Dr Huang

Dr Huang has never been to Seabrook. He lives in Chengdu and plays chess with Mr Penrose by post.

Each move comes on a single sheet of thin airmail paper, under a Chinese stamp, with the position set out and annotated in the careful handwriting of a man who takes these matters seriously. A move takes three weeks to arrive.

His play is indirect. He builds pressure from a direction that looks innocuous until it is not. One bishop move in October was either an oversight or a trap, and Mr Penrose spent some days deciding which. Mr Penrose’s latest move, knight to d5, was either inspired or reckless. The answer is in the post.

The letters used to wait on the hall table at Church Row. Since the office opened Mr Harper has taken them in at the bookshop, and mentions that there is a letter from abroad.

Mr Penrose does not open one while he has a case in hand. It goes into the desk drawer until he can give it the proper gravity.

Nothing else is known about Dr Huang here. The town has not asked what he is a doctor of.

Where you will find him

Nowhere in Seabrook. He has never visited. His letters are at the office above Harper’s Bookshop, on the desk or in the drawer.