The guard enter the condemned cell, blocking the door with his bulk. "So, Lauro, it is your final night here. How would you like to pass the time?"

Lauro looked up from his pallet. "I would like to sleep tonight, but -," he indicated the barred window set in the wall above him, "- the shadow of the scaffold disturbs me even now."

"Something to occupy your thoughts, maybe?" the guard suggested.

"Do you play chess?" Lauro asked after a moment's thought.

"There is a board and pieces. Wait."

The guard left the cell, then returned bearing a wooden box and a chess board. He placed them on the table beside Lauro's bed. "It is a good set. Not pretty, but serviceable." The guard began to lay out the board.

Lauro sat up on his bed and tried to gather his thoughts. "Do many of the condemned ask to play, then?"

The guard picked up two pawns - one black, one white - and concealed them, one in each hand. "No. A few. Mainly we guards play amongst ourselves to pass the nights."

"So, you have some skill?" Lauro tapped the guard's left hand.

"A little." The guard opened his hand, revealing the black pawn. "Shall we begin?"

"Your modesty betrays you."

"Unlike yours."

Lauro gave a bitter laugh, then the two men began to play.

As Lauro expected, the guard was a skilled player. Lauro had to be careful with his moves: to decipher his opponent's stratagems and plan his responses. Complex formations were built across the board, only to be broken up in the aftermath of furious exchanges. As the night wore on and the sky outside turned to grey with the promise of dawn, Lauro's superior abilities began to tell.

He was ready to spring his ultimate trap when two soldiers entered the cell, their weapons at the ready. "Lauro Morruzzi? It is time."

Lauro looked at the board and sighed. "I suppose there is no point in delaying matters. It is a pity." He smiled at the guard. "One more move and I would have had your king."

The guard stood up to let Lauro past. "Yes. You would. But it seems to be a failing with your plans."

He waited for the soldiers to to take Lauro to his fate, then began to tidy the chess pieces away.