The South China Sea—or rather the Asian continent as a whole—is a giant-size chess board. All the pieces are set and in play. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to arrive tomorrow in Beijing with a close-up view of the chessboard -- scheduled to sit down with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao to talk about a variety of issues -- the export of Canadian oil to China and possible investor protections for Canadian investors.