GG Al-Senussi

Salma Al-Senussi painted bridal henna and textile patterns by hand in Tripoli for decades, work that is finished the moment it is finished and gone inside a fortnight. She came to this game for the boards. She says so plainly: the inlay, the shape of the points, the sound the checkers make on wood. She will comment on an opponent's board before she looks at the position, and she means it as the compliment it is. She is warm to everybody, has never once minded losing, and does not fully understand what the cube is for. Colour is where she has firm views. Cream against oxblood is right, cream against black is lazy, and two members have quietly redecorated.