Muriel the GOAT
Is it possible to be a chess prodigy when you're 85 years old?
Mindy met Muriel her first day at the library.
Mindy was so excited to finally step foot in her very own library and meet the people who made up the library community.
There would be the young parents with kids who would come every day for story time.
There would be the newspaper hogs who had the delivery schedule of all the papers and magazines memorized so they’d be on hand when the latest issue arrived.
There would be the fantasy nerds who would read every last story on the shelves about sexy elves and vampires and still come back the next week to read them all over again.
There would be people who had no interest in reading at all, who were looking for a warm place to wait out the winter.
There would be teenagers doing homework. There would be teenagers pretending to do homework as a pretext to meet and hang out with their friends every day after school.
They’d all come to The Dunnock Bay Free Public Library. Her library. She’d know all their names. She’d know all their habits.
Mindy pegged Muriel as a mystery lover as soon as she spotted her. She just had that look about her. Mindy caught sight of the older woman moving through the stacks, pulling out books, reading the backs, and returning them to their shelves. Mindy was sure Muriel would eventually make her way to the circulation desk with an armload of Patterson, Penny, and French. Maybe a Christie thrown in for nostalgia.
Muriel approached the circulation desk with empty hands. Mindy was a little surprised. Mystery lovers usually knew exactly what they wanted and where to find it.
“Hi there,” said Mindy with a smile. “I’m Mindy, the new librarian. Can I help you find anything?”
Muriel smiled shyly.
“I certainly hope so,” she said. “My name is Muriel. I was under the impression you might be bringing some computers with you…”
“Oh!” said Mindy, a little surprised.
She checked her response. Lots of older people were computer literate. Muriel was likely in her 80s, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know her way around an operating system.
“That’s true,” she continued. “It really is a shame the library didn’t have a computer area before. I got a call from the IT person with the city saying she’d be by tomorrow. We’ll have to get them all set up and on the network, so it might be Wednesday before they’re up and running.”
Muriel had wide eyes.
“And, will there be any restrictions on their use?” she asked.
Mindy blinked.
“Well,” she said, “users will have to follow guidelines for appropriate web use, but other than that, they’re free for just about anything.”
“Even gaming?” asked Muriel eagerly.
This was not what Mindy was expecting, but she rolled with it.
“Yes, of course,” she said. “I expect a fair amount of games will be played. Do you have a game you’re looking to play?”
Muriel didn’t wait a beat.
“Chess,” she said firmly.
“Wonderful,” said Mindy. “If you’re interested, I see your previous librarian kept a nice stock of board games on supply. I believe there’s a chess board or two in there.”
“No, thank you,” said Muriel. “My great-grandson Nigel showed me a website at Christmastime where you can play chess with people from all over the world.”
Her eyes flashed.
“I want that.”
“Are you an avid player?” asked Mindy.
“Not yet,” said Muriel. “I’d never played a game before Nigel showed me. And that was the first time I touched a computer, too. But I would really like a chance to try again. My mind has been playing chess ever since.”
Mindy smiled wide. She liked this old lady. She loved that her library could help her do this.
“Well, Muriel,” said Mindy. “If you’re this keen, pop by tomorrow afternoon. As soon as the first computer is on the network, you can be our first user.”
Mindy found Muriel standing the circulation desk the next day just after 1 o’clock.
“Are the computers ready?” she asked.
Mindy chuckled.
“Hello, Muriel!” she said. “It’s nice to see you again. Jill from the town’s IT department is working on them now. Let’s see if one is up and running for you.”
“Thank you, dear,” said Muriel.
Mindy led Muriel to the back of the library. At some point in history, this area had been set aside for a shared computer area. It had even been wired up with network access, but the project stalled there. Mindy suspected the former librarian wasn’t a fan of technology. This area had been used for storage for years, but at Mindy’s request, it had been cleared out to make way for the computers she ordered.
She found Jill assembling a PC station.
“Hi Jill!” said Mindy.
“Hey,” said the young woman, not looking up. She yanked a length of wire through a port in the desk.
“I have Muriel here who is awfully keen to try out one of the new computers,” said Mindy. “By chance, are any of them set up and ready?”
Jill looked up with a blank stare.
“I was told they’re supposed to be set up for tomorrow morning,” she said flatly.
Mindy sensed Muriel deflate beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her shoulders droop.
“Yes, and that’s great,” said Mindy. “I just wondered if perhaps there was one station ready early. Muriel has been itching to play some online chess.”
Jill raised her eyebrows and looked at Muriel.
“Chessdudes.com?” she said.
Muriel brightened.
“Yes!” she said. “My great-grandson showed me.”
“Dope,” said Jill, nodding. “Yeah, I can set you up.”
She rolled in her office chair to a computer across the aisle.
“This one’s all ready,” she said, booting it up.
Muriel’s eyes sparkled with delight as the computer came to life.
“Do you think you can show me how to get started at chess dudes dot com?” she asked, pronouncing each word like it was a delicate flower.
“Yeah, no prob,” said Jill. “Do you have an account?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what that means,” said Muriel.
“Dope,” said Jill. “I’ll set you up.”
Mindy looked back and forth between Muriel and Jill.
“I’ll leave you two to it,” said Mindy. “Thanks, Jill!”
“Whatever,” said Jill, turning back to Muriel. “So, first thing you’re going to need is a username.”
“Oh goodness,” said Muriel. “I’m so glad you’re here to help.”
Muriel was standing at the front door the next morning at 9 when Mindy opened the library for the day.
“Good morning, Muriel!” said Mindy.
“Hi,” said Muriel.
She brushed past the librarian and walked at top speed towards the computer area.
“Have fun!” said Mindy.
Mindy didn’t think much more about Muriel’s chess for the next several days. Muriel was a constant presence in the library, but there were several regulars who Mindy was getting to know in her early days as librarian.
Every now and again, Mindy strolled through the computer area and would catch sight of Muriel playing chess.
“Having fun?” she’d ask.
“Mm hm,” Muriel would reply.
Her focus was intense.
Mindy didn’t know much about chess, but she loved that the library could provide an outlet for Muriel to explore this new side of herself.
It was a week later when Muriel first got an audience.
Jackson Paul looked up from his Grade 12 physics homework and spotted a familiar image on a computer screen halfway across the library. He stepped away from his table and stood a half-dozen paces behind Muriel’s computer.
She was good. That was clear right away. He couldn’t see her rating, but he could see the position of the pieces on her board. It was a complex, closed game, and she seemed to be in control. She spotted a neat little tactic before he did, trading her opponent’s rook for a knight, leaving her up in material and holding onto her deadly bishops pair.
“Nice,” he said involuntarily.
If Muriel noticed, she didn’t give it away. Eight moves later, her opponent resigned. As the results of the match briefly popped up on the screen, Muriel’s updated rating became visible:
2395.
Jackson nearly lost his breath. He considered himself a good chess player–probably the best at Dunnock Bay High School–but even he had never hit 2000.
He was back the next day with friends. Jess came, as he knew she would. She was his toughest competition at the school. Truth be told, she was probably better than he was at classical chess, but he was better at the shorter time controls.
He couldn’t stop Aiden from coming. He wasn’t much of a chess player, but he liked to hang out, and he talked a good game. Jackson had never seen a 1200-level player with so much swagger.
The three stood back, watching Muriel play.
“This woman is incredible,” whispered Jess.
“I know,” said Jackson. “Like, yesterday she hadn’t hit 2400, and today she’s at 2450. This lady is going to be a grandmaster by suppertime.”
“I could take her, I think,” said Aiden.
Neither Jackson or Jess said a thing.
The next day the entire Dunnock Bay High School chess club was standing behind Muriel’s chair. This was a traffic congestion Mindy couldn’t ignore.
“Is everything OK here, guys?” she said, breaking through the dozen or so teens in her computer area.
“Miss, shhh,” said a boy. “She’s in an endgame.”
Mindy stood by watching. Every single one of the teens seemed to be holding their breath as Muriel played quick moves on her screen. Mindy had no idea what was happening.
The teens gasped in unison as Muriel’s opponent made a move.
Muriel’s move in response was quick and confident.
“VICTORY!” read the pop-on her screen. “NEW RATING: 2502.”
Every member of the chess club cheered as if they were at an NBA basketball game.
“OK, guys,” said Mindy. “That’s enough. I know you’re having a good time, but other people are trying to use the library too.”
“Aw miss,” said a boy.
It was only then Muriel noticed there were people around her.
“Oh, Mindy,” she said. “I’m sorry, was I bothering these people?”
“No, Muriel. You’re fine!” said Mindy. “It’s just… you’ve managed to accrue a fairly large cheering section.”
Muriel looked around.
“Oh!” she said, surprised by their presence. “Hello.”
“Lady, you are the GOAT,” said Aiden.
“I’m what?” she replied.
“Sorry,” said Jackson. “Please ignore our friend. We’re all just big fans.”
“Big… fans?” said Muriel. “Of me?”
“Lady, you just hit 2500,” said Aiden.
“Oh,” said Muriel, still startled by the attention. “Is that… good?”
“Ma’am,” said Jess. “That’s, like, grandmaster good. It’s incredible. When did you start playing chess?”
Muriel looked around at the faces of her fans.
“Christmas,” she said quietly.
It was as the teens were scraping their jaws off the floor that the library’s main phone rang. Mindy rushed to the circulation desk to answer it.
“Dunnock Bay Free Public Library,” she said. “Mindy speaking.”
“Hi, Mindy,” said a male voice on the line. “Sorry, did you say this is a library?”
“Yes,” she said. “Can I help you with something?”
“I certainly hope so,” said the man. “I’m with the website chessdudes.com. We’ve been watching a new account over the last few weeks making some unusually rapid growth. By chance is there someone playing chess there today who goes by the name TheRealNannyM?”
Mindy turned to face the computer area. Muriel, sweet little Muriel who was 85 years old if she was a day, had turned back to her computer. Her fans were glued to her every movement.
“Yes?” she said.
Aw jeez, you stuck around all the way to the end! You’re the best.
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Have a great week. <3 Davy