Aaaahh, it’s Christmas

The manager of the seaside hotel was delighted. Every year he welcomed the chess tournament and Christmas party for the region. But not only did he make sure the great hall was well arranged for the tournament games, and that the dining room was well decked for the feasting, he paid just as much attention to the wonderfully spacious lobby. There were areas where large and small groups could gather, from decent circles of chairs round coffee tables, to small intimate armchairs in twos and threes. The great central area of the foyer was kept open for larger gatherings.

Warmed by drink, and enthused by the games, the tournament goers made full use of the magnificent lobby. In the central area, around the coffee tables, and in the quiet armchair corners they gathered and reminisced about games they had played and won. Naturally the quality of their own game play grew in the telling. The remarkable skill by which they had outwitted their opponents became more remarkable with each glass of mulled wine. The strength of the opposition that they had nonetheless overcome was, sad to say, somewhat exaggerated. Their pawns had demonstrated the strength of queens.

The manager surveyed this benign yet prideful pandemonium in his lobby, and turning to the receptionist said, “I always feel it’s really Christmas when this conference starts. Nothing says Christmas to me like the sight and sound of chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.”