My Son Was A Highly Competitive Chess Player. Then COVID-19 Happened. – HuffPost
My sons love for chess began when we signed him up for a chess class at age 4. Three years later, he would compete against older contestants both in local tournaments and in the U.S. National Open many of these hed won. At around the same time, he became the second-ranked player in Pennsylvania for his age group.
I was an amateur chess player myself, but with no ferocious desire to win. Still, I was ecstatic when he started bringing home prize money and trophies. He was featured in local newspapers. He played against grandmasters, includingRenato Naranja, who drew against chess greats such as Bobby Fisher and Samuel Reshevsky. After Naranja played my son, Ivry, at the famous Marshalls Chess Club in New York City in 2012, Karasha said, Well, now we know the true meaning of chutzpah.
Now, at 16, he can be seen playing with two hands perched on his cheeks a signature pose hed adapt from those earlier years. At home, in front of Zoom with his weekly chess tutor, a grandmaster at age 17, my son is practically unrecognizable in his hoodie as he reworks his attacks and captures from previous games.
Before COVID-19 hit, my son had achieved a U.S. Chess Federation rating of 1700, a coveted goal that took him nearly two years. But in light of the pandemic, the last two rounds of our local 2019-2020 USCF-rated tournaments were put on hiatus.
I encouraged him to sign up for the online tournaments offered through the federation, but he refused.
Mom, with eight hours of online school, why bother? he retorted. Playing these online tournaments is like playing Chess.com. Its so stupid. Its so dumb.
In comparison to the losses of peoples own health, lives and death of family members both in our own town and globally, my sons loss was a very minor one. Obviously, we could survive without chess tournaments. The lack of momentum felt like a loss, nevertheless.
For 11 years, he had been playing in-person chess games nonstop, and each time he went over those lost games with his tutor, he could strengthen his understanding of those openings, middle and endgames. But now the loss of the in-person playing experience made him feel as if he had been robbed of something.
Then, just as we entered the eighth month of the pandemic, a solution emerged unexpectedly.
When watching the popular Netflix series The Queens Gambit, I saw my redheaded son in Beth Harmon, the fictional character played by Anya Taylor-Joy. Here was a protagonist of will and wit breaking social norms, creating her own destiny. Her moves were extraordinary, and I wanted my son to at least witness her in action.
Ivry, theres something I want you to watch, I said, and surprisingly he stopped what he was doing so we could watch together.
In one scene, Beth Harmon trains with Benny in New York City, her mentor in preparation for her big tournament in Paris and in Russia both against the world champion Borgov.
Why not advance the knight? Why isnt he defending against the rook? Benny asks. Whats going to become of the backward pawn?
For months, Ivrys chess tutor had been pointing out my sons oversight of not using his knight to defend the rook.
In chess, there is a situation known as stalemate for which there is no legal move. Even though Beth was a fictitious character and I was just my sons mother, I didnt want him to feel stuck in a stalemate. The pandemic has been teaching us that without flexibility and adaptability, its impossible to think with clear moves and plans for defense and attacks.
So what do you think? Do you agree with Benny? Wheres the defense against the rook?
Hmmm, he said. Interesting.
Photo Courtesy Of Dorit SassonIvry at age 9, sets up a chessboard at the local library in preparation for his chess tutor.
Problem-solving has become key to navigating a pandemic, our uncertain world. Similarly, I am a chess player understudy: How can I parent and work from home successfully? How can I stay focused with ongoing distractions when were fighting this global war? When we problem-solve together, we become golden.
Up until now, my son was responsible for his own problem-solving. Unlike baseball and basketball, you cant exactly cheerlead a chess player. But you can advocate for them.
So together we came up with a plan:
1. Play for the love of the game. Not to advance a USCF rating. Come back and analyze. This will take the pressure off.
2.Then when youre ready, sign up for just one one-day tournament. We picked one that fell during the winter break that didnt compete with my sons online schooling, the Manhattan Chess Open on Dec. 30. He won three games, lost one and drew one. And he won a cash prize for a score that put him in fifth place in his rated group.
Even though chess is played silently, at least I have the pride of helping my son as we find ways to adjust and overcome in an uncertain situation. He realized he could do just as well and maybe even better. I learned to trust in his adaptability and flexibility, that he would find his way even if playing online wasnt his thing.
At the end of the day, however, there is really no other choice in a pandemic but to adapt and go with the flow. I want to believe that the day will come when he will go back to playing in-person tournaments, and when that happens, we will not take them for granted.
Do you have a compelling personal story youd like to see published on HuffPost?Find out what were looking forhereandsend us a pitch!
Calling all HuffPost superfans!
Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter
View original post here:
My Son Was A Highly Competitive Chess Player. Then COVID-19 Happened. - HuffPost