At the ceremony celebrating the official opening of the Isle of Wonder’s Chessboard Land to the public, a bitter quarrel between the Red and White Queens led to the disruption of the ceremony and the immediate re-closing of Chessboard Land.

At first, all seemed well at the ceremony. All of the citizens of the isle of Wonder were present, save for those of the foliage family who were too firmly rooted in the ground to move, as well as representatives from the other islands. A red and white ribbon stretched between the marble posts at the entrance to Chessboard Land, waiting to be cut to signify the opening. But the age-old rivalry of the two Queens reared its ugly head only moments in.

The Red Queen spoke first. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together to—"

"No, that's how weddings are supposed to start, that's not the right speech!" her sister the White Queen interrupted.

"Ahem, as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, today is a day for great celebration in the Isle of Wonder, indeed, for all the islands of the Land of the Green Isles. Today is the grand opening of Chessboard Land. From this day forward, all will be welcome in our Red and White corner of the kingdom," the Red Queen continued.

The White Queen spoke up again. "You've had your moment in the spotlight, now it's my turn to make a speech, sister. And stop being red first! You know perfectly well that they will marvel at the beautiful color of white before they notice the garish red you keep insisting we put everywhere!”

A brief argument broke out between the queens, but their knights quickly calmed them both down before it got worse. The White Queen at last took her turn to give her speech.

The gates of the Isle of Wonder Chessboard Land closed

"Loyal subjects of the Land of the Green Isles, today you will finally be able to witness the extraordinary beauty of Chessboard Land first hand. For a long time we were reluctant to allow humans to enter Chessboard Land, permitting only chess pieces in our homeland. But King Alexander and Queen Cassima have persuaded us that sharing is in the spirit of the kingdom, and so we have opened our doors to the public. As I cut this ribbon, Chessboard Land will become open to the public!”

However, just at the White Queen was about to cut the ribbon, the Red Queen jumped up in protest. "I am as much queen of this island as you are, and I demand that I be the one to cut the ribbon!