Gangnam Gu, Seoul, SOUTH KOREA – I used to play chess with my dad when I was very young. I even brought my chess board to kindergarten and challenged my teacher to a match.
But when I was about 5, I lost interest and chess wasn’t part of me for a long time. I didn’t even care about chess for the past decade, but it always lingered in the corner of my mind because I remembered how I used to play chess with my dad.
A couple of months ago, I clicked on a YouTube video that led me to a famous chess streamer, International Master Levy Rosman. As I looked at the green and white chessboard with its eight columns and eight rows, I was completely lost by what he was talking about.
I was surprised that I’d forgotten so much of what I knew.
Without any reason, something told me that I should learn chess again and start playing.
In early December, a family chess competition was held in Gangnam Gu, a district in the center of Seoul, where I live. It was their first chess competition.
I thought of this as an excellent opportunity to start playing chess again. My dad and I signed up to compete.
On the competition day, I was slightly embarrassed by the fact that I was almost the only young person among the players over the age of 12 or so. Most of the others were little boys playing with their parents.
As I proceeded to play with my dad, we encountered excellent players who were children and seemed to be clearly experienced with chess.
It was a hard and rocky way to the end, but we eventually won twice, drew once, and lost twice.
However, it was good to experience something new. When it was over, I was sad because I really expected to win at least third place, but clearly inexperienced chess players cannot win without practice.
The secrets of chess grandmasters are still a mystery to me. My dad and I might not have chosen the best moves over the board.
As school is slowly starting again after winter break – and time to practice chess might be limited – I want to continue my journey in chess.
I am hopeful that chess one day may become my best friend.
Josephine Yein Lee is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
