3 weeks later

John had stayed back on cases for about 3 weeks after he was released from the hospital. Well, he would have stayed back, but Sherlock insisted on not taking any cases during that time. He would answer some inquiries online, but only when John slept or watched telly.

As expected, Sherlock became increasingly anxious and restless, and he was in such a state one Saturday morning, pacing from room to room, when the doorbell to 221B buzzed.

Sherlock stopped midstride and tilted his head as he quickly analyzed the sound. John looked up from his paper to Sherlock.

"Lestrade." Sherlock confirmed.

"Right, well, it's about time. It's been too quiet lately." John commented. Sherlock did not respond.

Downstairs, the sound of Mrs. Hudson opening the door and greeting the inspector wafted up to their sitting room. Sherlock stood up straighter, looking in the mirror above the fireplace to tousle his hair, and then straighten his coat. Greg's footfalls on the stairs could be heard just as Sherlock turned to sit in his black and chrome chair. He crossed his legs, steepled his fingers under his chin, and closed his eyes, just as the inspector opened the door to their flat. John tried to keep the bemused smirk off of his face, so he hid behind his paper a little more.

"Murder. A man, Colin White, was stabbed in the back in his own flat. Seems he was a bit of a chess enthusiast. He was found by his girlfriend this morning." Said Lestrade, almost out of breath from his quick ascent of the stairs.

Sherlock's eyes whipped open and he was looking straight at John. He would be anyways, but John's paper was still up, blocking his face. Sherlock willed for him to put the paper down, which he did, but probably because of the silence that answered Lestrade's request. John returned Sherlock's gaze and furrowed his brow.

"What else?" Sherlock finally replied, after finally being able to see John's face.

He wanted to take this case. He needed to take this case, but he certainly wasn't going to leave John here; Sherlock knew he needed his friend and blogger. If John weren't feeling up to it, Sherlock would refuse the case for him.

As if reading his mind, John gaze Sherlock an almost imperceptible nod, confirming that he felt ready to go.

"Seems like the game went badly – maybe the murderer got angry that he was losing? We've kept everything as it was. So far, there's nothing obvious to point out who would've wanted to hurt White."

Sherlock stood up and buttoned his jacket

"You go on ahead. I'll follow in a cab."

"Alright." Lestrade turned and headed down the steps.

Sherlock walked over to the coat rack and started pulling on his coat and scarf. John stood and went over to grab his coat.

"Are you sure you're feeling up to this?" Sherlock asked him.

"Yeah. Sherlock, I've been ready for two weeks for you to get a case. Let's go."

Before Sherlock had the opportunity to reply, John had walked away and was making his way down the stairs. Sherlock followed after quickly.

When they arrived at the dead man's flat, Sherlock took one look at the distressed girlfriend and turned away from her. He murmured to John, "She's not involved."

Without any explanation for his deduction, John just nodded and agreed like he knew exactly why, even though he didn't have a clue.

Lestrade led them to the sitting room. He told everyone in the room to leave for at least 5 minutes. Sherlock and John entered when the room was empty.

The room was large. There was a big central table that held 4 chessboards, one of them set up with a match that appeared to be mid-game. Colin was lying face down on the carpet next to the table with a blade still stuck in his back.

"No fingerprints, I presume?" John asked as he looked down at the blade.

"No." replied Lestrade.

John walked with his arms crossed around the room. Without touching anything, he looked around, noting the long bookshelf that was dedicated to chess playing, and the small pieces of Greek statuary. Sherlock was busy examining the body, searching pockets and using his pocket magnifying glass. A few silent minutes passed and John made his way back to the chessboard and looked at the pieces that were there.

John was no chess expert, but he could tell that white was winning. The white pieces were dominating the board with a line of major pieces, its bishops immediately either side of a rook. John briefly considered Lestrade's words about how the game must've gone awry.

Sherlock stood, glanced around the room, and at the chessboard. His brow furrowed momentarily, but he said nothing.

"What have you got?" asked Lestrade, who was standing with his arms crossed near the doorway.

"This wasn't about the chess game."

"So you think it was premeditated?" Lestrade asked.

"Obvious, really. We need to find out who visited Colin White yesterday. Did he have a diary, or calendar of any sort that he kept? Perhaps on his mobile phone?" Sherlock asked as he continued to search around the room.

"His girlfriend might know more about where he would've kept a diary. His phone's calendar was empty."

"Hmm. He probably didn't keep one then. The man was clearly in a high paying job, probably the city, so I'd imagine he'd have a secretary or assistant who would keep his professional calendar. Did the girlfriend mention anyone who had planned on visiting yesterday?"

"No. She was away in Brussels that last two weeks visiting family. She just arrived back this morning. They hadn't been together for very long. It doesn't seem like she knows his friends very well."

Sherlock nodded and then pulled a business card out of his pocket.

"Well, she may not know his friends very well, but I have a feeling we won't have any trouble meeting them soon enough." He handed the card to John.

"Rook and Roll. It's a chess-playing community. White was a member?"

"Obviously." Sherlock rolled his eyes.

"Right, well let's get over there and start getting some interviews."

Author's Note: This case is based off of a case called "The Enthusiast" included in "The Sherlock Homes Puzzle Collection"