Gambit
Donnie
“Checkmate.”
Donnie glares at the board. It’s not possible, he had Leo this time. Donnie’s reviewed all their past games and studied tons of openings and endgames. This was supposed to be the game. He had the banners and confetti in the ceilings and everything! Donnie lets his eyes move across the board, reviewing the last dozen movies, and tries to find the error.
He’d gotten through the opening with a Sicilian variation. He’d even managed to secure the center! That was the only way he’d stand a chance against Leo. The slider has a sneaky middle game and an absolute killer endgame. He switches from defense to attack so fast that it gives Donnie whiplash, or at the very least a headache.
Donnie finds his eyes straying to Leo’s castle and sighs. That was probably the beginning of the end for him. Leo castled so late in the game that Donnie almost thought it was a blunder. He must have guessed wrong. How else do you explain being pinned by a bishop and a damned pawn of all pieces?
He pushes the king over with a flick of a finger.
“Did I win?”
Donnie grits his teeth, “yes, Leon. You know this.”
“I don’t know,” Leo grins. “The rules are a little fuzzy. I mean, I wasn’t even sure I could switch pieces like this until last night.”
Donnie’s eyebrow twitches. He's sure Leo knows every damn rule of this game. His 100% win rate is testament enough.
It’s just that Donnie can’t prove it.
Leo’s never castled in any of their games till now, so the fact that he waited until now to add it to his ‘I don’t know how to play’ narrative is nefarious. Diabolical even. Donnie clicks his jaw. “Oh really? Who told you about castling?”
“Ah! Castling!” Leo laughs, “That’s what it’s called,” the slider’s face slips into a devious smirk and Donnie regrets asking. “Mikey taught me.”
“Mikey,” Donnie forces out.
“Yeah,” Leo leans back and the smirk gets sharper. “You know I’ve only won a few games against him. He was just trying to help.”
Donnie drags a nail against the concrete. That was the crux of Leo’s ruse. He loses to everyone else. Periodically. He even lets Raph win sometimes and the snapper still calls the queen Lady! The only person Leo wins against, consistently, constantly, is him. It doesn’t help Donnie’s case when he shouts and raves to anyone who’ll listen that Leo’s playing him, playing all of them! Donnie falls back with a sigh and stares at his hidden banners. Maybe next time. He just needs more data.
A thought hits him.
“If I set you up with online chess will you let me review your games?”
Leo raises an eyebrow. “Online?”
“Yeah. There’s one that lets you play with players all over the world. Grandmasters even.”
Leo perks up at that. Got him.
“Well,” Leo hums, “If you think I’m ready.”
He’s going to pop a blood vessel, Donnie can feel it. He pushes to his feet. “C’mon, I’ll create you an account. I’m interested to see how long it takes you to rise in the rankings.”
Leo shoots to his feet and Donnie relaxes a bit at the excitement. Maybe Leo can find an actual rival online. Experience a genuine loss that fuels the rush to surmount a challenge. It’ll be fun, and maybe after he finds out Leo’s true rating, he can start on a plan to actually beat the slider.