If it’s worth doing well…

There are a lot of things that I would say I’m not particularly good at. Some things I won’t even attempt to do, because I just have a feeling I won’t be very good at it so don’t even bother. I’m probably missing out on a world of experiences by thinking that way, but I try to live by the phrase ‘if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well’.

‘Well’ here means in my mind. What I think I’ve done well may still be seen as rubbish by others, but in my mind I’ve done well.

So, with that in mind, I do well what I think I can do. When I do it.

Apart from the odd occasion, when I don’t do as well as I could have.

Once, in work, I was playing chess with a colleague. It was very relaxed in work, in case you are wondering how on Earth can anyone play chess whilst working. And it was the night shift and very quiet!

I use the phrase ‘playing chess’ somewhat incorrectly. I was teaching my colleague how to play, as she’d never played before.

The odd thing about my colleague, Julie, is that she was very clever. Extremely clever. Far cleverer than I, and could pick things up, process them and store them within seconds. I, on the other hand, have a tendency to forget things. Recent things seem to pass in and out of my mind unless I pay particular attention to them.

Playing chess, however, wasn’t one of those forgotten things. There are some moves I don’t bother with because I can’t see the point of them, and there are some rules which I’ve never learned, but I can get by with the basics. And I was teaching Julie the basics.

I told her all of the moves each piece could make. The pawns could move forward one square, two if required on their first move, and can ‘take’ the opponent’s piece only if it is on one of the two diagonally forward squares.

I told her the horse can move two steps forward and one to the side, or two to the side and one forward, it is the only piece that can jump others, and it ‘takes’ the opponent’s piece by landing on the square the opponent’s piece was on. I used the term ‘horse’ to keep it simple.

I told her the castles can move as many squares forwards, backwards or sideways as required, but only in straight lines.

I explained the bishops can move as many squares forwards or backwards diagonally, but keeping on the same coloured squares.

I explained the king’s one square at a time movements, and the queen’s ability to move anywhere on the board without jumping.

I explained it all very well, in my mind.

Well, the proof was in the pudding actually. So to speak.

Julie beat me on her first game by checkmate. I hadn’t told her about that.