Supporting our Student Hivers for a Chess Tournament!

Recently our local area organized a Chess Tournament for Nothern municipalities to join. When I saw the event posted a few weeks ago, I thought "this would be a great opportunity for our recent onboarded students to experience". Thus, I didn't hesitate to inform them right away.

I invited @penflecto, @tomilee, and @kaijen to join, assuring them that all expenses will be shouldered by me. However, only two of these boys pursued.

The tournament just happened the past two days Saturday, December 16 - Sunday, December 17 so better to write about it now than forget it in the future. Well, the guys were pretty much excited. I tagged along and accompanied them to the venue like a doting mother.

We were told the event would start at 8:20 am but I wasn't expecting to officially start at 10 am. It was crazy! I couldn't help but mutter to myself how disorganized and chaotic the start was. Perhaps it was also due to my lack of sleep that I was cranky that morning. There was a lack of chess boards although the organizers required the players to individually bring one, the pairings were posted late, the emcee could not command organization among the players, and there was a lack of manpower to assist the 200+ players. The organizers could have prepared better.

The boys weren't able to play during the first round due to the lack of boards. Regardless of my inner turmoil, they seemed to have fun roaming around, watching the other players' games, and taking photos as well. I bid them farewell to enjoy the rest of the day as I headed back home to rest.

I don't have any knowledge of how these tournaments are done, the rules and regulations, or any advanced moves for the chess pieces. I know the basics of Chess (the names of the pieces and their simple moves) so I asked for bits and pieces of information from @penflecto and @tomilee. It was heartwarming to listen to them and feel their enthusiasm for this sport. And despite the losses they experienced on the first day, they expressed they had fun, regret about wrong moves they made, and joy when they had their wins.

The next day the boys only have a few rounds left. They went ahead early while I waited for @callmesmile and @kaijen to arrive that day. I was donating my old books to her and her students. I didn't anticipate that the boys were ecstatic to know about it and asked for their share as well. I am just now happy and at peace that my books are in people's hands who will take care of them and read them.

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_{Photo from @callmesmile}

_{Photo from @callmesmile}

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We had our lunch at my place which was also the reason why the boys were late for their match later on. We then headed to the venue to support them on their final round. Seemed like @kaijen was having fun as he watched the players while I and @callmesile waited like doting parents for the announcement of winners to commence.

We didn't have our hopes high as there were a lot of good players as the boys mentioned but unexpectedly @penflecto received an award. Safe to say, we had 1 happy kid after that. Still proud of @tomilee as well for the sport he displayed throughout the competition. I know he learned a lot and had fun as well.

Well, I can't for all of you to read their blogs about this experience.

We ended our weekend with a walk at the beach which made me reflect that despite how much I appreciate being a hermit these past months, I appreciate the people whom I made connections with and the moments I shared with them. And this was just one of those moments.