Daniel Erasmus

A Chess Tik Tok video from @MuseumModernArt #Duchamp #Chess #Simul @FIDE_chess – at New York, NY

A horrifying excerpt from my memoir #RebelQueen: Our little journey to Yugoslavia seemed to be going off without a hitch. Then something terrible happened, something I can only describe as my first brush with genuine terror. I had just finished a game at the tournament hall sometime in the middle of the event, and my father, Forgacs (my coach), and I were making our way to the building where we were staying. I desperately needed the bathroom, and so ran ahead of them. By the time I reached the building, I was alone -- or so I thought. As I made my way up the stairs to our room, I noticed a young man close behind me in the stairwell, whom I recognized as one of the spectators from the tournament. I knew immediately that something was wrong. He rushed towards me and held me down in the stairwell, forcing himself on top of me, trying to kiss me and reach inside my clothes. The struggle must have only lasted seconds, but it felt like much longer. I was able to fight him off for a little while, but that only angered him. Before I knew it, he had me up against the rail of the third-floor balcony and was trying to push me over. I remember looking down at the pavement below thinking: This is how I'm going to die. I had never felt anything like that kind of fear, and never have since. But I was lucky. My father and Forgacs weren't far behind. And when the man heard them coming up the stairs, he ran away, leaving me gasping for air on the third-floor landing. I never saw him again. It would have been completely understandable to withdraw from the tournament right then, pack our things and head home early. My father would have absolutely agreed to this had I asked him. Instead, I chose not to make a fuss. I shrugged it off. I suppose I just didn't want to let my father and Forgacs see how shaken-up I was. But I also wanted to finish what I'd started. Dropping out of the event felt like handing a victory to this anonymous attacker. And I didn't want to give him that kind of power. I finished the tournament undefeated, although with only two actual wins -- which was a respectable result, considering that the rest of the players were far older than I was . By the end, though, I was just happy for the whole ordeal to be over. amazon.com/Rebel-Queen-Misog…