My Greatest Accomplishment

In my opinion, chess is the greatest games in the world. Plus, it is one of the oldest. Chess is a game of strategy requiring a lot of thinking, planning, and creativity to win a game. A Chess match can go on for hours, or it can be as short as two minutes. In elementary school and junior high, chess was a big part of my life. Chess was my identity. I first began playing chess when I was in 3rd grade. That was when I joined the chess club at Vista View Elementary School. The club was not very big. It was a small group of kids having fun by learning and playing the game of chess. I owe a lot to my chess coach in 3rd grade and 4th grade for helping me improve my game. He made me passionate for this awesome game. With his help, I became one of the best players in my school and in the district. It was 5th grade. I was at a chess tournament at Metcalf Junior High School in Burnsville. The tournament was for District 191 chess players only. I remember I had to wake up early, so my dad and I could get there at eight to register. This was on a Saturday morning, but on the Friday night before, I was up practicing and practicing. I wanted to come extra prepared to this tournament. There were a lot of people there with each school represented in the district. Byrne, Harriet Bishop, and Hidden Valley had the dominant chess teams. Vista View was not known for its size of the team, but quite a lot of parents, students, and teachers came. I mainly practiced with my teammates, but I also got the chance to play with other kids from different schools as well like Sioux Trail, Neill, and Hidden Valley. During my elementary school days, my favorite place to go to were the chess tournaments. I felt like I belonged. I fitted in with everyone else for once. I felt like I was a somebody at the tournaments. The tournament I was at had five rounds with each player playing five different players from different schools from the same age group. I was playing in the group including 3rd graders to 6th graders. I started out the tournament strong by beating my first two opponents. Honestly, I shocked myself in how well I did those first two rounds. After those first two rounds, I had a huge smile on my face because I was just having so much fun. It was the third round though that was the most challenging for me. I was in fifth grade, and he was a sixth grader from Sioux Trail. We went right down to the wire. We were the last game of that round. Everyone was watching us. The pressure was on. Everyone was staring at me. The chess clock was making me nervous. Neither me or my opponent had many pieces left on the board. Finally, after a long, breath-taking battle, my opponent came out victorious (but it was almost a stalemate). I knew I was disappointed in myself, but I knew I had to rebound quickly because there was not much time until the fourth round started since our game was the last of the 3rd round. I regained my focus, and I was ready for my next challenger. I sat patiently at the table waiting for him. He came up to the table, and I shook his hand. He was only in second grade, and he went to Marion Savage Elementary. He was a very nice kid. He was undefeated in the tournament so far (3-0), but I was hoping to change that. I started out the match really well. My strategy and planning was working to perfection. It just seemed like I was making all the right moves. Then, all of a sudden, two of his friends came up to the board and started to make so much noise. They were being a huge distraction. I lost my focus, and my opponent was making a comeback. I was becoming mad that I threatened them to leave. When they left, all was back to normal. The game ended in a tie. I will always remember that game. I should have easily won that game. I still hold a grudge at my opponent and his friends for being poor sports for such a highly dignified, respected game. So, after winning the first two rounds, I lost the third and had a draw in the fourth. I ended up winning in the fifth round, and I finished my day with 3 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw. Just think, I could have had a perfect 5-0 record if I was not so nervous in the third round, and if I was not playing babies in the fourth match. After all 5 rounds are completed, the tournament is over except for the awards ceremony. I finished twelfth place overall in the tournament, a fact which was good enough to earn me "Top 5th Grader in District 191." Don't believe me? I have a trophy in my room to prove it. Everyone was so proud of me including my teammates, my coach, the parents, my opponents, and my dad. I was so proud of myself. I earned this. I worked so hard to get this award. This is the greatest accomplishment of my life. I will never forget that entire day. I felt like I was on top of the world. It felt so good to be honored with such a prestigious award for such an extravagant game. I thank God for my abilities, my talents, and for always being right by my side. God has done amazing things in my life, but this is probably one of the greatest. I had so much fun. I was exhausted and ready to head home. I could hardly sleep because I was so excited. For the next month, that trophy was on my nightstand. If I were to ever to make a time capsule, that is one thing that I would put in there. It is a good symbol of me. It represents my hardwork, persistence, patience, good sportsmanship, my intelligence, and my childhood. The next day, I took the trophy to church to show everybody. People congratulated me and were proud of me. I had a huge smile on my face. This trophy and award brought me more publicity. The following week I was on VVTV (Vista View Television). Everyone in the school saw me on the morning announcements as I was being interviewed about the event. This experience was amazing. It has taught me many things. It has shaped me into who I am today. As long as I shall live, I will never stop playing the game that defined me-chess.