The pawn knows what it is.
Merely something to break the other side a little further.
A small piece of a bigger game.
But the pawn is determined. The pawn can do it, the pawn can do it, THE PAWN CAN DO IT, YOU HEAR? The pawn will make it. The pawn will become something more.
It is caught up in its mental whirlwind of sweat and blood. The tears are gone by now. It has forgotten all rules but one.
The pawn is a survivor. The pawn is willing to sacrifice. The pawn is willing to kill.
The sidelines are littered with dead bodies.
And the pawn is so close -
Past the point of no return, the point of no redemption.
And the pawn makes it.
A winner?
A Queen.
And the Chess Master laughs, and with a single swipe of his arm, upturns the board and knocks the pawn off the table.
There's no use in winning if you don't know the rules of the game.