At the Maru vs. Hana Chess Finals

Ladies and gentlemen, we are now in the third hour of this very tense match. It’s Maru’s move, and both contestants are studying the board. And now Maru appears to be reaching for his rook, and… no, just grooming himself, which he often does in moments of intense concentration. And now Maru is… leaving the game! I have never seen anything like this in my years of covering cat chess!




We take you now to our post-match analysis, with sender-inners Andrew Y. and Lois.

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26 thoughts on “At the Maru vs. Hana Chess Finals

  1. D B February 24, 2016 / 2:44 pm

    Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I now have confirmation, Maru has left the game to go PLAY WITH THE BOX IT CAME IN!

    • Mikeyfur February 24, 2016 / 2:53 pm

      Hitting the like button for DB’s comment!

      • Murray February 24, 2016 / 4:07 pm

        Me, too!

        • debg February 24, 2016 / 6:04 pm

          And me.

          • Faye February 24, 2016 / 8:46 pm

            Yup! Me five.

    • fkaWaldenPond February 24, 2016 / 6:31 pm

      ๐Ÿ˜€

  2. Saffron February 24, 2016 / 3:17 pm

    This is just like my kittehs’ reaction to toys I buy for them. They merely look at them and then stroll away. But if I drop a rubber band or a bread twisty tie on the floor, all h*ll breaks loose as they go bonkers batting them around and trying to nom on them.

    Does this stop me from buying more cat toys for them? NO ๐Ÿ˜€

    • allein February 24, 2016 / 7:39 pm

      Straws.

      My girl once lost the pea she was playing with in a little spot where she couldn’t reach it. After watching her flail adorably for a few minutes trying to make her little kitten legs somehow reach further, I took pity on her and got a bendy straw so I could get it out. They forgot all about their pea soccer game and spent the rest of the night playing with the straw. We used to find them in the hall closets all the time (usually after finding a cat flailing outside the door trying to get their feet under there).

      My mom also once bought a pack of neon ponytail holders from the dollar section of the grocery store for them. That doesn’t stop the boy from trying to steal mine when I’m there, sometimes right from my head. (If I stay over, I have to be careful not to leave them on the sink or night stand, or they will disappear.)

      • Saffron February 24, 2016 / 9:24 pm

        My older fluffball loves the ponytail holders. Of course they all end up under the fridge and I have to get them out with a yardstick ?

        I will have to try bendy straws and see what my kittens do with them!

        • allein February 24, 2016 / 11:12 pm

          He also tries to take plastic claw clips out of my hair. I put one on his tail once to see what he would do…I ended up with a broken clip after he whacked it on the tile floor a few times. ๐Ÿ˜›

          • Saffron February 25, 2016 / 9:13 am

            ๐Ÿ˜€ ๐Ÿ˜€

          • 6rabbits February 25, 2016 / 8:01 pm

            My bun Theo has tried to jerk the small claw clips from my hair!

    • Mariana Paes February 25, 2016 / 5:09 am

      mine is addicted to qtips..

  3. Julie February 24, 2016 / 4:33 pm

    I love this cat.

    • Smartypants February 24, 2016 / 10:10 pm

      Watching Maru&Hana is better than meditation.

  4. Gigi_the cat lady February 24, 2016 / 6:55 pm

    This is cat Mia’s favorite toy, she will still it out of my handbag and the pockets of my coat.

    • Faye February 24, 2016 / 8:48 pm

      My cat is a purist. Human feet under sheets are tops. Especially if the human (me) is trying to get to sleep.

    • hilz February 25, 2016 / 9:44 am

      OMG for a few days, my Selma’s favorite thing was to pull everything out of my purse til she found the tissue pack, and then bring it to me. I have no idea what she was trying to accomplish, but it’s nice to know she’s not alone in her weirdness!

  5. Faye February 24, 2016 / 8:44 pm

    Hana called CHECKMOLE!! and the game was so over for Maru.

  6. Kar February 24, 2016 / 10:29 pm

    It’s like Searching for Bobby Fischer but without the chess, dialogue, character development, faher/son dynamics, parables of obsessive ambitions and no Ben Kingsley.

    • Faye February 24, 2016 / 11:01 pm

      Exactly!

    • Not That Mike The Other Mike February 24, 2016 / 11:00 pm

      But what was really great about that post was the way the commenting crew grabbed the rhyme ball and kept running with it.

    • debg February 25, 2016 / 10:06 am

      If I’d read that thread before, I’d forgotten it. Thanks for the linky!

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