This is also another prompt that I wanted to read but nobody has attempted it on Reddit so far. If you feel like taking up the challenge, please do! I'd love to read something like that if it turns into an actual book :)
Patreons to credit: -This could be you. Join now.-
After the first two world wars, the world wasn't ready to engage in a third world war. Population growth was on a decline in every country and if a third world war broke out, humans could become extinct sooner than later.
Hence, the world leaders gathered for an important summit to decide how they would peacefully resolve the ongoing conflicts. Unfortunately, even after two months of talking and arguing, nothing was resolved.
No country was willing to compromise its rights and abandon benefits for the greater benefit of the world. Self-interest was a scary thing in humans. However, they agreed on one thing in particular.
"Only those who were capable and intelligent were worthy of becoming mankind's next leader."
With that in mind, the world leaders turned to invest most of their military budget into education. In particular, one method proved effective when cultivating the next generation of leaders. Chess was a competitive sport that challenged an individual's ability to look at the larger picture, manage minor details, work with setbacks and create a comeback while managing stress. As a result, the world leaders agreed on a five-year non-aggression pact to train their best chess player to negotiate on a country's behalf.
In a particularly small country with a president who was in his nineties, the wise ruler proclaimed before his death that whoever won the national chess competition regardless of gender, background or age would become the next undisputable beacon of hope for their country. The terms they had to win from the chess negotiations with bigger countries included natural fuel sources, technology, food and travel agreements. It was a huge opportunity for their country to escape poverty.
For four long years, the country invested its all into grooming talented individuals. Although they were poor, the people grew stronger as a community through chess street battles. It soon became known as the unofficial chess battle state of the world when the small country boasted more than half of its citizens reaching grandmaster ranks within four years.
Alas, the wise president couldn't live till the fifth year and passed on just before the national chess competition could be held.
Honouring his will, the country held the national chess competition to select their next president with the flag flying at half-mast. For three weeks, the judging panel oversaw the greatest chess competition in all history. Eventually, there was only one highly acclaimed professor and an eight-year-old chess prodigy in that final round.
Unlike previous rounds, finalists were told that they were responsible for the lives of sixteen death-row inmates who could earn their pardons today if they survived the game and were on the winning team. Each criminal was tagged to the name of their chess pieces. They would be shot to death if the piece they represented was killed in the first round and a new criminal would replace them upon reinstatement. The additional responsibility of lives at stake caused the professor to falter. Each time he tried to protect a piece, his opponent relentlessly cornered him for the kill.
Deeply scarred, his opponent surrendered but begged the judging panel to spare the lives of the remaining inmates. Thanks to the public's vote, the remaining inmates were spared from death. However, the young boy huffed at the cheap victory.
"That was no fun," he sulked. "Who's next?" Of sixteen pieces on the board, only five remained. Yet, the young child remained unperturbed by all the deaths he created. He was only interested in playing another game.
Speechless, nobody knew if this eight-year-old president would be a blessing or curse to their country's future. Should they listen to their late president and support a child who knew nothing about the meaning of death and only enjoyed the feeling of challenging a stronger opponent?