Over the summer months Christine Roberts is delighting and entertaining us with her chess poems. This one covers the difficulties in choosing the right opening!

Here’s nonsense written to amuse
of openings you might care to use:

New to chess? Here’s a plan:
memorise the Caro-Kann.

Another for you to explore,
the strategy of Philidor.

This one’s ‘specially for nerds,
A funky opening called the Bird’s.

To play against it throw some bombs
Employ the gambit known as From’s.

And now put on your thinking cap,
and utilise the Lasker Trap!

Or, maybe, wearing just a fez,
open with the Ruy Lopez.

Take your openings up a notch,
why not try to use the Scotch.

And having wrecked this brain of mine,
I’ll finish with the Alekhine!

Apologies to all readers!

Christine Roberts 2021