Brother Raul is a contestant in the Invitation Chess Championship representing the Catholic Church and the Papal States.
History[]
Early History[]
Growing up in Spain during the early 16th century, Raul became known as the finest chess player in the nation. He also joined the Catholic Church, where he came a Brother in their ranks, and also became a devotee of the repetición along with Jesuit Ignatius.
In 1546, the leadership in the Catholic Church received a letter from Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire to announce that he was going to be holding a chess tournament, and requested that they send their best player to Constantinople to determine the champion of the known world. As Raul's chess skills were known to be among the best in the Church-controlled regions - to the point where it was said that he hadn't lost a match in six years - and so the Church, at the advice of Ignatius, quickly selected him to represent them before King Charles could get Raul to represent Spain. Soon Raul was sent off with a delegation led by Cardinal Farnese to Constantinople.
The Tournament[]
Upon arriving in Constantinople, the Church's local ambassador, Cardinal Cardoza, invited the delegation to stay with him at the embassy. As he disliked Cardoza and others in the Church who happily sold off indulgences, Ignatius suggested that Brother Raul join him in more humble lodgings in the city, though Raul chose to ignore the advice and accept Cardoza's invitation.
Later, Brother Raul and the rest of his delegation representing the Papal States waited in line with the other delegations representing the various nations who'd sent players to await their turn to meet with the Sultan. While waiting, the English player Gilbert Giles heard from the Austrian player Maximilian the story of how Raul had come to be chosen to represent the Church. Raul later soon introduced as the Papal States' player during the opening banquet.
At the drawing for the tournament the following day, Raul's name was selected for the fourth matchup, in which he would be facing against Brother Eduardo of Syracuse.
Raul soon had his match against Eduardo on the tournament's second day, and won the majority of the seven matches against his opponent, and was allowed to proceed to the second round of the Championship.
That night, Cardoza hosted a celebration in the Church's embassy for Raul's victory, with the Brother taking part in the sordid affair, drinking wine and smoking opium pipes while watching fellow priests abuse young boys.
For the second round, Raul was faced with his fellow Spaniard, Pablo Montoya, who was instead representing Spain itself. Raul eventually won the round four matches to one, allowing him to proceed to the semi-finals.
The next day, Raul began the round in which he was facing Zaman, the Sultan's own cousin, in what the bookmakers taking bets were calling "the New Crusade" since they were representing the Catholic and Moslem faiths respectively. For over several hours, Raul and Zaman played against one another, with Raul winning the first two matches before Zaman began making a comeback, winning the next three matches consecutively, before Raul claimed another victory. With each standing a three wins apiece, Raul and Zaman began the final, deciding match, which ultimately ended in Zaman's win and getting Raul eliminated from the Championship. The exhausted Raul would later say that it had felt like he had been playing against five men at once, unaware that this was in fact the case since Zaman was receiving aid from men hidden on the Sultan's hidden balcony.
Skills[]
- Expert Chess Player: Brother Raul is a highly-skilled chess player, one whose skills were considered the best in Spain since he hadn't lost a game in six years, which got him chosen to represent his homeland at the Invitational Chess Championship. There, he was able to emerge victorious in the first two rounds before being beaten by Zaman, though Raul's opponent had helpers aiding him in outwitting Raul.
Trivia[]
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