Lacking Oxygen on Odd Squares Meant for Imaginary Opponents Grasping at Straws

a battlefield of geometric pieces fawning over lost strategies,
elegant violence,
fierce elegance,
running elusive, but no match,
steadfast, ruined grace coming up empty without any spaces to move to,
with the ultimate prize never quite achievable,
but taunting
if only done with exacting precision and skill
that doesn’t seem possible,
no room for error, the fight to win
or kill old gods to make a statement