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.