Who Needs a Dream? Who Needs Ambition?

This was not at all how Freddie thought this game would begin.

He'd been assured by Walter that Anatoly would be a sniveling wreck, what with all the political and emotional pressure that they were applying to him to get him to lose. Not that Freddie needed the help, but it helped to know the mindset of his opponent. Half of the game of chess was a mind game, not on the board at all.

But this Anatoly...he was all confidence and fire. Even more so then he had been in Merano. Freddie was a tiny bit intimidated...but that was easily shaken off once he got into his chess mindset and studied the board, planning his first move.

Finally, his knight became the opening move and the game was on.