From Chapter Ten of The Turquoise Lament by John D. MacDonald:
"Who is Howard Brindle?"
"If that's not a rhetorical question, and if that is your starting point, I agree. But you're not going to find out tonight. The chess board is over there."
By the time Nurse Ella Marie Morse came on duty to look after him during the hours of the night, I had the game won. He had slowly worked me back into a cramped position, pressing me back against my castled king, smothering my queen side, but he had failed to see a sacrifice that gave me a very damaging knight fork and put me a piece ahead. I was trading him down to an end-game defeat, and he resigned when the nurse arrived, saying something about possibly the fever had damaged some brain cells after all.
Probably not a coincidence that "taking your retirement in installments" and a chess hobby are very complementary!
ReplyDeleteI believe this was the first time McGee beat (hospitalized) Meyer as well.
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