Ход королевы
Chapter 5
“Boneinthethroat,man,thatrookthere.Hetookonelookatitandpaidup.”Heleanedhisheadagainstthebackofthesofaandlaughedloudlyinadeepbaritone.“Twentybucks.”
Sinceitwasearly,therewereonlyhalfadozenpeopleintheroom,andnoonewasatthelongrowsoftableswithpaperchessboardsonthem.Everyonewaslisteningtothemantalking.Hewasabouttwenty-fiveandlookedlikeapirate.Heworedirtyjeans,ablackturtleneckandablackwoolcappulleddowntohisheavyeyebrows.Hehadathickblackmustacheandclearlyneededashave;thebacksofhishandsweretannedandscraped-looking.“TheCaro-KannDefense,”hesaid,laughing.“Agenuinebummer.”
“What’swrongwiththeCaro-Kann?”someoneasked.Aneatyoungmaninacamel’shairsweater.
“Allpawnsandnohope.”Heloweredhislegstothefloorandsatup.Onthetablewasasoiledoldbeige-and-greenchessboardwithbatteredwoodenpiecesonit.Theheadhadfallenofftheblackkingatsometimeorother;itwasheldonwithapieceofgrittyadhesivetape.“I’llshowyou,”themansaid,slidingtheboardover.Bethwasnowstandingnexttohim.Shewastheonlygirlintheroom.Themanreacheddowntotheboardandwithsurprisingdelicacypickedupthewhitekingpawnwithhisfingertipsanddroppeditlightlyonkingfour.Thenhepickeduptheblackqueenbishoppawnanddroppeditonqueen’sbishopthree,putWhite’squeenpawnonthefourthrankanddidthesamewithBlack’s.Helookedupatthepeoplearoundhim,whowerebynowallpayingcloseattention.
“TheCaro-Kann.
