For Day 12 of the inleo prompts, we're asked to share a photo of something we encountered today that caught our attention and made us pause and reflect. This morning, I got an urgent call from my chess club president, asking me if I could bring my chess board to our chess club. I felt so lazy to the bones that I was just a split second away from turning him down. However, Something changed my mind, and I agreed, telling him I'd be there in the next 15 minutes. The weather was nice and the sun shone mildly on my shoulders. When I got to the center, I saw my chess friends, both new and new members, playing chess. They were so deeply engrossed in their games that they didn't even know when I walked in. Seeing them that way painted vivid images in my head and made me reflect on my chess journey.
I started playing chess when I was in elementary school. Well, I didn't start per se. I only learnt how to arrange the pieces. I'd often watch my big brother and cousins play- by watching them, I learnt how to arrange the chess board and also learnt some basic moves. It wasn't until I got to high school that I started playing chess. I downloaded Lichess and started playing on my own. From there, I learnt openings and how to checkmate. Looking back, it took me a long time to learn how to checkmate with a rook and a king. Whenever I was playing chess and it got to the point where I had just a rook and a king, I’d run to my brother to help me finish my opponent off since I didn't know how to. But with time, I learnt how to do it, thanks to YouTube videos.
My chess journey is an interesting one. From a newbie who didn't know how to checkmate with a King and a Rook to someone who represented his school and church in chess tournaments. In 2022, when I joined Hive, I was happy when I discovered there is a community for chess lovers. I don’t exactly remember how I got to know about the community, probably one of my friends from Neoxian city told me about it. Hive chess has been a huge part of my chess journey, and I'm grateful to @stayoutoftherz for the opportunity to participate in the tournament. One interesting thing about these tournaments is that they are loaded with many benefits. One benefit is that by getting paired with higher-rated players, you can learn from them, and watching their games will help you improve your own gameplay. Additionally, playing different variations of games like Chess960 will broaden your understanding of various openings and strategies. I have also made friends with interesting and talented chess players like @masterswatch.
We are currently in Season 20 of the Hive Chess tournament - we play every Friday. Yesterday's tournament didn't go so badly. I won most of my games, losing one to Masterswatch but winning another. What's more interesting is that, for the first time in ages, I managed to play a draw against Stayoutoftherz. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's definitely better than a loss.
So there you have it! Seeing my chess friends play chess made me reflect on my chess journey. It hasn't been easy, I have made significant progress in the chess world.
Here's my entry to the Inleo prompts for day 12. The topic is: Post a picture of what you saw today that made you stop and think.
Images in this post are mine.
Thanks for reading.
Posted Using INLEO