle to find the move to make thanks to your deliberate blunder. Thank you in advance for making a fool of yourself before all already. That'll lessen the shame you'll face once this is over," he thought as Vasily followed up with the anticipated pawn to c3.

Ivo slid his bishop back to a5 as Vasily moved his own bishop out to g2. He kept up the "forced line" by moving his knight to c6, yielding rook e1 from Vasily.

"Now, for my own little surprise," Ivo thought as a maniacal smile of his own overtook his face as he moved his knight to g4. Little did he know what horrors were coming his way.

Slam!

B-knight d2. A move Ivo had not foreseen at all, causing his confidence to burst. Vasily's grin began to stretch out to its furthest as his gaze zeroed in on Ivo's hand. Slowly, it moved towards the king, then past it to the d-pawn. At a glance, pawn d5 was a natural and solid move, but in reality, it was a fatal blunder. With an effortless nudge, Vasily moved his pawn to h3, and then came down the house of cards.

The confusion on Ivo's face quickly turned to panic as he took note of the mere seconds he had left to make a move. "No! I was distracted too long! Ngh, where to move my knight, Guh! THERE'S closer to the clock!" Ivo thought as he moved his knight to e3, giving him a shorter distance to the clock, but at the cost of the game.

No sooner did he hit the button did Vasily capture the knight at e3 with his king, further stunning him and sending him into complete panic. "Ngh, ugh, CHECK!" he cried as he moved his queen to g5 without thinking.

Vasily couldn't help but laugh out loud as he swiftly captured said queen with his knight, leaving poor Ivo completely shaken. Rather than contemplate another move, Ivo slowly covered his face with his hands to hide his despair. Though no mate was in sight on the board, blundering the queen in time trouble had been too much for Ivo to handle. And thus, his clock ran out momentarily.

Vasily continued to laugh as he rose from his seat and stretched out his arms in a victory pose. "The queen is dead! My friends, was that not entertaining!? Was that not exciting!? Chess can be such a thrill. Now, any lovely ladies interested in playing a little chess?" he grinned as he locked vision with Lowry in the crowd.

A grin mirrored itself on Lowry's face as she made her way to Vasily. "I'll dig, if it's shit like that."

"Then follow me this way. Oh, anyone else want to join?"

Arina and a girl with long black hair that obscured her right eye stepped forward.

"Oh, and are you not-"

"Miyako Suwabe. Silver... medalist," the black-haired woman sighed as she held up her silver medal.

"You're from the Japanese curling team. You put up such a great fight in your medal match, but luck of the draw just didn't go your way. Ivo! A curler has shown interest. Must be your day after all."

Ivo slid his hands away from his face before slowly putting the chess set away. It was true he had wanted to recruit a curler, but at the cost of being humiliated by Vasily? A scowl permeated on his face, refusing to leave, as he followed after Vasily and the girls.

The group walked for a bit before finding themselves outside before a truck.

"Uh, why we outside?" Lowry asked.

Everyone got their answer as Vasily turned his back to everyone and dropped something on the ground. Smoke spewed out instantly, but before the girls could run, their vision began to get fuzzy.

"Sleeping gas!? No, I shouldn't have... followed," Miyako mumbled before slumping to the ground, unconscious, alongside Arina and Lowry.

"A haul of three. Fair, but don't we need a few more for the project to truly take off?" Ivo asked as he held his gas mask close to his face.

"Didn't I say it earlier? I had everyone in checkmate... from the start," Vasily grinned under his gas mask.

...

Esther's eyes bulged as a big burly hand grabbed her from behind and shoved a cloth into her face. She desperately tried to call for help, but it was no use as she quickly lost consciousness.

"You've secured her, yes?" Vasily's voice crackled through the intercom of Esther's attacker.

"Yes, sir."

"Then bring her to the citadel"

The man nodded and hauled Esther over his shoulder as he slowly began moving out.