In Hodja’s village there was a Greek community with a priest who enjoyed playing chess, but had no one with whom to play. So the priest decided to teach Hodja the rudiments of chess, following which they began a game. At the start he crossed himself, and then checkmated the Hodja after a few moves. The next time they played the priest again crossed himself, and again won.
After several games in which Hodja always lost, he turned to the priest and asked whether if he crossed himself before each game he too might win. “Yes,” replied the priest, “but first you have to learn to play chess.”