The last time I played chess with Nick, we were still working on what moves each character made. It wasn't much fun playing, but I figured he was having a good time and getting the hang of it. This time, when he asked if we could play chess, I thought we'd be in the same place, working on moves. But no, he had the hang of what each guy could do. Oh, he learned little things about how to castle with the king, a move I'm not sure he'd seen before. Plus, I showed him a two-pronged attack by setting up one of my guys then attacking him with another. I played my strategies out loud so he could understand why I made the moves that I did. When he started picking off my guys, I wondered if I should be quiet. Twice, he snuck up on me with his knight. Finally, he got me down to my queen, a rook, a knight, and some pawns. Oh no! I might not have played chess much in the last hundred years, but I could still beat a ten-year-old. Couldn't I?
Suddenly, I wasn't so sure. He got me into a bind where if I moved my knight, his queen would take my queen. If I moved my queen, he'd take my knight. He had another avenue of escape cut off with a rook. If he'd moved forward on the board and done that to my king, I'd have been a goner. Fortunately for my pride, he's still defending instead of organizing an attack. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get myself out of trouble with my queen, but I tried distracting him with a random move toward his king. It worked this time, but for how long? Next time he may be onto me. He might boldly send forth his minions.
Did I give birth to a boy who is smarter than I am? Well actually, I hope so. Still, there's my pride to think about. One of the best things about losing to him in a real game is the confidence that builds in him. He really believes me when I tell him that he's good at math because he can divide faster than I can. He's certainly good at logic. At this age, I'm pretty sure that learning to build confidence is one of his most important skills to learn. For that, I'm willing to lose against him at chess, but from now on, I'm not going to make it easy for him.
Thank you for listening, jb
Suddenly, I wasn't so sure. He got me into a bind where if I moved my knight, his queen would take my queen. If I moved my queen, he'd take my knight. He had another avenue of escape cut off with a rook. If he'd moved forward on the board and done that to my king, I'd have been a goner. Fortunately for my pride, he's still defending instead of organizing an attack. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get myself out of trouble with my queen, but I tried distracting him with a random move toward his king. It worked this time, but for how long? Next time he may be onto me. He might boldly send forth his minions.
Did I give birth to a boy who is smarter than I am? Well actually, I hope so. Still, there's my pride to think about. One of the best things about losing to him in a real game is the confidence that builds in him. He really believes me when I tell him that he's good at math because he can divide faster than I can. He's certainly good at logic. At this age, I'm pretty sure that learning to build confidence is one of his most important skills to learn. For that, I'm willing to lose against him at chess, but from now on, I'm not going to make it easy for him.
Thank you for listening, jb
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