Reedle Откройте в мобильном приложении
Понятно
Понятно
Для того чтобы воспользоваться закладками, необходимо
Войти или зарегистрироваться
Отмена
Для того чтобы воспользоваться озвучкой предложений, необходимо
Войти или зарегистрироваться
Отмена
Озвучка предложений доступна при наличии PRO-доступа
Купить PRO-доступ
Отмена
“
Just
send
in
an
entry
fee
,
”
Nobile
said
.
“
It
’
s
like
any
other
tournament
,
except
the
competition
’
s
stiffer
.
”
*
*
*
She
sent
in
her
entry
fee
,
but
she
did
not
play
in
the
U
.
S
.
Open
that
year
.
Mrs
.
Wheatley
developed
a
virus
that
kept
her
in
bed
for
two
weeks
,
and
Beth
,
who
had
just
passed
her
fifteenth
birthday
,
was
unwilling
to
go
alone
.
She
did
her
best
to
hide
it
,
but
she
was
furious
at
Alma
Wheatley
for
being
sick
,
and
at
herself
for
being
afraid
to
make
the
trip
to
Los
Angeles
.
The
Open
was
not
as
important
as
the
U
.
S
.
Championship
,
but
it
was
time
she
started
playing
in
something
other
than
events
chosen
solely
on
the
basis
of
the
prize
money
.
There
was
a
tight
little
world
of
tournaments
like
the
United
States
Championship
and
the
Merriwether
Invitational
that
she
knew
of
through
overheard
conversations
and
from
articles
in
Chess
Review
;
it
was
time
she
got
into
it
,
and
then
into
international
chess
Отключить рекламу
Sometimes
she
would
visualize
herself
as
what
she
wanted
to
become
;
a
truly
professional
woman
and
the
finest
chessplayer
in
the
world
,
traveling
confidently
by
herself
in
the
first
-
class
cabins
of
airplanes
,
tall
,
perfectly
dressed
,
good
-
looking
and
poised
—
a
kind
of
white
Jolene
.
She
often
told
herself
that
she
would
send
Jolene
a
card
or
a
letter
,
but
she
never
did
.
Instead
she
would
study
herself
in
the
bathroom
mirror
,
looking
for
signs
of
that
poised
and
beautiful
woman
she
wanted
to
become
.
At
sixteen
she
had
grown
taller
and
better
-
looking
,
had
learned
to
have
her
hair
cut
in
a
way
that
showed
her
eyes
to
some
advantage
,
but
she
still
looked
like
a
schoolgirl
.
She
played
tournaments
about
every
six
weeks
now
—
in
states
like
Illinois
and
Tennessee
,
and
sometimes
in
New
York
.
They
still
chose
ones
that
would
pay
enough
to
show
a
profit
after
the
expenses
for
the
two
of
them
.
Her
bank
account
grew
,
and
that
was
a
considerable
pleasure
,
but
somehow
her
career
seemed
to
be
on
a
plateau
.
And
she
was
too
old
to
be
called
a
prodigy
anymore
.
Although
the
U
.
S
.
Open
was
being
held
in
Las
Vegas
,
the
other
people
at
the
Mariposa
Hotel
seemed
oblivious
to
it
.
In
the
main
room
the
players
at
the
craps
tables
,
at
roulette
and
at
the
blackjack
tables
wore
brightly
colored
double
-
knits
and
shirts
;
they
went
about
their
business
in
silence
.
On
the
other
side
of
the
casino
was
the
hotel
coffee
shop
.
The
day
before
the
tournament
Beth
walked
down
an
aisle
between
crapshooters
where
the
main
sound
was
the
tapping
of
clay
chips
and
of
dice
on
felt
.
In
the
coffee
shop
she
slid
onto
a
stool
at
the
counter
,
turned
around
to
look
at
the
mostly
empty
booths
and
saw
a
handsome
young
man
sitting
hunched
over
a
cup
of
coffee
,
alone
.
It
was
Townes
,
from
Lexington
.
She
stood
up
and
went
over
to
the
booth
.
“
Hello
,
”
she
said
.
Отключить рекламу
He
looked
up
and
blinked
,
not
recognizing
her
at
first
.
Then
he
said
,
“
Harmon
!
For
Christ
’
s
sake
!
”
“
Can
I
sit
down
?
”
“
Sure
,
”
he
said
.
“
I
should
have
known
you
.
You
were
on
the
list
.
”