Jake has recently taken a liking to chess. Yes, chess. As in bishops and knights and rooks and pawns and all that stuff. I explain like that because I don't have a freakin' clue about any of it. I will admit, when he first became interested, he asked me to learn. Ya know ... so we'd have another game we could play together. I was excited. And I tried. As a matter of fact, I'm still trying ... but I continue to hear the word "Checkmate" out of his mouth a mere 7 seconds after the game has begun, pretty much each.and.every.single.time we sit down to play. So I have pretty much given up. And when Drew is watching us play ... and finds it necessary to remind me that "giving up is NOT an option in our house", I reminded him that I am the mother and I can do whatever the hell I want to do.
Just sayin'.
I didn't question when Jake had a sudden interest in this game, that in my opinion feel is way too confusing for the human mind. The reason? Well, because he is pre-pubescent. Duh. He decided to join the chess club with his girlfriend, back when he had one, because it was after school ... and that meant MORE time together. From my experience, spending more time with a girl you like, takes priority over anything else in the world when you're a boy Jake's age. Now please, keep in mind that I'm not an expert. I don't know this FOR SURE ... because I've never been a boy Jake's age ... come to think of it, I've never been a boy of any age, but I'm guessing that if I was ... that is how it would be. I've always been a pretty good guesser ... so I'd take my word for it.
Anyway, Jake has embraced this game wholeheartedly and has wanted to be a part of both tournaments that have taken place since he started on this chess journey. One was back in January and he had a BLAST. I know what you're thinking ... how can someone have the time of his life spending the day with a bunch of other kids trying to capture their king? I don't understand it either ... but I witnessed it first hand ... and he had a lot of fun. For being just his first tournament, he did quite well. His school team finished third and he placed third on his team. The kid even brought home a trophy. Really. I kid you not.
This past Saturday was the Elementary State Tournament in Des Moines. He wanted to participate, so we all packed up and drove to Des Moines on Saturday morning. We watched from afar as he played his first four rounds. To be completely honest, the majority of the entertainment ... was watching Big Daddy, as he was totally unimpressed with the excitement level of a chess tournament. However, in the fifth round that all changed when Jake's coach said to us, "I hate to tell you this but ... if Jake wins this match our school gets third place. If he loses, we don't!"
Apparently ANY type of competition is right up Big Daddy's alley ... because from that moment on, the vein across his temple was bulging as he intently watched Jake move his pieces around the checkered board ... have absolutely NO CLUE what was going on. He was taking deep breaths and pacing back and forth ... as if Jake's life depended on this win.
Cracked me up.
Jake won the round. And his school finished 3rd in the state tournament, with Jake finishing 2nd on his team. I can not express to you how proud of himself he is. And how proud of him we are ... as that was only his second tournament ever.
The next tournament is Saturday and not only is Jake registered to take part ... so is Drew. HA! Is it possible to have a dynasty of chess players in the family ... when Mom and Dad have no idea how to even play the game?
We'll see.