Samuel and Jacque have been in the chess club since the beginning of school, and last weekend they had their first practice tournament. They got to go to another elementary school and play kids that they hadn't met before. I think they had a lot of fun. It was neat to walk into the gym and see several tables full of chess boards, all ready to go.
Samuel did really well. This is his first opponent. I think he got to play a total of 4 people. The kid actually had Samuel checkmated at the beginning of the game because Samuel moved a pawn, putting his king in check. They had a rule that if you touched a piece, you had to move it. Samuel had touched his pawn, so I guess he had to move it, although I don't think you are allowed to put your king in check either. However the kid didn't recognize that he had"won", and the game doesn't end unless someone calls out checkmate. So if you don't realize you've won, then it doesn't count. You could take turns checkmating each other throughout the game and still not finish.
After that, Samuel dominated the game. He does a great job killing the other person's pieces, especially if he has his queen, but he has a little bit of trouble finishing the game by capturing the King. Last night Aaron worked with both Samuel and Jacque on how to finish the game. They aren't experts but I think if we keep up the practice, they will be fine chess players soon. I think he had 1 win and 3 draws.
Jacque was a fun one to watch. I was a little worried that they had matched her up with this girl. The girl looked like a fifth grader, and I thought Jacque was going to get creamed. However, I don't think the girl knew much about chess. As I was watching Jacque, she'd move a piece and then say, "Look, now you can kill me with your piece right here!" and the girl would do what Jacque told her to do. Jacque would kill the other girl's pieces every now and then too. Her other two games went similarly. At the end of the day, after having 3 draws, she was a little disappointed that she never won! I tried to comfort her by telling her that even though she didn't win, she did a great job teaching the other kids to play!
On the way to the tournament, Aaron commented, "You know what would make this tournament interesting? If they had one for the parents too!" Well after 45 minutes of being a very supportive dad, the tournament got very interesting! I looked around and found Aaron with one of Samuel's friend's dad. They played two games, Aaron won the first game and Ryan won the second. They both enjoyed it. Ryan is supposed to be a really good chess player and was glad to have someone who could challenge him. Aaron felt the same. He's a little rusty because he hasn't have anyone to really challenge him for years, but he and Ryan might be getting together again to play.
Calista and Ellen were good sports. Most of the time they just sat on the floor and played with some extra chess pieces laying around. We had to leave the tournament early because after an hour of "playing" chess, Calista and Ellen had had enough fun!
6 comments:
How fun!! I had no idea they had clubs in elementary school, let alone chess clubs! I think I was at least a Sophomore before Aaron taught me to play. What is the average age of teaching kids to play such a complex game? Anyway, well done Samuel, Jacque and Aaron:)
I think that is a rare picture with Aaron smiling and looking at the camera...had he just won?! I am glad that he found a friend to play with too! Sounds like your kids are pretty good at the game...I have forgotten how to play. I learned in Mrs. Miller's class. :)
This is great and they looked like they were having fun. We obviously need to get Sadie going so she can play with Samuel and Jacque. I don't think we have any type of clubs in Sadie's elementary school.
How cool. I love chess. I think this is a great game/hobby to pick up at their age. Good work parents.
Also, we are heading over to Baker for Christmas. We heard we will be the only visitors this Christmas. Where will your family be? We would love to spend time you over the holidays.
Whoa, you are awesome! I have never, ever played chess and I think I have only seen the pieces on the board once. Maybe Jacque could teach me how to play. Way to go! Keep up the great sportsmanship!
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