Christina's Story

“Christina”* started chess in the third grade at the beginning of the 2015 -16 school year.  She knew nothing about chess, so was in the Learn to Play group.  I barely noticed her.  She was extremely shy and quiet.  She seemed intimidated by the older players, and adults, including me.  When I would ask the group questions, she never volunteered an answer or raised her hand.  After teaching the players the rules of the game, we progress to tactical chess problems that are assigned to a specific individual.  Christina still wasn’t saying anything, but I noticed when it was her turn she was making the correct moves on the chessboard to solve the problems. After four months of underestimating her chess skill, I finally played her one-on-one.  She was clearly the best of the Learn to Play group, and ready for tournaments.  I put Christina on the chess team.

She played in her first tournament in January 2016.  She was very nervous before her first game.  I was hoping and praying she would win.  If she lost, I wasn’t sure she’d go back for the second round.

Christina won!  And she won two more games, three out of five, taking home the Ninth Place Trophy among the thirty novices that day.  That was only the third time in eleven years I’ve had a player win a trophy at their first tournament.  She followed that by winning four more trophies in her next five tournaments.  All the time, you could see her growing in confidence and self assurance.   Her splendid play continued into this school year, totaling ten trophies through her first seventeen tournaments against tougher and tougher competition as her chess prowess developed.  But she had never captured a First Place Trophy …: two Seconds, but never First

Then, last week she played in the Grantham Academy tournament, in a group of mostly older fifth and sixth graders.  That’s her picture above, with the big First Place Trophy!  Sometimes first place trophies are won by players who win four games, and have a draw, and take the first place trophy on a tie-break against another player or two with four and a half points.  But Christina’s win was perfect; five wins in five games!  That doesn’t happen very often, but when our players win five out of five, we inscribe their name on our Wall of Fame plaque in our chess room for Total Tournament Dominance.  In our twelfth year of chess, Cristina’s name has been inscribed as the thirteenth member of our Wall ofFame!  And her USCF rating zoomed from 437 to 661.

Christina is still reserved with strangers and adults, but she’s a very self-assured young lady, and a leader among her peers.  And she has developed some “attitude!” Christina’s mom is with her every tournament.  On the way home, Christina’s mom commented to her,  “Honey, wewon some games today, didn’t we?”  Christina replied.  “Mother, you didn’t win any games at all.  I won the games!” 

Among the coaches and other team parents her mom is now known as “Christina’s driver.”

* a pseudonym to protect our player’s privacy.