One board, sixty-four squares, sixteen pieces each – eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, one king and one queen. a1, b1, c1, d1 . . . eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, one king and one queen. a2, b2, c2 . . .

‘All right, Felix!’ Dad makes me jump as pokes his head around the side of my bedroom door. ‘How’s it going?’

‘I’m okay, Dad,’ I say wearily.

‘Doesn’t sound like it.’ He walks in wearing his work overalls with black oil stains on the front. ‘What’s up, mate? Did the scuba diving wear you out?’

‘Yeah, just a bit.’

‘Well, I think your granddad must have loved it. I just popped in on him on the way home and he’s full of beans. How did you get him to do it?’

I sigh. ‘It’s complicated, Dad.’

‘Try me. Just don’t tell Mum I sat on your bed in these.’

Dad sits down and I tell him how Granddad made a list of chores when all he really wanted was for me to play chess. And then I tell him how I made a list of my own to do in exchange, things I thought Granddad would never do.

‘Like scuba diving.’ Dad smiles.

‘Yeah,’ I say, ‘but he did it and it’s all gone wrong because I’ve been playing chess all afternoon.’

‘What? With Granddad? But he hasn’t played since . . . since . . . Well, he certainly never played it with me.’

‘You were lucky then,’ I say. ‘He’s going on about chess so much that I’ve got black and white squares in my head. I can see them everywhere . . .’

Dad laughs.

‘It’s not funny,’ I say. ‘Look at all the stuff I’ve got to learn.’ I point at the back of my bedroom door.

‘What’s this?’ Dad turns and looks at the list from Granddad that I’ve put next to Astro Boy on my door. ‘Ten things for Felix to learn about chess.’ He scans down the list. ‘Blimey,’ he says. ‘This should keep you quiet for a while.’

I get up off my bed and read the list with Dad.

1.   Do not eat prior to a game. Your blood will go to your stomach to digest food and not to help your brain.

2.   Never take the easiest path. If you don’t play you don’t lose and that’s wrong. You lose to get better.

3.   Do not trust the clocks. There may be a power cut and they stop, or they will be slow because of flat batteries, or your opponent may be a cheat. The best clock is the one in your head.

4.   Do not smile or stare at your opponent (especially if they are wearing glasses). They will think you are not concentrating on your game. Which you will not be.

5.   Do not fidget or pick your nose or cough or sniff. This is not about chess, it’s about good manners.