A Usurper upon the Board

I surveyed the carved battlefield laid out across the lacquered mahogany table. Two armies of polished horn and boxwood stood frozen in perpetual stalemate. Unacceptable. I planted the base of my serpent staff directly between the black squares, gliding toward the opposing white king. With deliberate, sinister precision, I extended my clawed fingers and shoved the crowned wooden figure off his square, sending him tumbling onto his side. In his vacated place, I rolled a heavy, hexagonal steel nut into the center of the ranks. A far sturdier monarch to hold the line until I claim the throne myself.