Well, Such Was Her Battle! 

The labyrinth of black and white squares appeared hard to navigate. 
She would take the first five steps, five crucial ones,
And then realize it had to be the other way. 
Carried she the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders, 
The pieces seemed to glare at her as if daring her to make the next move, 
They seemed to scoff at her perhaps wondering who she was to decide for their fate. 

She glanced to her right, 
The slightly raised white rectangular box protruding from the green screen,
Where time was ticking away slowly. 
She needed that playing field to be levelled, all she needed was  
Time to freeze. 

Making a decision was imperative. 
She squared her shoulders, as if shaking down the expectations, the burdens.
This was her safe place. 
A space that was hers and hers only. 
This checkered board, it was a fair battlefield, one that required wits and only wits.
She wished she could win other battles too, with just her wits. 

She grimaced. 
It was her move, she had to play. 
Looking up at her opponent’s stone-cold face, 
She knew this one move would determine what side that ‘1’ would be written on,
She knew that the outcome would determine whether she had tested herself enough,
Whether all of her efforts to make herself the best she could possibly be, were in vain. 
This was a monumental moment and suddenly it seemed, as though this was the moment
That would determine her fate. 

The gears of her mind whirred chaotically, 
Her eyes darted from one end of the board to the other
Her body rigid, leaning forward, her toes curled 
A million combinations, algorithms ran through her head
But with these million combinations, came a sense of trepidation; what would happen if
That one move she had pinned all her hopes on, became her demise? 
With every passing second, she became increasingly frustrated as all of the moves she
Had planned out in her head looked like dead ends, leading to her kingdom's demise. 

And there it was, 
Staring at her face the entire time
Internally she screamed out loud- EUREKA! She had found it
Found that one tactic that she knew would hold up. Picking her piece up, 
Praying that her hand remains firm, She made her move. 

She breathed a temporary sigh of relief
She knew she had to do it all over again once her opponent made her move
Well, such was her battle, it is called the game of chess! 
And lo! Bravely fought the Queen! 

Alankrita Malhotra is a student of Sanskriti School, New Delhi.