Over the years, I have attended many universities and earned multiple degrees. I've learned to play checkers, Canasta, croquet and even pickle-ball. Yet, I somehow missed learning to play chess. I am pretty sure the husband taught the kids to play while I was either doing dishes or laundry and was too exhausted to add anything to my short-term memory storage facility. There was an after school club that met right next to my classroom for years and I thought about going, but there was always paperwork or lesson plans calling.
So when a grandchild did not accept my I do not play statement and exclaimed, "I'll teach you right now," I swallowed my fear that this was going to be hard and allowed an eight year old to teach me the basics. It was pretty hard, at first, and those horses who hop and jump as if they were real stallions cost me my first game pretty fast. The second game lasted a bit longer until I got shredded by that queen whose wrath I underestimated!
I found myself later that night checking out chess basics and creating my own study guide before wasting an evening on the porch playing an online version ONLY so I can be a better competitor for someone who was in pull ups not that long ago. I'm still listening, growing, and still learning!
3 comments:
Anita,
This is the best slice! zI love that you’re learning chess from a child. They sound precocious! And super smart. Good luck. Keep us posted on your progress.
Good for you. Learning something new. As a kid, I enjoyed playing chess. However, the thinking five moves ahead is way beyond my capabilities. Have fun learning and playing. arjeha
Anita, good for you. This is a great slice of life in our precarious times. I'm so glad you said yes to letting your grand teach you! I have to tell you that Duolingo has a great program for polishing those skills, and I find it to be fun. They match you up with people with the same ability level to play real games too.
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