My Son’s First Chess Trophy

I remember my son John’s first trophy for first place. It was very difficult to get!

When my son was in third grade, his teacher recommended him to the chess team, and I agreed. Since that time, I went with my son to chess tournaments every Saturday, even in windy, rainy, or snowy weather.

The tournament for beginners had four rounds a day, every round for 45 minutes, with a 30-minute rest before the next round. At each round, they faced a different opponent. Over four rounds, you had to win three times to get a medal. If you won four rounds, you could get a trophy, depending on your opponent’s score.

I don’t remember how many times I went to tournaments with my son; we just kept going. But he didn’t get any prizes.

One day, we did what we usually do, we went to the tournament. It was a rainy day. We got there a little past the sign-in time. The lucky thing was, after I spoke to the teacher, the teacher let him sign in.

As the kids were waiting for the games to start, they were chatting, kidding, playing, and some of them were practicing chess. When the announcement sounded, all the kids went to play. They started the first round. The parents stayed in the classroom, waiting for their kids to finish the game. About 15 minutes later, my son came back—the first one! I was so curious. Why did he come back so early? “Did something happen?” I asked my son. He said, “I won.” “Really?” I asked him. He said, “I won in four moves, a checkmate.” I was confused as to what he was talking about. He said that newcomers always lose in four steps, because they aren’t experienced. I remembered when I played Chinese chess, it had a similar result, a four-move checkmate. “You are a lucky boy today,” I said. He laughed.

About 30 minutes later, my son come back and told me he won another game. I gave him a hug and told him he did a good job. He also won the third round! I was happy about that because he would get a medal. When the fourth round was finished, I got more excited. He won again! I can’t describe what I felt at that moment. That was the first day for us to stay and wait for the awards. After waiting for all the other winners to receive their awards, they finally called my son. My son got first place! I was so happy, excited, and proud of my son.

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Author portraitAnnie Liu writes, “I am from Guangdong, China. I have been in the United States for 16 years. I speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. I like to watch movies and do indoor gardening. I exercise regularly and travel as often as possible. I have two sons.” Annie Liu is Charles Perkins’s student at the Adult Learning Center of CUNY’s City Tech.