Toymaker plays 4th dimensional chess with Fenric

The stakes of the game, Magician - what do you gain if you are the victor?

The Mandarin paused. "In past times I have been called a Toymaker. If I win, you shall be my new toy."

Yes, the Entity agreed, smiling darkly, and if I win, your body is given over to me forever, so that I may gain my freedom. You are beyond death, Magician, but you are not beyond my reach.

"Agreed." The Magician's eyes blazed. So much to gain if victorious, everything to lose if defeated. This was the moment. This was what he lived for, the times of chance, when skill and fortune combine to challenge every part of his being. This was what made eternity bearable.

The Entity gestured, mockingly imitating the Mandarin's own flourishes. And as I am the challenging party, I shall choose the form of our contest.

A tiny light appeared, swiftly growing into a large translucent sphere. Dotted around it were wooden chess pieces. The sphere began to rotate.

Four dimensional chess; an elegantly simple game, Magician. Shall we begin?

The moves, as always, were made simultaneously. The players' hands danced over the rolling board, pieces appearing and disappearing with lightning-speed. The board itself changed pattern several times over the opening gambit, the structure of the conflict rearranging itself each time. Moves that occurred in the future twisted back on themselves to affect moves made in the present. The advantage see-sawed between the two adversaries.

The sphere's rotation increased in speed. The number of pieces on the board began to grow larger.

The duration of the contest was impossible to judge - a year, a day, a nanosecond - but eventually the endgame showed itself. The pieces reshaped into their final pattern.

Victory was near, as was failure.

The Mandarin was losing. It had been a magnificent gambit, with three of the Entity's kings falling in the middle-game, but now his position was poor, his forces weak. There was no way of winning, none at all...

We are almost done, little Magician... I have so enjoyed our game...

No way of winning...

And I think I shall enjoy consuming you even more.

No way of winning... but perhaps a way not to lose? A foreign thought had entered the Mandarin's mind - a concept he had never before been able to comprehend. He grasped it gratefully and began to consolidate his pieces.

The Entity pushed forward, moving ever closer to success. Yet something was wrong. To penetrate the Mandarin's defences would now mean leaving his own forces scattered. He could not gain the final advantage needed, but neither could his adversary.

The opponents' hands both froze over the board.

Stalemate.

No! The Entity roared. This cannot be! Another game! Another!

The Mandarin laughed softly. "My dear friend, what would be the point? The result would be the same. We are simply too well matched..."

***
Doctor Who Magazine #192, page 22, "Games"