Chapter 1: Fool's Mate

Ryan Daley was not sure what to think as he and his best friend, Raymie Steele, entered the room of the Global Community Middle School Chess Club. Ryan was looking forward to the tasks that the Young Preterist Force would be facing. Ryan was sure Raymie was feeling the same anticipation for the adult Preterist Force. Even though Raymie was not an official member of the adult Preterist Force yet, he was excited to get involved in the action. Raymie's dad, Rayford Steele Sr., wanted to protect his son and did not want him to be involved in any of the dangerous missions the Preterist Force faced yet. Still, Raymie was determined to prove his worth and show he was trustworthy.

But for now, Ryan and Raymie would experience what the Global Community Middle School Chess Club would be like. They both approached two empty seats and a chessboard.

"I've got to be honest, Raymie", Ryan said. "I've never played chess before."

"There's always a first time for everything. You might as well try new things and get new experiences. You can have the white pieces if you want."

So, Ryan had the white pieces and Raymie had the black pieces.

Here goes, Ryan thought.

Ryan started the game by moving the white pawn on g2 to g4. Raymie then played the black pawn on e7 to e5.

This looks easy enough, Ryan thought.

Ryan then moved the white pawn on f2 to f3. Raymie then slid the black queen on d8 to the end of the diagonal to h4.

"Checkmate", Raymie said.

"What?", Ryan asked.

"Checkmate", Raymie repeated.

"How is that possible?", Ryan asked. "The game only lasted two moves."

"Look at your king", Raymie said.

Sure enough, Ryan looked at this king. The king had no squares to move to, none of the white pieces could block the black queen's attack on either f2 or g3, and the black queen could not be captured. So, it was checkmate.

"This is the shortest game of chess possible, known as Fool's Mate. It is something every student of the game should be aware of."

"Thank you for your advice, Raymie", Ryan said.

"Not a problem, Ryan. Mistakes help you learn."