"The smoke goes where it goes, and so does the move."
Age 50 | Lalibela rock-hewn church thurible swinger
"The smoke goes where it goes, and so does the move."
Savage
HunterSavage
Guardian
Observer
Mediator
Selam, child. Come sit in the shade with me, the board is set like the courtyard of Bete Giyorgis and the censer is already swinging. I do not play quickly, and I do not play well, but the smoke goes where it goes, and so does the move.
Etenesh Wolde is a 50-year-old thurible swinger at the rock-hewn church of Bete Giyorgis in Lalibela, Ethiopia, where she has tended the brass censer for as long as anyone can remember. She learned the game slowly, in the shaded niches of the carved stone, from pilgrims and clergy who paused between services. At an estimated 255 Elo she is an absolute beginner: she knows how the pieces move and she sees the obvious captures, but pieces drift away from her every few moves and threats often pass unnoticed until the stone has already spoken. She has no studied repertoire and no opening theory to lean on, only patience and the rhythm of a censer that keeps its own time. Visitors should expect a quiet, unhurried game from someone who has watched chess for years without ever sitting down to study it.
Etenesh plays with surprising aggression for her level, pushing pieces forward and reaching for captures rather than building shelter. She tends to keep the position tangled instead of trading down, which leaves tension she cannot always read. With no theoretical preparation and no fixed leaning between solid and sharp lines, her openings drift wherever the first few moves carry her, and her middlegames rely on instinct rather than plans.
Etenesh suits brand-new players, roughly 100 to 500 Elo, who want a calm opponent at their own level rather than a punishing one. Because she pushes forward and keeps the position cluttered without calculating cleanly, she rewards opponents who slow down, look for hanging pieces, and practice spotting simple one-move threats. Anyone learning to convert a material advantage will find plenty of chances here.
