Female Novel
Chapter 923
Chapter 923 Took Pleasure In Taunting Him
Giles and Lydia bade them goodbye and left as soon as Alex arrived in Lumenopolis.
During his time in Lumenopolis, Alex let himself loose and focused on spending time with Maggie andRichard. In fact, he devoted so much time to them that he barely had any time for himself.
At five in the morning, Richard would wake Alex up and make the latter do morning exercises with him.
Despite his advanced age, Richard was diligent in maintaining his health. He would still continue doinghis morning exercises every day without fail even after taking the pill that Alex gave him.
After lunch, Richard would invite Alex to play chess with him, even though Alex had limited knowledgein this area.
Despite Alex’s remarkable talent and achievements in various fields such as antique appraisal,calligraphy and painting, business, geomancy, occultism, alchemy, and martial arts, he acknowledgedthat there were still areas where his knowledge was limited.
Although Alex had admitted to Richard that he did not know how to play chess, Richard still insisted onplaying the board game with him.
At
rst Richard did not believe Alex had no knowledge of the game. It was only when Richard asked Alex toguess who should make the first move and saw him scratch his head in confusion that Richard finallyaccepted that Alex was indeed a complete novice in chess.
Maggie couldn’t help chuckling. She then proceeded to explain the basic rules of the game to Alex.helping the latter gain a better understanding-
Chess piece values indicate the relative strength and weaknesses of different pieces on the board, andthat would guide players in making the right move.
Seeing that Alex truly didn’t know how to play, Richard gave him a headstart and even allowed Maggieto give him some pointers on the side.
As Richard’s favorite granddaughter, Maggie grew up immersed in the world of chess, observing andabsorbing the skills through Richard’s passion for the game.
However, Maggie only had a superficial understanding of the game compared to Richard, who hadbeen playing it for almost two to three decades and was on par with a national player.
After one round, Alex was utterly defeated by Richard’s exceptional skills, leaving Maggie in awe.“Grandpa, your chess skills have improved immensely. With your standards, it would be a piece of cakefor you to win in an official competition. You’re just as good as a professional player, so please stopgiving Alex a hard time. We can never reach your level, even with decades of practice.”
Delighted to hear his granddaughter’s praises, Richard stroked his beard proudly.
In his younger days, Richard found joy in calligraphy, but his best friend Giles had no interest in the artof writing. Among various hobbies, Giles was solely obsessed with chess.
One day, Richard approached Giles and inquired about his fascination with chess, curious to knowwhat made it so captivating. He wondered if playing chess could provide him with more enjoyment thancalligraphy.
Upon hearing that, Giles instantly responded with a mocking tone, “Chess is a national treasure. Don’t
Took Pleasure In Taunting Him
underestimate the black-and-white pieces of the board game. It encompasses a vast universe of itsown. I guess people like you will never understand the joy it brings.”
His remark triggered Richard, prompting him to delve deeper into the game of chess. Initially, hismotivation was to retaliate against Giles, but over time, Richard developed a genuine passion for the
game..
Richard would study books about chess to keep up with Giles’ progress. During his free time, he wouldsit in the pavilion to experiment with all kinds of strategies that he could use to defeat Giles.
For decades, the competition between Richard and Giles continued unabated, but more often than not,Richard found himself on the losing side of their encounters.
While Richard had long abandoned the hope of defeating Giles in chess someday, he took pleasure intaunting Alex and relishing the taste of victory over him.novelbin