This is the second part of a series. The first part is here.

I’m sitting inside my girl friends’ house, and her parents are evaluating if I’m the right kind of guy for their daughter. I’m frozen with fear, but making my best effort to look normal.

Her Dad scans me from top to bottom. He looks disapprovingly at my T-shirt. I’m praying that there is an earthquake or a terrorist attack so that I can run away screaming, but my good luck is really bad, so no help there.

“So, what are your hobbies?”, her Dad asks me.

Dammit, I forgot to prepare for that question. I had prepared answers for “What kind of work do you do?”, “What is your investment strategy?” and “Do you drink or smoke?”, but this question caught me unprepared. It was so much better in college exams, where you had to answer only 5 of the 8 questions asked. I suddenly start missing these exams, the first time ever.

“I play chess”, I blurt out.

I’ve never played chess in my life. Not once. Chess always seemed like a depressing game where 2 people stare at a black and white board for hours at end. I wonder what the spectators do. Anyway, I only know that there are some queens involved, and that you have to mate the check to win the game or something like that. I only said chess because it sounds smart.

Her Dad is visibly impressed: “Oh that’s excellent! I’m a BIG chess fan. I play chess at the club every Saturday afternoon. I have been very impressed by the Sicilian Defense Vishy has been using recently. Though, do you think he should try some new opening strategies?”

Bummer! I couldn’t tell you how many pieces were there on a chess board even if my life depended on it, and here, her Dad wanted my opinion on chess opening moves. If Agent Smith (from The Matrix), was standing here, he’d say: “I’m sorry, but this, is a dead end.”

I was about to panic, when it suddenly occurred to me. A wise man had once said “If you can’t convince them, confuse them”. I could bluff my way through! This saying had helped me through vivas in college, and it would rescue me again now. The only question was, would her Dad buy it?

“Yes, I think he should try the reverse Roman defense opening. And since attack is the best form of defense, the attacker pieces should be sacrificed for the queen and cordon off the opponent. Reading your opponent is very important, because after all, chess is a phycological game.”

Silence.

He seemed to be weighing my words. His brow deepened to a frown. Had I been caught? Oh man, oh man! Help! But wait…he suddenly eases up and breaks into a smile.

“Yes…That’s what I have been thinking. Pshychological game, exactly!”

SUCCESS! Hahahahahaha! He finally agreed with something I said! He started opening up to me, and we managed to chat a bit about other topics. I had wormed my way into his good books! The storm was finally over and the bright sun had come out.

He seemed to be liking me now. I know that because he urged me to have an extra sweet and even complimented my T-shirt! We spent the next few minutes making small talk and I managed to avoid any major goof up.

Finally it was time for me to leave. Her Dad came to see me off at the door. As I said goodbye and walked out of the gate, he yelled to me: “Come back again some time, we can catch a game of chess!”

I turned around and hurriedly walked towards the car.

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