![Elim Village resident, Paul, playing a game of Chess at The Hawthorn](https://elimvillage.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_1822-2-scaled.jpg)
Mystery Checkmate
Imagine playing chess with an unknown person. A black pawn advances a square. A few hours later, a white bishop cuts diagonally. The next day, a black knight performs the signature L-shaped maneuver. The match lasts several days, even stretching into weeks. The opponents? A series of Jane and John Does vs Conrad Nedelec.
Conrad is a staff member at Elim Village Garrison Crossing who holds fond memories of playing chess with his Opa. When board games began to appear in the Chehalis Café & Lounge in The Hawthorn, he noticed the absence of a chess set, but quickly rectified this. Then he began to envision a communal chess match, but now the conundrum; how on earth would that work?
Through some testing, he devised a series of signs to inaugurate the first “Play Against Conrad” chess match. Conrad plays white, and his mysterious opponent(s) plays black. Once he’s played, Conrad flips a sign which says, Your Move: Flip me when you have made your move. These community matches have been a hit, and now that residents know there’s a seasoned chess player on staff, individual matches have started up as well, such as between Conrad and resident Paul.
Conrad (left) and Paul (right) playing a game of Chess at The Hawthorn.
This article was featured in the December edition of The Elim Connection, a community publication distributed three times per year to all residents of Elim Village. It is also shared with our email subscribers. The Elim Connection focuses on the stories and lifestyle of those living and aging in place at our two retirement communities. Flip through a preview of the December edition of The Elim Connection below to read Paul and Conrad’s story on page 13.
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