College Essay by DIG Chess Player, Cal
"I enter the tournament hall and it’s filled with back-to-back tables with chess boards and clocks on them. The hall echoes with the voices of contestants and onlookers conversing about the impending games. All of a sudden, the speaker system activates with a deafening crackle. The voice of the event host settled the clamorous crowd in an instant.
Before tournaments, I get both nervous and clear-headed. It’s a feeling of butterflies and the thought of something going wrong flashes through my mind, but then the thoughts clear away and I turn my attention to the game ahead of me. Today, I am facing John, a person I have played with before. He defeated me the last time I played against him because I rushed my analysis and blundered majorly. However, today is a new day and I won’t think blindly. I will be patient with my moves and make sure they are the absolute best they can be. As we both sit down at the table, we shake hands and start the clocks that are now counting down the allotted time of one hour. I have the white pieces this morning and I begin with the move e4, and immediately, all distractions fade away and my focus is directed toward the game. As I lose myself in the match, I am reminded of why I love chess. In addition to chess theory, I am learning to read body language, control emotions, and have patience while thinking strategically under pressure; all tools that I will take with me throughout my life.
We go back and forth for several minutes, simply building structures, but shortly after, John makes an attempt to attack. I swiftly defend his attack while continuing to build the structure of my own pieces. This occurs for most of the game, where neither of us gives any ground for the other to encroach on. He decides to make an exchange of pieces, and after a couple of even trades, we are still in a 50-50 position as before. The clocks show ten minutes remaining, despite it only feeling as if a few minutes have passed. In the current position, neither of us has enough of an advantage to make a stunning move. Not seeing a way out, we agree on a draw.
While the ending was not a victory, it is better than a defeat. I take the game to my coach, Jithu, who will review the game with me to see where I made mistakes and could have positioned myself better. We will go over famous games played, watch live chess matches, and discuss what we believe to be the best moves to ensure my chess abilities continue to grow. Because Jithu is only one year older than me, we view each other as good friends and equals, rather than master and student and he is a great resource with whom I am comfortable sharing thoughts and ideas. He is someone I hope to remain in contact with for the rest of my life."
