I played chess again after my stroke

Dear Delyara, Before my stroke, I played chess every Saturday in the park. Afterward, I could recognise the pieces but struggled to plan more than one move ahead. Losing to beginners made me angry, so I stopped. My grandson began visiting with a small magnetic board. At first, he played slowly and pretended not to notice my mistakes. I told him never to let me win out of pity. We practised patterns, one at a time, using cards my therapist created. Today, I completed a full game against him and won honestly. It took ninety minutes. Twice, I forgot whose turn it was. Once, I nearly moved the bishop incorrectly. Still, when I placed him in checkmate, he shouted loud enough for the neighbours to hear. The victory was not beating a twelve-year-old. It was feeling strategy return, not all at once, but like lights switching on in separate rooms of a house I thought had gone dark.