'Twas the night before Christmas (Eve) and all through the dark
was hardly a sound... well, nothing apart
from the sound of chess clocks being bashed in a fury
As 7 chess players were playing in a hurry.
We all met to play that weird style of chess
called Chess 960. The board is a mess
With none of the pieces on their right squares
How do you play this, everyone glared.
There was Frankie, Jim, Paul, Peter and Tom
Henry and Andy, that made up the throng
of chess players hungry for a night of success.
Of the seven players who would be best?
Round 1 came upon us, but what have we here?
Andy is missing, now that’s really queer.
He’s normally there first, but he’s stuck in the town.
The bus he has taken looks like it’s broken down.
So we gave him the bye, it seemed only fair.
Being an arbiter, he’d sort it when he got there.
The winners that round were Tom, Paul and Jim,
And just as it finished, Andy came in!
Round 2 was upon us, we saw our first draw.
Andy against Tom, it looks like he's thawed!
Paul and Frankie won, with Jim getting the bye,
and some of the positions getting a groan or a sigh.
Onto Round 3, we are getting it, how
these mixed-up positions don't vex us now.
Tom gets the bye, Andy and Jim get wins,
Along with Frankie, the number of leaders thins.
Round 4 and it is Paul's time to rest.
He has the bye, takes photos, the best.
Jim draws with Frankie, Tom wins, what's this?
Andy has gone wrong, Henry wins, Bliss!!
Round 5 and we are now getting the hang
of how this is played, we hardly go wrang.
Peter has the bye, finally a score,
Tom, Andy and Paul win, but they all want more.
Round 6 and there are only 3 left
who can win this and we can find who is best.
Jim loses to Tom, Paul wins against Andy,
Peter beats Henry in a game that was handy.
The last round's upon us, but who here will win?
Will it be Paul or Tom with the biggest grin?
It’s winner take all, who will be left...
After a hard-fought tussle, it was Tom who was best!
In the other games played, Peter and Jim drew
in a very odd ending that caused discussion anew.
Frankie beat Andy with a gorgeous Knight fork
Leaving Andy feeling he was playing like a dork.
So Tom was the winner, with Paul just behind.
Then Frankie, Jim, Andy and I’m sure they won’t mind
if I tell you the two that were taking up the rear
were Peter and Henry, better luck next year.
All in all, a good night was had by the crowd
there was much laughter but it was not too loud.
There is one thing we agree on, with a rather loud cheer
We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!
