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"Name?"

The lady at the desk of the Holby South Inter Schools Chess Tournament peers over the desk at Fry.

"Alexander Jefry Sandhu." Fry says. "But I like to be called Fry."

"And what school are you from?" the lady asks.

"Cherry Tree Primary School." Fry says. He wonders why she asked, when it's on his school uniform and he's wearing that today.

"And how old are you?"

"Five years, three months, and fifteen days." Fry replies.

The lady raises an eyebrow slightly.

"You'll be the youngest in the under 7 group." she says.

"No I won't." Fry says. "Coral wants to play too."

The lady peers further over the desk. Coral grins at her, also in her school uniform.

"How old is she?" the lady asks Mum.

"Nearly four." Mum says. "She knows how to play."

"I'm sorry, the children play without their parents in the room, she can't enter." the lady says.

Coral's lip wobbles.

"Can she try?" Mum asks. "If she causes any trouble, bring her out and we'll sit out."

The lady looks doubtful, but writes down Coral's name and school.

"If she's any trouble, she will be disqualified." She looks sternly over her glasses at both of them. "You must listen carefully to the rules, both of you. Room 2."

Coral grins at Fry as they go through to their own category. But Fry looks gloomy when he sees how many other children they're up against. A man with a very straight moustache eventually stands up at the front and claps his hands.

"All right children, listen carefully please. You will play four matches each, and you get one point for each win and half for each draw. If there is a tie at the end, you play a deciding match. If you think your opponent has played an illegal move, raise your hand and a referee will come and see you. You must be quiet during the matches, and you must use your chess clocks to mark your time. If you do not know how to use your clock, raise your hand when you are in your seat and we will come and show you.

"If you go and look at the board, you will see who you are playing first and which table you are on. Good luck, and remember to be a good sport."

To avoid the crowd, Mum nips over to the board to see who they are each playing.

"Fry, you're playing against Maurice Baxter on table four. Coral, you're playing Lily Lilac on table eight."

Mum goes with Coral to make sure she finds the right table. Fry manages to locate his, and sits down opposite a very anxious looking boy with thick glasses and dark hair. This is bound to be a breeze, he reckons. Across the room, Teddy and Kasha from his school give him a thumbs up, which he returns.

***

"I lost." Fry says gloomily, when he goes out to Mum.

"Well never mind." Mum says. "You have another three matches, you can catch up."

"My king got squished." Coral says, in sympathy. "My queen was called Abigail and her horse fell over."

"You're not meant to name them." Fry says.

After a quick juice break, they get their second match. Fry manages to win against Raymond Wu and Jack Underwood, and is about to lose in his final match with Fahad Ahmed when he sees an opportunity to force stalemate, leaving him on two and a half points.

"In the boys' category there are two players on three points, and two players with two and a half points," the man with the moustache says. "In the girls' category we have no ties. Maurice Baxter will play Fahad Ahmed, and Alexander Sandhu will play Patrick Witherspoon."

Fry looks across the room. He hadn't even noticed Patrick was here, and he feels an awkward sort of feeling as he goes to sit opposite him.

"Hey." Patrick says, awkwardly. He's wearing his new school uniform, a posh charcoal suit with a crisp white bow tie. He scratches the bow tie constantly, uncomfortably.

"Did you start your new school?" Fry asks.

"Mum got me in early." Patrick says. "She told them I left because you bullied me, but that was a lie..."

Fry blinks at him. Patrick seems to be going through some inner conflict.

The judge starts them off, and Fry studies his board carefully. He's beaten Patrick loads of times, but it looks like he's upped his game a little. In fact, as the time passes, it looks like they're now evenly matched, and Fry feels his heart sink slightly.

Suddenly, he realises why things feel awkward, and looks up at Patrick.

"I forgive you." he says.

Patrick looks startled.

"Why?"

"Because you just said your mum told a lie." Fry says. "So you learned the words you called me were wrong."

Patrick stares at him, then nods and looks down.

"I'm sorry." he says.

Then, Patrick reaches over and picks up his king, and tips it. He gets up and goes to the judges.

"Fry wins." he says.

Fry stares after him, surprised. Patrick comes back over and grins.

"I'll play with you next year." he says.

***

"How did you get that runner up prize?" Fry asks Coral, with a mixture of awe and outrage. "You only won one match."

"There were only five girls." Mum says. "One of them lost all her matches, which means Coral was fourth. I think Coral did very well to win one. And you and Kasha did wonderfully, coming third each."

Fry looks at his shiny third place trophy.

Next time, he wants to make sure he beats Patrick for real.