He had the chess board set up and was waiting for his younger brother to arrive.
Just about once a week they would catch up for a game and an update on how their now, quite separate lives were going. They had always shared a love of chess and music. It happened that this was also the evening when he’d get confirmation that their tickets for an upcoming music concert had been purchased. His brother was notorious for always leaving things to the last minute, so he had his fingers crossed. It didn’t look good when he arrived late and seemed flustered.
He walked in shaking his head. “Sorry, I’m late. I’ve been on the concert hall’s website, trying to buy a second ticket. It must have sold out incredibly fast. When I logged on, there was just one ticket left for all three nights. Of course, I grabbed it, but…”
His older brother finished for him. “But we can’t both go to the performance on the night; is that it?
“No. Sorry. I’m sure I could sell it, and we could just give it a miss. What do you reckon?”
“Seems a shame doesn’t it? I think one of us should go.” He thought for a moment. “We could play for it. Yes, why not? Simple solution; we play our regular game and the winner gets the ticket.”
With that agreed they settled down in front of the board.
Unlike most evenings the game was soon over, with the older brother winning for a change.
The younger one slumped back in his chair with a frown. “Wow! That was the fastest game I can remember,” he said.
His brother sat nodding with a grin, he said, “Yep.”
“And you won.”
“Yep.”
“But I always win, let’s face it, you’re pretty hopeless!”
“Not really.”
“What do you mean, not really?”
“I suppose I just get a kick out of how happy you look when you win.”
“So, you’re saying you’ve been letting me win?”
“Yes, well, I guess you could call it my backup. You know, something for a rainy day. I was just setting myself up for a time when I really needed it.”
The young brother raised his eyebrows. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, this is usually played just for fun… but, heh! This was for a Baroque Music Concert!”