Our two eldest children joined another chess tournament last Saturday in Makati. This was their fourth time to join a chess tournament since they got interested in the game.

It was not something we really planned to do that weekend. But because the venue for the chess tournament was relatively near our place and the registration fee for it was more affordable compared to the other tournaments, I’ve decided to register my kids. I’m so glad I did! Let me share with you why.

I pre-registered my boys and paid for the registration fee before the tournament date. My husband and I tried to check Waze and Google to find out where the venue really is and how to get there. We also prayed that it wouldn’t rain hard on the day of the tournament.

We all prepared the things that we usually prepare before the tournament like the food we will bring, water bottles, extra clothes, wet wipes, alcohol, eating utensils, a chess set, books, drawing books and coloring materials, pencils, etc. We’re not very familiar with the place so we wanted to make sure that we had enough food and water to last the whole day. I ask the boys to bring books and their drawing books and coloring materials with them so they can read or draw while waiting for the tournament to start or in between games.

We woke up early on the day of the tournament. There were light rains. But the sun came out eventually around noon.

Here are the six (6) main reasons why this was a memorable tournament for our boys:

Reason #1: The boys were chosen to take part in the ceremonial moves of the tournament. This was usually done to signal the start the tournament.

Reason #2: The first GM (Grand Master) in the Philippines and in Asia, GM Eugene Torre, gave the welcome remarks during the tournament and was part of the ceremonial moves where our sons participated also.

Reason #3: Both boys won medals and cash prizes! My 7-year-old was at 7th place in the kiddies category. My 10-year-old (my eldest child) was the winner for the Top Under 10 age group. This was the first time for my eldest to win in a chess tournament.

Reason #4: It’s our kids’ first time to win cash prizes in a chess tournament. My second child won second place in the first tournament that he joined last year when he was only 6 years old. He got a medal and a certificate for that last year. Last Saturday, he got a medal again and P300 cash prize. His older brother got a medal and a P250 cash prize. We were so happy because the registration fee was only P250 and their cash prizes covered their registration fee already. The boys were ecstatic that they won cash prizes.

My husband and I were so proud of them! We rejoice with them!

Reason #5: Our 7-year-old played on board 1 for the championship. He was in second place during the last round before Round 5 started. If he won that game against his opponent, he would have been the champion for the kiddie category. But, it’s alright. Even if he didn’t win as champion, we are still very proud of him that he got to play on board one and he had that chance. There’ll be other chess tournaments anyway. He will have his time to become the chess champion. In the meantime, I encourage him to keep on writing that as one of his goals so that one day, he would write it as one of his blessings or answered prayers.

Reason #6: Our boys had a photo with a chess Grand Master! It’s one of their dreams to become a GM someday since they became chess lovers. So, it was good that they finally met a GM in one of the chess tournaments that they joined.

I think this win has boosted their confidence in their ability and has motivated them to do better in the next tournaments that they will join.

I’m grateful that we chose to make time to join this tournament. I’m also grateful that their chess coach was available that week to coach them in preparation for the tournament.

This week, I asked their coach again to come to our house to give them chess lessons.

Our boys will be joining another chess tournament next Saturday. I hope that they would win again. But more than winning, I hope that they would enjoy their games, meet new friends and apply the lessons that they learn in chess in real life.

What are some of these lessons?

Plan before you move or act.

Train your mind to focus on what you are doing or on your goal and not to be distracted by the noise around you.

Does your child play chess also? Are you a homeschooler like us?

I started a chess club for homeschoolers. You might want to join our group. It’s called Homeschoolers Chess Club PH. You can find us on Facebook.