A Flaw in the Board

by Sammie Ford

Dr. Felton Kray, Nobel laureate and Fields Medal winner, could calculate the square root of a 97-digit number in his head but somehow had never once beaten his 6-year-old niece at tic-tac-toe. Every game, he’d mutter about optimal strategies and Nash equilibria, only to place his X squarely in the losing position. “You’re playing emotionally, Uncle Fel,” she’d say, scribbling in the final O with a juice box in her other hand. “Impossible,” he’d reply, sweating slightly, staring at the deceptively simple 3x3 grid like it held the secrets of the universe. After his 88th consecutive loss, he retreated to his chalkboard and scribbled: “There must be a flaw in the board.” Meanwhile, his niece taped another L to the fridge, right next to the fridge poetry that spelled out “Genius? LOL.”

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Sammie Ford enjoys crossword puzzles and pretending to understand quantum mechanics.