Knight to E4

After catching a breezy pocket ride down to Union Square, I scrambled out onto one of the sun-dappled stone chess tables. Right in the middle of the engraved grid sat an abandoned carved wooden knight with a dark walnut finish and a green felt bottom. I wrapped both plush paws around its curved mane, dug my feet into the cool granite, and pushed with all my weight. The heavy piece slid forward two squares, then nudged one square to the right with a muffled scrape. Nailing that tricky L-shaped move on my very first try felt like winning an official city tournament match.