Chess club

On Saturday, at 8 in the morning, when we all should have been sleeping just a little while longer (especially after BUNCO birthday party bash 2010 for Lyndsey), my mom dropped Will & Addi off at home from a slumber party. After waking Rob up and moving him to the couch (BUNCO was a lot for FUN Bobby!) I packed Will up and took him up to school for his first Chess Tournament. He almost didn't attend this one because of that time when he almost got kicked out of Chess Club. I thought that maybe we should keep the kid with minor classroom issues away from large group activities requiring total self control. I was just trying to help everybody out! But then the chess club coach pulled me aside and told me that he thought it would help Will to compete. See...Will has this odd little idea that he knows everything. Shocker right? He is partly a Hawkins and 1/2 of me so I'm not sure where this comes from. But, he's convinced he's the best Chess player to step foot into Chess Club (or at least he did). So we decide to play in the tournament. Nothing like getting your ass handed to you by your opponents to provide a little humility.

First off, Chess people are odd. I'm just going to say it. They are serious like NBA players on Finals day. Serious. I saw tears on Saturday. Tears of sadness and regret pouring out of 10 year old's eyes. Even Will cried a tear by the end of the day. Chess is so predicatable and yet totally unpredicatable at the same. You start the same every time (white on right, king on his color-or is it queen). But then, you just don't know. That's the scary part. So the chess tournament is a 5 game tournament with an hour time block for each game. 5 hours total, no breaks for lunch unless you finish early and the potential for a game clock only if things are running long. Will's first game is against a 4th grader - one of only two girls at the tournament and I knew at the first move that Will was going to get his ass handed to him. She OWNED that chess board. Will tried to hang in there. He did exactly what the chess teacher told him...the first four moves he built the wall and then like lightning she tore it down. She had captured at least 7 pieces in so many moves and Will couldn't figure out what happened. I cringed at some of the moves he was making (although not loud enough for him to hear otherwise I would have been kicked out of the playing room). I think he got nervous...I was nervous...and then just couldn't think ahead. He calmed down eventually and the two battled it out for 20 minutes or so. He ended up losing but was able to capture 4 of her pieces.

Game 2 was a Bye for Will, an automatic win (his only win of the day). Game 3 was against a long time rival from chess club. When Will saw the pairings up on the board he threw his head back like 'oh. my. god." This kid is the shit at Chess and I think the two of them don't play often enough. It was Will's best game and they were paired pretty fairly. About 3/4 of the way through the opponent gobbled up his queen with the knight and it was all downhill. Once Will loses the queen, he thinks it's all over (I see this as his ultimate respect for women). Games 4 and 5 went alright. By game 5 he was a bit antsy and had a hard time concentrating. There was, however, trophies on the line so he tried. He really tried. But he lost. And I felt sad for him. He wanted to play so well. He knows how to play really well. It was just all so new to him. ANd the competition was really good. They even brought in private school kids and we all know they play chess at recess instead of public school kick ball.

When it came time to trophies, Rob said Will cried just a bit. He so badly wanted a trophy. But, like the chess teacher put, "this isn't kindergarten soccer.' nope. guess not. I was proud of Will though. He was one of two first graders who played. He hung in there as long as he could and never gave up on a single game. He learned a few moves and mostly learned that he has a lot to learn which is ome times the best lesson ever. Just like me, sometimes a does of humility is just what us Hawkins people need.