The case of the wandering pacifier
Submitted by
on Mon, 09/07/2009 at 3:00pm.
Not often does it happen that a visitor leaves my house sucking peacefully on one of my chess trophies... Not often, but I would not write this article if it didn't happen this summer! The person to blame: my little niece - or should I blame the trophy itself?
Sleepovers are a regular thing at our place. We live relatively far from our family and friends and when people visit us they usually don't travel light. We like it and rebuilt our attic to accomodate these enthousiastic travellers. The only downside for them is that they have to share the rooms with my books and my chess memorabilia. That actually sums up nicely all the stuff my significant other doesn't want to have shattered all around the house 
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On the shelves with my chess books I also placed some of my chess trophies. Not to show off - just for decorative purposes. Even when I really want to impress the regulars, I'd have to come up with something else than the metal I collected in the previous century. The interesting thing is that my niece took particular interest in the only trophy I won in my "present" chess life.
The last prize I won was the third prize in a chess problem contest that was organized by my chessclub. The competition was not for regular problems, but consisted of somewhat strange and absurd chess mysteries. An example would be the following problem titled "ladies on the loose!" by M. Hoffmann:
The elderly ladies Van Dumb and Du Fou have tried out a game of chess but lost interest after four moves each and left for bingo night. They didn't even take notes of their game! It is up to you to give them a place in chess history. Please write down the 8 moves that lead to the game's ending position as pictured on the left (solution below the text).
This is just one example of the weirdness we were faced with, and it should not come as a surprise that drinking (as an exeption!) may actually improve one's chess skills in this field of the game! The good part of this competition, possible symptomatic for the good fun my chessclub wants to be, is that the prizes for the players that end in the top 3 are a golden, silver and bronze pacifier. There is also a brilliant part - they come with a cord, so you can (have to...) wear them while having a drink in the bar afterwards 
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It was this bronze pacifier that broke out of the house, hidden in the mouth of my little niece. Unfortunately I don't have detail on the wild wanderings of my trophy - all I know is that it travelled Europe for more than a month before finding the way back to my bookshelf. Although I'd been worried sick - I think I acted as if nothing had happened. After all, how does one punish a wandering pacifier!? All I did was silently blame it for not acting very trophy-like that day...
Solution to the above problem:
1. d3 - e5
2. Bh6 - Qg5
3. Qc1 - Qxc1
4. Bxc1 - f6
Pretty freaky right?!