Dark Knight

“Every move the opposition makes, there is an underlying weakness and strength”

This phrase is my concluding remark on what happened during my previous inter unit chess tournament where brawn meets brain. The tournament has left me with a bitter yet sweet learning experience. It all started with 16 people and ended up with one victor. My preparation during before the contest have started has paid off, the result is a no loss winning streak up to the finals where I faced the toughest opponent in the tournament. My strategy is to play black and try to parry my opponents move. In chess center dominance is a must therefore every player tries to occupy this pristine location with their zealous forces. My battle strategy is to use Sicilian defence and try to gain an exchange in the center. My hope of fortify the center location was foiled when he do his opening move of f2-f4, which is indirectly attacking the center and thus controlling it. As the first game progress I encountered several weaknesses on my part and boom before I know it my location is overrun by his forward marching troops. Therefore in an instant I lost the first round.

The second round is the most taxing of all. Like what people say you learn from your mistakes and so I did. I still continue the same opening but to counter his I moved d7-d5 which tries to take the center e4 by force. As the game progressed I also made a fatal mistake of not prioritizing the king safety by placing it to a castle therefore my location is again jeopardized. The exchanges left me with 1 bishop, 1 rook, 2 knights and down by 5 pawns. His superior troops include 2 rooks, 1 bishop, 1 knight and 7 pawns. And this is where I really try to see every inch of his move, to determine where weak point is. The game overturned dramatically, the reason is either he is overconfident or the proper positioning of my force. I cannot deny the fact the most of my pieces have the greatest mobility than his since I was able to hold on to the center using my 2 knights and thus fishing a fork after an error committed by him. A blunder is paid in causalities thus I earned my first win.

The third round is a do or die situation where the winner brings home the bacon. I have averted from using the same defence by instead I use the center opening. And at a point in time where I spotted his fault, I quickly change from defence to offence therefore pining his queen and king with my unstoppable black bishop along the g1 diagonal, and he resigned thereafter. This earned me the right to be called the champion. And at the end of the day my prize is a one day off from work he he.