Chess - more than just a game

For years I kept suggesting to my son, Eric, that he try taking chess at school from when he was in the younger grades, but I never forced him. Out of the blue this year he decided to take chess.

I took chess when I was in school. In junior high it was with Mr. Blanton in the library. At Beaverton High, I was president of the chess team. It was more of an honorary title. My game was not the strongest on the team, but the kids and our German teacher advisor supported me. I remember going to chess meets at Aloha High School and Catlin Gable. I always found in to be a thrill to be on a team representing my school where my disability was not a handicap.

Eric's school had a chess festival today. I was very moved.

There was a giant chess set up front. Plastic pieces just under 2 feet high. There were tables manned by kids, each showin g how different pieces moved.

At one point Eric was playing 2 little guys at once. Third or fourth grade, I'm not sure. They were trash talking Eric, how they were beating him. Eric took care of them.

I lost a close game to a high schooler. Then I played a dad who was particularly good with his knights...another close game, but another loss.

Two of the young guys played each other. The one who lost was overly concerned that his ranking would go down. The elementary schoolers are involved with much more competitive chess than the jr high/high schoolers.

A high schooler demonstrated blind chess. He sat with his back to the board. Eric wrote down the moves. Eric did not play blind chess today, but he has in class and he has the big Hershey bars to prove it.

Eric and other kids demonstrated how to play "Bug House". It drives me nuts! Four players, 2 boards. Pieces you gain from your opponent you can give to your partner to use against theirs. It is played at lightning speed. I don't begin to process that fast!

I went up front to watch the game on the giant chess board. Eric, kids his age, and older high school kids, jocks and nerds, were laughing and having fun. They were at the end of a game. They cleared away the pieces, and they had kids representing the pieces. They seemed like a band of brothers having fun.

Mr. Svehaug came and found me. "Mr. Wittren, we have another game set up for you."

My opponent was of Russian or East European descent. I could tell that chess was more than a game to him. I am good at chess at times, but not always consistent. This game, I was in a zone. We both castled and then I went on a very aggressive attack. I had forks in place that were so perfect that I never could have planned them. He was making incredible moves; I was making incredible moves. It was a blood bath. I had a king and a bishop left. He had a king and a pawn that was soon to be queen. We called it as a draw out of respect for the kind of game it was.

When I asked Eric how I would find them in the school when we first got there, he said "Follow the nerd herd."

Chess is way more than a game.

See, evidence right there that my end game in writing, as in chess, stinks!