“I want to become great,” the pawn said.

“Just because you want to doesn’t mean you can,” one of his friends replied.

“It’s impossible,” all his other friends added.

The pawn angrily replied, “I’m going to be great one day. I promise!”

Full of anger and determination, the pawn stomped back to his square, muttering, “I’ll show them... Yes, I’ll show them that nothing is impossible!”

Determined to seek advice, the pawn approached the king.

“Hey, King, how did you become so great?” he asked, looking at him with amazement.

“How did I become so great?” The king repeated the question, scratching his head. “I don’t know—luck, I guess,” he said with a shrug.

The pawn, now with a disappointed look, backed away. “Maybe the queen will have the answer,” he thought.

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Gathering his courage, the pawn approached the queen. “What a beautiful queen to have by our side. We’re so lucky to have such a gorgeous queen,” he said, staring into her eyes.

The queen blushed and started playing with her hair as she turned to the side. “Thank you!” she replied.

“How did you become so powerful?” the pawn asked, jealousy evident in his voice.

The queen knelt down to his level and said, “Back in the past, I was just like you. Everyone bullied me, and no one believed in me. I got tired of being treated that way. One day, I realized no one was coming to save me.”

The pawn listened intently as the queen continued.

“So, I used all that pain as fuel to keep me going. Every day, I tried my best—just 1% better than the day before. I started seeing progress, and that motivated me even more. I constantly reminded myself why I started. Days turned into months, filled with failures. But I never gave up. Then, one day, all that hard work paid off. I became a powerful queen. Discipline is key.”

The pawn, jaw dropped and eyes wide with surprise, exclaimed, “Wow, you’re amazing. But… how did you know that no one believes in me?”

The queen smiled warmly. “First, I want you to know that I believe in you. Second, getting bullied is something extremely common for pawns. And third, no one believes in you until you succeed.”

With a happy face, the pawn replied, “Thank you for sharing your story! It motivates me even more!”

As the pawn returned to his square, an evil smile crossed his face, and he muttered, “As I said, I’m going to prove them wrong.”

Back on his square, the pawn started reading chess books. While reading, he found a quote by Irving Chernev:

"Every chess master was once a beginner."

The pawn was amazed by this quote and repeated it to himself. Encouraged, he spent hours gaining new knowledge and learning how to become great.

After much studying, he realized that to become great, he needed to reach the last rank on the board. But when he thought about it, his face fell. “That’s why they said it’s impossible… The last two ranks are guarded by the enemy!”

“What am I going to do?” the pawn yelled in despair.

As the pawn sat in silence, a strange thought crossed his mind. “Maybe… maybe there’s another way,” he muttered, the spark of an idea forming.