The Park Chess Hustler

Every Saturday, Asha sets up her folding table under the big plane tree and waits for someone who thinks he is better than he is. Her sign reads, "Speed chess, five minutes, two dollars a game." Her real skill is not chess. It is knowing exactly how much to let a stranger believe.

Setiap hari Sabtu, Asha memasang meja lipatnya di bawah pohon platan besar dan menunggu seseorang yang mengira dirinya lebih hebat daripada kenyataannya. Papan tandanya berbunyi, "Catur kilat, lima menit, dua dolar per permainan." Keahlian sejatinya bukan catur. Keahliannya adalah mengetahui dengan tepat seberapa banyak yang boleh ia biarkan dipercaya oleh orang asing.

Today's customer is a man in a very clean jacket who has been explaining his favorite opening to her for ten minutes. She loses the first game on purpose, then wins the next three. He pays, grumbling, and she pockets the money.

Pelanggan hari ini seorang pria berjaket sangat bersih yang sudah sepuluh menit menjelaskan pembukaan favoritnya kepadanya. Ia sengaja kalah di permainan pertama, lalu menang tiga permainan berikutnya. Pria itu membayar sambil menggerutu, dan Asha memasukkan uangnya ke saku.

Then a small girl appears at the edge of the table. She is perhaps nine, with a backpack bigger than her body and a stare that never blinks. She puts down two dollars and sits. She says nothing.

Lalu seorang gadis kecil muncul di tepi meja. Usianya mungkin sembilan tahun, dengan ransel yang lebih besar daripada tubuhnya dan tatapan yang tak pernah berkedip. Ia meletakkan dua dolar dan duduk. Ia tidak mengatakan apa-apa.

Asha, amused, plays quickly and carelessly, as she always does with children. Twelve moves later, her queen is trapped. She stares at the board. "Lucky," she says. The girl shrugs and sets up the pieces again.

Asha, geli, bermain cepat dan sembarangan, seperti yang selalu ia lakukan terhadap anak-anak. Dua belas langkah kemudian, ratunya terkepung. Ia menatap papan. "Beruntung," katanya. Gadis itu mengangkat bahu dan menata bidak-bidak itu lagi.

The second game is slower. Asha concentrates, which she has not done for a paying customer in years. It does not help. The girl takes her rook with a neat little tap and folds her hands in her lap.

Permainan kedua lebih lambat. Asha berkonsentrasi, sesuatu yang sudah bertahun-tahun tidak ia lakukan untuk pelanggan yang membayar. Itu tidak membantu. Gadis itu mengambil bentengnya dengan ketukan kecil yang rapi dan melipat tangan di pangkuan.

A tall man hurries across the grass, out of breath. "Jacinta! You can't just run off like that," he says. Then he sees the board and the two dollars in Asha's tray. "Oh no. Has she been playing for money?"

Seorang pria jangkung bergegas melintasi rumput, terengah-engah. "Jacinta! Kamu tidak boleh lari begitu saja," katanya. Lalu ia melihat papan itu dan dua dolar di baki Asha. "Ya ampun. Apakah dia bermain dengan taruhan uang?"

Asha opens her mouth to say yes, and to say something dignified about business. What comes out instead is, "She's beaten me twice."

Asha membuka mulut untuk berkata ya, dan mengatakan sesuatu yang bermartabat tentang bisnis. Yang keluar justru, "Dia mengalahkan saya dua kali."

The man explains, a little apologetically, that his daughter has been reading the same chess book since spring. She will not speak to the coach at school, and she will hardly speak to anyone. They had hoped chess might be a way in.

Pria itu menjelaskan, agak menyesal, bahwa putrinya membaca buku catur yang sama sejak musim semi. Gadis itu tak mau berbicara dengan pelatih di sekolah, dan nyaris tak mau berbicara dengan siapa pun. Mereka berharap catur bisa menjadi jalan masuk.

Asha knows what she should do. A sensible hustler would keep the two dollars and move her table to the far side of the park before the girl returned with friends. If she had any sense, she would do exactly that.

Asha tahu apa yang seharusnya ia lakukan. Seorang penipu yang waras akan menyimpan dua dolar itu dan memindahkan mejanya ke sisi taman yang jauh sebelum si gadis kembali bersama teman-temannya. Kalau ia punya akal sehat, itulah yang akan ia lakukan.

Instead, she turns the board around. "Your opening was fine," she tells the girl. "But on move six, you took my pawn when you should have developed your knight. You got away with it because I wasn't paying attention."

Sebaliknya, ia memutar papannya. "Pembukaanmu bagus," katanya kepada si gadis. "Tapi pada langkah keenam, kamu mengambil pion saya padahal seharusnya kamu mengembangkan kudamu. Kamu lolos karena saya tidak memperhatikan."

The girl listens, eyes fixed on the pieces. Then, very slightly, she nods.

Gadis itu mendengarkan, matanya terpaku pada bidak-bidak. Lalu, sedikit sekali, ia mengangguk.

"Come back next Saturday," Asha says to the father. "I'll show her a few things the book doesn't say."

"Datanglah lagi Sabtu depan," kata Asha kepada si ayah. "Saya akan menunjukkan beberapa hal yang tidak ada di buku itu."

"How much would that cost?" he asks.

"Berapa biayanya?" tanya pria itu.

Asha looks at the two dollars in her tray. She slides them back across the table. "Nothing. Call it professional curiosity."

Asha menatap dua dolar di bakinya. Ia menggesernya kembali ke seberang meja. "Gratis. Anggap saja rasa ingin tahu profesional."

The following Saturday, Jacinta arrives before the table has even been unfolded. By noon, she has beaten three of Asha's regular victims, and Asha has quietly repainted her sign. It now says, "Beat the kid and win four dollars." Nobody has won yet.

Sabtu berikutnya, Jacinta tiba sebelum mejanya sempat dibuka. Menjelang siang, ia sudah mengalahkan tiga korban langganan Asha, dan Asha diam-diam mengecat ulang papan tandanya. Sekarang bunyinya, "Kalahkan si anak dan menangkan empat dolar." Belum ada yang menang.

At the end of the afternoon, the girl pushes a small pile of coins across the table and holds up five fingers.

Di akhir sore, gadis itu mendorong setumpuk kecil koin ke seberang meja dan mengacungkan lima jari.

"Fifty percent?" Asha laughs. "Where did you learn to negotiate?"

"Lima puluh persen?" Asha tertawa. "Di mana kamu belajar bernegosiasi?"

Jacinta points at the table and, very quietly, speaks her first word to Asha. "Here."

Jacinta menunjuk meja itu dan, dengan sangat pelan, mengucapkan kata pertamanya kepada Asha. "Di sini."