Åke is so wonderfully naive still!
This exchange perfectly sums up their relationship, and he just doesn't seem to grasp it:
‘Come on, Ocky, don’t get so excited. We aren’t lovers. We are chess friends.’
‘Chess and fuck friends, you mean.’
‘Sort of. Still it doesn’t make us a couple.’ Kevin got up. ‘I’m going to take a shower.’
Kevin, on the other hand, knows exactly what is going on:
‘Yes, I also accept it’s a draw between me and your Dutch chess friend.’
It was a most extraordinary thing for Kevin to say, Åke thought.