The Real Chess Game
A free A1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 5 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Tilda always beats her grandpa at chess, until she sees why.
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Every Sunday, Tilda plays chess with her grandpa. They sit at the kitchen table. The board is old and brown.
Grandpa taught her this game many years ago. Now Tilda always wins. She wins fast, and she feels proud. But today something feels strange.
She looks at the board. Grandpa moves his queen. It is a very bad move. Tilda can take the queen for free.
She stops. She looks at his face. He looks at the window and hums a song.
He makes bad moves every week. Tilda sees it now. Her heart feels warm and sad at the same time.
"Grandpa," she says, "you do that on purpose." He does not answer. He looks at his tea.
"I want a real game," she says. "Please play for real." Grandpa smiles slowly. "Are you sure?" he asks.
"Yes," says Tilda. "Okay," he says. He moves one small piece.
Tilda plays her best. But Grandpa is very good. In ten moves, her king has no way out. "Checkmate," he says softly.
Tilda looks at the board. Then she starts to laugh. She puts the pieces back in their places.
"Again," she says.
