Roger and Chess[]
Introduction[]
Throughout the years Roger has shown a keen interest in chess while not being that good his interest to play never waivers. With 9 Sunday strips alone featuring Roger and chess dating back to 2015 and the most recent one being in June 2021 the gag has been going for a long time.
The Games[]
Roger has played a chess game with everyone in the family, except Quincy, although no one but Jason (whenever Roger pays him) ever wants to play with him. He gets people to play with by either constant begging, with Andy, or through minor blackmail with Peter and Paige. He once even threatened to get Peter in trouble if he refused to play. The only people we have seen win a game is Jason, obviously, Andy, and Roger but Roger mostly wins because Peter, Paige, and Andy are trying to end the game as fast as possible. Andy won one time on Christmas after getting Roger a new chess set she also wins four games in a row in a strip from 2011. Roger also once beat Jason in a Father's Day strip but only because Jason let him win. When Roger refused to accept the result he demanded a rematch in which Jason quickly checkmated Roger much to Roger's dismay and Jason’s exasperation.
Other Chess Instances[]
There are many quick gags around chess in the years of Foxtrot, one notable one is when Peter and Jason make a compromise. Peter wanted to play Football while Jason wanted to play Chess. They ended up making a new game in which a football was thrown at the board and whoever's king piece was left on the board was the winner. Obviously the mess that resulted did not go well with Andy. In another instance Roger went to a pawn shop to buy a new pawn piece needless to day he did not get one. There are a few other instances as well, to list a few, Roger buying a chess set with meter high pieces or Paige playing chess to avoid homework and Roger maxing out his credit card buying redoes on a chess game.