【翻译 | 双语】罗恩 · 韦斯莱的魔法象棋比赛是如何体现出他真正的潜力的

How Ron Weasley’s wizard chess match showed his true potential

原文链接：https://www.wizardingworld.com/features/how-ron-weasleys-wizard-chess-match-showed-his-true-potential

译者：忘灌鱼

 

Philosopher's Stone showed us that if there's one thing Ron Weasley is good at, it's wizard chess. But this skill actually reveals so much about Ron’s character.

哈利波特与魔法石一书向我们展示了罗恩 · 韦斯莱最擅长的事情，那就是巫师象棋。但是这个技能实际上揭示了很多关于罗恩性格的东西。

 

The Ron we meet in Philosopher’s Stone isn’t exactly brimming with self-belief. He’s embarrassed about his hand-me-downs, overshadowed by his older brothers and burdened by the weight of family expectation. It’s really no surprise that the Mirror of Erised shows him basking in the glory of being the best Weasley boy – something, he gloomily tells Harry, is unlikely to happen in real life:

我们在魔法石中看到的罗恩并不完全充满自信。他为自己穿过的旧衣服感到尴尬，被哥哥们的光环所掩盖，被家庭期望的重担所压得喘不过气来。当在厄里斯魔镜中，我们已应不奇怪他沉浸在成为韦斯莱家最优秀的男孩的荣耀中——他沮丧地告诉哈利，这种事情在现实生活中不太可能发生:

‘Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first.’ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

“每个人都希望我做得和其他人一样好，但如果我做到了，也没什么大不了的，因为他们已经早我一步先做过了。“——《哈利波特与魔法石》

All that sibling rivalry, plus the added factor of being the best friend of the incredibly famous Harry Potter, all seems to contribute to knocking Ron's self-esteem, and it can lead him to being pretty jealous at times. But in his very first year, Ron shows poise and bravery while battling Professor McGonagall's huge enchanted chessboard, one of the many obstacles protecting the Philosopher's Stone. He's even willing to sacrifice himself by being knocked unconscious by the giant chess pieces so Harry and Hermione can move on.  It's a hugely mature decision for someone so young, especially for someone who can be a bit immature at times like Ron.

所有的兄弟姐妹之间的竞争，加上成为不可思议的大名鼎鼎的哈利 · 波特最好的朋友这一附加因素，似乎都在损害罗恩的自尊心，有时还会导致他相当嫉妒。但是在他的第一年，罗恩在与麦格教授的巨大魔法棋盘——保护魔法石的众多障碍之一——较量中表现出镇定和勇敢。他甚至愿意牺牲自己，被巨大的棋子击昏，这样哈利和赫敏就可以继续前进。对于一个如此年轻的人来说，这是一个非常成熟的决定，尤其是对于像罗恩这样有时有点不成熟的人来说。

Here's why Ron's chess match was so important.

下面我们就来谈谈为什么罗恩的象棋比赛是那么的重要

He's in control

他掌控着一切

Ron's part of a big family, constantly jostling for room. At Hogwarts, it's even worse: not only does he have the legacy of his two eldest brothers to contend with, he's also got perfect Percy and practical jokers Fred and George on his case.

罗恩是一个大家庭的一员，持续不断地争夺房间，在霍格沃茨，情况甚至更糟: 他不仅要面对两个大哥，还要面对完美

的珀西和名副其实的玩笑家弗雷德和乔治带给他的压力。

If everyone expects certain things of you, it's hard to feel in control of your own choices. Chess might be an unpredictable game, but when Ron is directing his pieces around that chessboard it's just him and his opponent.

如果每个人都对你有所期望，你就很难对自己的选择有所掌控。但国际象棋是一种不可预测的游戏，当罗恩在棋盘上指挥棋子时，那里只有他和他的对手。

 

It's all about strategising

一切都是为了制定战略

Ron can be impulsive, reckless and irrational – such as stealing his dad's car in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, for instance – or falling out with Harry over his Triwizard Cup entry in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Chess, however, is a long game with only three possible outcomes. Chess forces Ron to think strategically, and quickly. This is where he's at his best. He thrives on action and at the very least he likes a plan. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he initially struggles with the randomness of his Horcrux journey but later, during the Battle of Hogwarts, he has the idea of gathering Basilisk fangs to destroy the remaining Horcruxes — the kind of thinking on the spot that chess encourages.

罗恩可以是冲动的，鲁莽的和不理智的。例如在哈利·波特与密室偷了他爸爸的车，或者在哈利·波特与火焰杯的三强争霸赛中和哈利吵架。然而，国际象棋是一个长时间的游戏，只有三种可能的结果。国际象棋迫使罗恩进行战略性思考，而且要快。这是他发挥才能最好的地方。他喜欢行动，至少他喜欢制定计划。在哈利·波特与死亡圣器中，他纠结于魂器寻找旅程的不可靠，但后来在霍格沃茨的战役中，他能想到收集蛇怪的尖牙来摧毁剩下的魂器——这种思维模式无疑与他在国际象棋上的经验有关。

 

There are no expectations

那里没有期望所带来的负担 

He says it himself — at every point in Ron's Hogwarts journey, from the Sorting Hat to his lessons to the Quidditch pitch, he's burdened by expectation: all his family were Gryffindors, Bill was Head Boy, Charlie was Quidditch captain, Percy's a prefect and Fred and George make everyone laugh.

他自己也这么说——在霍格沃茨他度过的每分每秒中，从分院帽到他的课程再到魁地奇球场，他都被期望所累: 他的家人都是格兰芬多，比尔是校长，查理是魁地奇队的队长，珀西是级长，弗雷德和乔治则能给每个人都带来快乐。

But a game of chess demands nothing of you except that you play, and in Ron's case, he plays well. To lose is disappointing, but not devastating (or at least until he comes to play Professor McGonagall's giant set), and in any case, he doesn't often lose.

但是一盘国际象棋可对你没有什么要求，除了你需要下，而且就罗恩来说，他下得很好。输棋是令人失望的，但不是毁灭性的(或者直到他来下麦格教授这巨大的一套) ，而且在绝大多数情况下，他不经常失败。

 

He can be instinctive, without feeling self-conscious

他可以做自己，不会感到难为情

It's precisely because nobody expects anything in particular of him that Ron can play wizard chess without feeling self-conscious. When Ron makes it on to the Gryffindor Quidditch team, his anxieties about becoming the new Keeper become so overwhelming that they affect his ability to play – especially joining the team years after Harry did. His insecurities really play havoc with his intentions in Deathly Hallows, when he abandons Harry and Hermione after one too many Horcrux-influenced bad thoughts. He has no such insecurity when faced with a chess board so he just plays instinctively, analysing nothing but his opponent.

正是因为没有人对他有什么特别的期望，所以罗恩在下巫师棋的时候才不会感到难为情。当罗恩加入格兰芬多魁地奇队时，他对成为新门将的焦虑变得如此强烈，以至于影响了他的比赛能力——尤其是在哈利加入球队多年之后。在《死亡圣器》中，他的不安全感对他的意图造成了极大的破坏，他因为一个受魂器影响的坏念头而抛弃了哈利和赫敏。面对棋盘时，他没有这种不安全感，所以他只是凭直觉下棋，除了对手以外什么都不用去想。

 

He knows he can do it

他知道他能做到

In Half-Blood Prince, Ron's pre-Quidditch match nerves get so bad that Harry pretends to add a drop of liquid luck to his pumpkin juice. It’s only then that Ron starts to feel confident. But when he comes across Professor McGonagall's chess set in Philosopher's Stone, he already has the confidence to know he doesn't need luck. He wastes no time telling Harry and Hermione what to do — he knows he's the best chess player, so he takes charge and says so.

在混血王子中，罗恩在魁地奇比赛前的紧张情绪变得如此糟糕，以至于哈利假装在他的南瓜汁里加了一滴福灵剂来安慰他。直到那时，罗恩才开始感到自信。但是当他在《魔法石》中看到麦格教授的象棋时，他已经有信心知道自己不需要运气。他没有浪费时间告诉哈利和赫敏该做什么ーー他知道自己是最好的棋手，所以他有资格来掌控大局并这样说。

 

It's all his

这是属于他的领域 

Above all, wizard chess is Ron's game. Elsewhere he is overshadowed and sometimes entirely overlooked, but when faced with a chess board, he knows he's playing to his strengths.

最重要的是，巫师棋是罗恩擅长的游戏。在其他地方，他被阴影遮盖，有时完全被忽视，但是当面对棋盘时，他知道他在发挥自己的优势。

This is what gives him the confidence to face McGonagall's merciless white queen. When he steps across the square knowing he will be attacked by a large stone chess piece, he does it so that Harry can checkmate the king. Sure enough, Ron is knocked out with rapid brutality, but his strategising works and Harry and Hermione can move on.

这让他有信心面对麦格的无情的白皇后。当他跨过广场，知道他将被一个大石头棋子攻击，他这样做，以便哈利可以将死国王。的确，罗恩被迅猛野蛮的攻击击倒了，但是他的战略计划使哈利和赫敏可以继续前进。

Ron's a Gryffindor, so of course there are many moments where he proves his bravery and determination — attempting to save his sister in Chamber of Secrets, ignoring a broken leg to challenge Sirius in Prisoner of Azkaban, battling Death Eaters in Order of the Phoenix, to name a few. But off the chess board, he generally works best as part of a team.

罗恩是个格兰芬多，所以理所应当的有很多时候他证明了自己的勇敢和决心——在《密室》中试图救他的妹妹，在《阿兹卡班的囚徒》中无视一条断腿挑战小天狼星，在《凤凰社》中与食死徒战斗等等。但在棋盘之外，他通常作为团队的一部分发挥作用得最好。

He has a family full of high-achieving siblings and friends like Harry and Hermione, so the moments that Ron gets to singlehandedly save the day are few. Chess gives him an opportunity to shine, and the things it teaches him — strategy, quick thinking and the importance of self-belief — are pretty important lessons.

他有一个家庭，家里有很多像哈利和赫敏这样优秀的兄弟姐妹和朋友，所以罗恩单枪匹马拯救世界的机会很少。国际象棋给了他发光发热的机会，而它教给他的东西——策略、快速思考和自信的重要性——是非常重要的一课。

 

Fifty points to Ron.

罗恩得五十分。

 

If you want to revisit Ron's epic chess match again, you can read Chapter Sixteen, 'Through the Trapdoor' here.

如果你想再回顾一下 Ron 那场史诗般的国际象棋比赛，你可以去阅读第十六章"穿过暗门"。