Notes

At the end of second grade, like every school a ton of the end of the year competitions popped up, and while browsing, I saw the chess poster on the bulletin board, and I knew I had to enter. Back in elementary, I loved chess. And I felt like I had a great chance of winning the competition, so I signed up. But what I did not know, was that not only were the second graders of the school I was attending, but private schools throughout the state were coming as well.

As soon as I showed up to the school, my confidence started to sink like a ship in a thunderstorm. From the hall I was lingering from, it looked like hundreds upon hundreds of contestants. I do not remember how many second graders there actually were, but I was (and still am) extremely anti-social, so in panic, I walked around the gym the hall lead to till I found my friends and waited till the competition started. Suddenly, our principal’s voice boomed the rules over the intercom, and how the bracket would be set up. And while I was dazed, the competition started. But before it did, the teachers gave every student a slip of paper with a number printed in black and white on them, like chess pieces. When we walked into the crowded cafeteria, instead of the usual rows of seats lining up at the table like I was used to, there were small desks, with two seats at two of the square ends and a printed number on both unused sides. My slip of paper had the number 27, so I immediately identified table number 27, and waited for my opponent, while other pairs rivaled against each other all around me. A little while later, a kid ran up to my table with the number 27 in his hand and just started talking with me. This was quite awkward for me because I never practiced against someone my age. I usually sharpened my skills with my dad, and chess bots, but an opponent was an opponent. So, since I was on the white team, I went first. and as soon as he took his turn, I knew he was not going be victorious. And I was right.

Earlier, the way our principle explained the bracket and rules was that you were going to do 5 to 6 one on one matches, and after you finished each game, you go back to the gym. If you were victorious, you would back to the cafeteria with a new piece of paper for the next match. If not, then you could stay till the reward ceremony, or just flat out leave. So, after getting a new slip of paper, I went into the Cafeteria, and saw that the number of chess tables halved. A blonde girl was waiting for me at the table with the chess already pieces set up. So, since she got there first, she got first pick. Obviously, she chose white, but she was rather good. It was a close game, but I ended out on top. Since it was a long game, I did not have to wait long for round three to begin. The tables were starting to diminish fast, with only a little over 5 left. Once again, I hobbled over to my chess table, set up the pieces, and waited. But while I was waiting, I had to use the restroom, so as a plan I put the pieces in the chess pack, so my opponent thought I had not showed up yet and went. But when I came back, my opponent was waiting for me, and more than half of the games were already finished, so we agreed to play in blitz mode. It was embarrassing to be this late, but I still won without a sweat, unlike my last opponent. After coming back to the cafeteria my next opponent in a room of only 2 tables left was a boy with frizzy hair and a T-shirt. When I saw him, I thought he was going to be a challenge to outplay, but in reality, I was a little better than him. Just a little.

The final round had started, and as I confidently marched into the cafeteria, I saw my one weakness. The timed match. My rival competing for first looked good. His look screamed “I’m good at chess” and when the match started, I knew he was. I could play on blitz, but the timer pressures me into playing fast, so I was not as focused as I usually am. And even worse, it was a 5 minute each timer. So, we had 10 minutes to play a game of chess. But in thought and panic, I got defeated. but I was still

happy about how close I was to first. And while attending the top ten ceremony, my round 3 opponent got 7th, one of my friends got 6th, my round 4 opponent got 4th, another friend got 3rd, and when the principle called my name, I was proud. Getting up from my seat, hearing clapping, walking between isles, and grabbing the silver trophy. It was not as good as gold, but I was proud. Into epilogue, after I went to 3rd grade, I joined chess club, and learned new tactics and skills that helped improve my game and helped me become one of the best chess players in elementary (I could even beat some middle schoolers). I have not participated in a chess compotation since then, and I had to quit chess club because I had to move, but I still am, and always will be proud of myself.