Admiration

I'm active on the competitive chess circuit and have improved a lot over the past few years, becoming one of the top two or three players in my state. This is enjoyable because of the cerebral challenge, seeing new places, meeting new people, and defying stereotypes (I do not look like a chess player).

In a pair of recent tournaments I met a man roughly my age who was competing along with two of his sons. They were friendly, well-mannered, hardworking people who probably have never ventured outside this state. Though they were not very good players, they didn't let this dim their enthusiasm one bit, and they watched many of the advanced games with a level of excitement more frequently reserved for contact sports. After I had a wild game on the top board that ended in a draw, the father introduced himself and asked if I would send him a copy of the game, which I gladly did. Just this past weekend I saw him and even more of his sons at the state Open -- again, all of them were incredibly well-mannered and having a blast. In the final round I was playing on the top table, which included boards 1 and 2; just before play started, the father asked all four of us to sign the back of his tournament chessboard, and I shook his hand.

I was flattered by his admiration. I wonder, though, if he knows how much I admire him. He's done something I never managed to do, and he's done it well.