Bluffing Kings by Isaiah Smalley

Click
The clock came to life the small hand eagerly lurching forward. Roderick surveyed the chess board glancing from piece to piece with confidence. He slid his king forward a space and hit the timer. Hushed whispers snaked through the crowded auditorium, like the utterances of a polite ghost.
The two boys neither older than sixteen sat at a small table facing one another. Roderick wore a fading suit, a crooked bow-tie and the smugness of an asshole. Jeremiah on the other hand looked the part of the pristine regional champion. Immaculately groomed, adequately poised, and already fraying at the edges. Roderick began tapping, watching his opponent squirm.
Tap Tap Tap
Jeremiah instinctively hit his clock, but he stared at Roderick not the board. The disdain in his eyes spoke for him. Roderick could smell blood in the water; he knew Jeremiah’s confusion would quickly become doubt and eventually anxiety. Jeremiah looked back to the board, his eyes shifting rapidly, trying to understand the move. He clasped a rook hesitantly; he'd touched the piece now he had to move it.
Tap Tap Tap
Roderick remained silent grinning at the rook. Jeremiah’s face shifting into full-on panic as his gaze fell on the board scouring the pieces, looking for anything, the seeds of fear flowering beautifully in his mind. He glanced involuntarily toward the crowd and tugged at his tie, attempting to gain some sort of courage. When Jeremiah moved his piece Roderick quickly moved his queen from her hiding spot and slid her next to the king. Jeremiah hit his clock, still cautious, watching the queen. He moved his rook again. "Check." His voice lacked confidence.
Tap Tap Tap
Roderick swiftly took Jeremiah's rook with a knight and hit the timer. Jeremiah’s hand moved to his timer, instinct fighting the paralysis of shock. Seconds ticked away as he tried to recover, he'd been too preoccupied by the king and queen to notice and he paid for it.
As the game progressed Roderick watched Jeremiah fall into his trap. His moves became more erratic, his frustration palpable and because of it he lost piece after piece, until finally. "Checkmate." Roderick hit his timer for the final time and stared across the board.
"H-How the hell did you do that?" Jeremiah uttered in a broken tone.
"I came prepared."
"What?”
"I knew I’d lose to you in chess, so I decided to gamble.”
“What the hell are you-.”
“I convinced you, you would lose.”
“That doesn’t-,”
“You lost the moment you confined the game to the pieces.” Roderick said as he rose from his chair.