MIA: Where Have All the Chess Players Gone?

"I'm gonna kill you," One player says to another, and means it.

It all started about three years ago; a golden king chess piece came up missing on one of the expensive chess boards in the Media Center. Someone found it in the Baseball Armory and told Miss Mayne about it. He promised to bring it back but made the mistake of putting it on the metal ledge on the front window outside the Media Center after hours, where it was stolen a second time.

MIA King

The chess sets bought for the Media Center are hand-made, heavy, and highly decorative. It took years to buy them; they are pricey and difficult to replace. We had no choice, they have to be checked out now, and held in the Periodical Room when not being used. Miss Mayne loved the convenience of leaving them on the table and letting kids just "drop and play" whenever they wanted to. But alas, as is typical, one person ruined it for everyone else. Now, the chess players have disappeared too.

Should we put the sets out again, hoping nobody will lift pieces and take them for a permanent walk? They're here if you want to come play. (Look around, see if anyone has a golden king like the one in the photo sitting on their bookshelf at home. It could even be a person who has already graduated.)