Our Best Game at State

Brady and Yaseem

We played several meaningful game at the State Scholastic tournament, but one stands out in my mind.

We tell our kids PLAY SLOW, TAKE NOTATION. FIGHT TIL THE BITTER END. etc etc. But sometimes those are just words. A few of our top players lost games in which they played too quickly. It's one thing knowing what to do, it's quite another DOING what you should, and assimilating principles into actual game play.

Brady Megal from LDMS was paired against University's top K-5 player, Yaseem. Brady's rating was much lower, and he had not played in very many tournaments this year. Last year, he had given up chess, and this year he was slowly getting back into it. We were very happy to have him back for the state tournament. The race between LDMS and USM was very close with a couple rounds to go, so this was an important matchup for us.

Early in the game, Yaseem trapped Brady's Queen, and he lost it.

Many, if not most, beginning players including myself maybe, would have mentally given up at that point... maybe not resigned exactly,... but would have given up in SPIRIT. Instead, Brady dug deep, and settled into his chair for a long battle. Long after the other players had left the room, Brady and Yaseem battled on. I ambled by at some point, and saw Brady down 7 points.

Later, in the team room, helping another kid through his notation, Brady ran up to me with a jubilant THUMBS UP. He had won! I couldn't believe it! Not only against a strong player, but down 7 points. Brady showed me the trap he had prepared and executed, to win back the Queen he had lost and established a lead which he was then able to turn into a victory. I will be posting Brady's notation with his permission in an upcoming post, I hope....! For now, I just wanted to relay the story to the blog.

There have been many such stories this year involving the entire team. Jason's showing at USM. Josh's great day at Richards. Rachel's defeat of Magellan's Eric R. at the Museum. Kolt's first place finish at St. Bernadete's. Jacob's emergence towards the end of the year, regularly knocking off 900+ players. Zeke's steady improvement. Chris M's great first tournament. Brian's trophy at State, and his great showing at Thomas Jefferson. Chris T's rejuvenated spirit, and his steady, regular solid play at all events. I could go on and on. As a Dad and Coach of course, I am very proud of my boys also for their hard work this year. Evan and Reid share my pride in the LDMS knights and all our boys and girls have accomplished in this year. A few more tournaments to go... let's make some more memories!