Ha, it might be interesting to write a story in which Faramir unequivocally wins! Of course, he does survive Boromir, who dies aged 40, while Faramir gets his girl, the Stewardship (to which Boromir was heir), a principality, and lives to be aged 120. I think he quietly wins - although of course he'd swap most of that if it meant Boromir could live.

I played chess as a little girl (won a town tournament aged 7!), but very soon after that realised it wasn't the kind of intellectual pursuit I enjoyed or found rewarding.

If you're ever tempted to try LotR again, and like audio, the BBC radio adaptation is knockout.