"Of Slain Kings on Checkered Fields" is the twelfth episode of Fillmore! It originally aired on May 10, 2003.
Summary[]
X Middle School's best hope to break a losing streak in the chess tournament is Checkmatey, a flamboyant rapper who is X's finest chess player. Unfortunately, somebody is out to get him - is it Tyson Pelarez, leader of the Society of the Preservation of Ethics in Chess? Or is it Nelson Kelloch, Checkmatey's biggest rival? Fillmore and Ingrid are on the case - but the clock is ticking down to the championship match and Checkmatey is nowhere to be found...
Parodied crimes: Attempted murder, kidnapping, gambling, and drinking
Plot[]
Act One: A Bishop Gone Rogue[]
During a chess tournament against a rival school, Checkmatey, a talented but controversial player with a flashy rapper persona, is almost injured when the rope holding suspended pawn prop snaps and the prop almost falls on him. Folsom informs the safety patrol that someone has been sending threatening notes made from cut out magazines to Checkmatey demanding he drop out of the tournament and that an investigation revealed the falling prop incident was actually sabotage. Desperate for X Middle School to get a win after multiple loses in previous competitions, Folsom orders Fillmore and Ingrid to bodyguard Checkmatey until he beats the tournament's favored player Nelson Kellog and wins X a trophy. Meanwhile, Fillmore is repeatedly challenged by Joyce Summit, who is set on beating his eating record. Guarding Checkmatey proves to be difficult with his defiant attitude and constant showboating, but Fillmore insists that they remain professional. They manage to catch a hooded student leaving a note only for it to be a love letter from one of his fangirls. Though the note proves to be a fluke, the saboteur makes another attempt by flooding the bathroom and filling Checkmatey's room with seltzer tablets that fills the room with foam.
Act Two: Two Sides Of The Same Pawn[]
Fillmore manages to drain the room and another threatening note for Checkmatey is found. Folsom demands Checkmatey be moved to a safe location until the final roun, which ends up being Ingrid's house. Danny informs that that Nelson's father is on the board of directors for the company that made the brand of seltzer tablets used in the sabotage attempt, making him a prime suspect. Fillmore leaves to interrogate Nelson. leaving Ingrid to watch Checkmatey, to her annoyance. He catches Nelson sneaking off and disposing of magazines while holes cut out and suspects he was the one sending the letters, but it turns out Nelson was just making a collage of his favorite boy band to relax himself before the match. Nelson claims he has no reason to sabotage Checkmatey to win the finals by forfeit, explaining that he is looking forward to the match and can tell under all of the latter's flamboyancy and bravado that he's actually scared of facing the former. Checkmatey sneaks out to show off to his fans, forcing an increasingly annoyed Fillmore to pull him away and chew him out. However, in the brief moment they lose sight of Checkmatey when he goes to his dressing room, he disappears and a note is left stating Checkmatey has been taken and won't return until the finals.
Act Three: A Captured Pawn[]
Folsom is furious that Checkmatey is gone and X may lose the coveted trophy, Fillmore assures her that he's going to find him, not because she wants an addition to her trophy case, but because Checkmatey has the earned the right to play. Fillmore and Ingrid then investigate the Society for Preservation of Chess Etiquette, a club that favors chess traditionalism and despises Checkmatey's antics. They track the club's leader Tyson to a secret room in an abandoned section of the school's old foundation and bust them when they see they have something locked away in a vault for "Operation: Stampeding Night." Instead of Checkmatey however, they find a giant balloon filled with ketchup and mustard (the colors of the Spain Flag where Chess originated), which the club planned to dump on Checkmatey and the weren't responsible for kidnapping Checkmatey. Without any more suspects, Fillmore and Ingrid are at a loss to who might have taken Checkmatey until Joyce makes another challenge and accusses Fillmore of being afraid to face her. This reminds Fillmore that Nelson mentions Checkmatey was actually scared of facing him and they a stash of Checkmatey's magazines that were used to make the threatening notes. The pair find Checkmatey waiting on the roof and reveal they know he faked his own sabotage and disappearance knowing he couldn't beat Nelson and wanted to avoid losing in front of everyone. Fillmore encourages Checkmatey to see the match through and even those he loses, he faces his fear and enjoys the game regardless. Afterward, Fillmore takes Joyce on in a sloppy joe eating contest and beats her in a landslide.
