 How does Sandra meet the chess players?
Silently, so as not to shock anyone with illusions about well dressed young women, Sandra Lea Grayling cursed the day she had persuaded the Chicago Space Mirror that there would be all sorts of human interest stories to be picked up at the first international grandmaster chess tournament in which an electronic computing machine was entered. Samples: "They say the Machine has been programmed to play nothing but pure Barcza System and Indian Defenses—and the Dragon Formation if anyone pushes the King Pawn." Sandra's chief difficulty was that she knew absolutely nothing about the game of chess—a point that she had slid over in conferring with the powers at the Space Mirror , but that now had begun to weigh on her. "You know nothing whatsoever of chess—so you will be able to write about it understandably for your readers." What the Machine can do is examine all the likely lines of play for about eight moves ahead—that is, four moves each for White and Black—and then decide which is the best move on the basis of capturing enemy pieces, working toward checkmate, establishing a powerful central position and so on." Flesh-and-blood chess masters have lost games by blunders they could have avoided by looking only one or two moves ahead.
 Doc tells her their chess history and introduces her to them as they pass by.
 Doc explains that she can use her tournament program to meet whichever player she wishes.  Doc tells her their chess history and introduces her to them as they pass by.  She uses her female charm to interest each player in an interview.  She interviews each player in accordance with who Doc is friends with, save for Dr. Krakatower.