..

Now We Are Free

I hope you’re not nervous …

– Viktor Korchnoi to Yasser Seirawan

The well-informed reader knows that much has been said1 about Maximus Decimus Meridius, or The Romantic; the Serpent-Gladiator (for the uninformed reader, I provide the following reference). However, not much has been revealed on the nature of the relationship between him and I. Although, I would not consider him a bosom-friend, I have been in sporadic correspondence with him on various matters and on occasion have been blessed by his presence2. I consider myself to be on first-name basis with dear old Maximus, while he treats me with an indifference akin to that of a housecat idly swatting a fly on a dreary summer afternoon. What follows are the contents of a postcard I received a long, long time ago from the very same, detailing an extraordinary sequence of events in Biel, Switzerland that the venerable Maximus was fortunate to have witnessed first-hand (and participated in, by his own admission). I do preface the ensuing with a warning to the reader regarding the braggadocious tone of Maximus. Although the events definitely did occur (to the knowledgeable reader, it is clear that Maximus writes about the awe-inspiring victory of GM Pia Cramling over GM Viktor Korchnoi), dear Maximus has the tendency to overplay his contribution. Nonetheless, I am ever grateful to him for writing to me regarding an occurrence so grand. Finally, I have left my annotations on Maximus’ postcard in red text which I believe may be of some aid to the reader.

the postcard

July 22, 1984

To whomsoever it may concern,

As I lie in the infirmary, dazed and confused, I think of the good times, bad times. I wonder how many more times I must perish against the black mountain side struggling with the communication breakdown. (I think Maximus has discovered Led Zepellin). Alas, I must recall fondly the magnificent events that led to my maiming and request that these details be shared with the world.

… as I was saying I got pushed to support the Queen on move 23. In a highly protracted battle, this move decided the game (I feel this is an absurd introduction to the game. There is absolutely nothing in this description of the game. I refer the fanatic reader to the actual game between GM Pia Cramling and GM Viktor Korchnnoi and furthermore to the analysis of the game provided by the legendary player herself in this video). My advance enabled an overwhelming attack for the player with the white pieces (I am told this is GM Pia Cramling) to threaten checkmate with 25. Bd4. I unfortunately fell on move 29 when I was threatened with my Archbishop (I assume this is the bishop that got forked with my dear friend on move 28) and I was forced to sacrifice myself for the eventual overwhelming victory that GM Pia Cramling was guaranteed due to my forethought.

Best regards from your acquantaince,(Maximus is undermining my relationship with him3)

Maximus Decimus Meridius

Commander of the Armies of the North and the Felix Legions Between 200-300 Anno Domini4

footnotes

  1. The overzealous reader may observe that not much has been said about anything, let alone regarding The Romantic/The Serpent Gladiator. However, I would like to point out that given the premature stature of this blog, I am prextrapolating5 the success and quality6 of this blog. ↩

  2. I have played the Vienna gambit featuring Maximus (albeit not in his true form) with middling success overwhelming frustration. ↩

  3. A highly meaningless comment regarding the effective disregard Maximus places on the poor writer of this blog. ↩

  4. An inaccurate timestamp. But who am I to complain; a blog post dated 12.10.2025 is getting posted on 01.02.2026 (a delay of an amount of time that is intensely irrelevant7). ↩

  5. !! Prextrapolating: Extrapolating in the retrospect ↩

  6. Note that the quality of this blog is highly irrelevant. I understand that the readers of this blog are most likely people I forced to read this post. ↩

  7. An unnecessary footnote to indicate that the author does not subscribe to reducionist notions of time. ↩