Checkmate

Garisson Keillor once blamed long Minnesota winters for inspiring people to read War and Peace in self-imposed isolation. I can't blame Minnesota or the winter that you folks up North are approaching for my recent quest, so I'll blame the nine months of hard work that separates me from the end of my Peace Corps service.

Reading War and Peace is something that has always been on my life list of things to do, and what better time than now? The copy that currently sits on bedside cardboard box is a 1940's translation by Maude, three volumes in one printed on tissue-thin India paper. I’ve carried this little book with me for a long time, knowing that at some point I would get inspired to turn those pages.  As of today I am 330 pages into the 1580 page epic and actually enjoying the experience. Keeping my World Book Encyclopedia open to the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century has aided me as I absorb the story of the many sides of war and life in Russia during that period.

This literary quest plays right into my second obsession of the moment, which is increasing my skills as a chess player.  While trying to remember the names of the many characters in the book, I can challenge my Mac to a friendly game of chess. The battles waged against Napoleon provide me with the insight needed to strategically out maneuver my electronic foe.  And likewise, the moves on a chessboard make sense out of the seeming confusion of the battlefields that Tolstoy depicts. Now, I know what you're thinking, could I have possible have chosen two more solitary and depressing activities with which to pass my free time? Probably, but I figure that having read War and Peace and being able to play a decent game of chess are things that can only make a person stronger. And while I love what I am doing, I am going to need that kind of strength to get to the other side of these next nine months.