Throwback: My Chess Game Experience

 

Hello winners, today I am resharing a post I first made on January 24th, 2019. It is about my experience playing a chess competition which I was not supposed to play in the first place, but I ended up playing and winning a prize money which really helped my financial situation at the time. I hope you enjoy it.

At some point during my final year in school, I was really low on cash. My final year project really took a big chunk of my budget and my account was red.

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I didn't know what to do. No help was coming from home and some other substantial money I was expecting from a reliable source was delayed for some reason.

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 I was just hoping for a miracle. I wouldn't classify myself as a student who was too religious. I am seldomly seen in church on other days apart from Sunday and the only exceptions were during some weekdays, when I was either going to the chapel to pray or for a meeting.

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So, on one of those occasional days during my financial drought period, I was returning to my hostel and I ran into a fellow student. We greeted and he asked me if I wasn't aware of the chess competition that was currently on(because he knew I played chess). I told him I wasn't and he was surprised about that.

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So he directed me to the venue and when I got there, I saw a number of people already playing. I made enquiries from one of the organizers and to my dismay, the registration was already closed. I wanted to leave immediately since there was obviously no point. But instinctively, I just decided to hang around and watch a few games then return.

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As the games went on, I noticed a particular dude sitting alone at a board and he appeared to be impatiently waiting for someone. My guess was confirmed true when I heard one of the tournament hosts phoning someone and asking the person why he hasn't shown up. After the call, he went to meet to  his colleagues and told them that one of those who registered for the game said he was no longer interested.

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They seemed worried about how to balance up things again. And just then the guy who I had made enquiries from told them that someone(me) had met him earlier wanting to register. So after brief consultations, they asked me to take a seat opposite the waiting guy. I still had to register with 500 naira; one of the last few bucks I was hanging on to.

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This was my chance, I felt a strong urge to take it.. I had to take it. And the game began.

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About 40 students registered and it was a series of different games. First round eliminated half of them, second round left 8 of us as a few withdrew. And a final knock out round left us down to 4 players through for the semifinals. We then had some extra time to prepare and come for the finals the next day.

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During these games, I had noticed a particular guy who didn't lose a single game till he got to the finals. When I asked about him, I learnt he was a Post Graduate guy who was really good in chess.

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I knew I was good too, but I was still prone to errors here and there during quick timed games. So, the way I had been qualifying was.. either I lost the first game and won the next two against my opponent or I won the first, lost the second and won the last. Rarely won two starting games in a row against an opponent. But I managed to keep qualifying.

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That night before the finals.. I had revised my tactics/strategies, watched some videos and kept my eyes on the prize.. 10k would go a long way to sustain me while I wait for some support. So, I didn't want to lose.

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The D day arrived ( Joseph Emeka Okoroafor was there to see it) and we played the semifinal games.. I qualified and went into the final.. and same did the Post Graduate guy. Somehow we hadn't met in the qualifying rounds till the finals. He had simply been the best so far.. getting there without losing a single game. Small me.. had been managing to qualify.

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But the game had to be played nonetheless. Lots of students and chess enthusiasts gathered to watch the final game after the third place position was settled.

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I was tense.. because I knew how good my opponent was. And honestly.. many people thought I didn't stand a chance. I could've thought so too given what I had seen, but I had to believe in my self. If I don't believe, who will? ­🤷

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Thankfully, we were given 15 mins time controls instead of the regular 5 mins.. so I had some good time to think.

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Just as the game was about to start after I exchanged handshakes with my opponent. He smiled and asked me which color I'll like to play. Like damn.. In chess when you're asked by an opponent to choose which side to play.. it usually meant that your opponent was confident to play any side against you.

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So I gladly chose white because as at then, my white game was stronger. But he had added to my nervousness by asking me to choose which side I wanted.

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So the game commenced.. it was one game to decide the winner. It was a tough game as expected. I opened with the Bishop's opening. My most aggressive line. ­😁 The guy played expertly. At a point, I felt I was losing because he had a good advantage. Then a strong idea came into my head.. I saw an opportunity to make a knight sacrifice to gain a very strong position of attack. It was a risky move, but my gut instinct was screaming out to me that I should play it.

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If my opponent played anything asides from accepting that sac.. he was most likely to win because that move exposed my position. But I still played it after some considerations.

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I pensively waited for his response. He giggled when I made that move.. like I had done something stupid.. And so he quickly captured the knight thinking it was free.

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Then I smiled, because the path to victory became very clear after that. My next moves pinned down his queen, destabilized his defences and left his king helpless..

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He was smart enough to resign rather than wait to get a clearer picture of what I had in mind and that was how I won that game. People around cheered in admiration at the sheer brilliancy of that knight sacrifice and I went home with 10k and a chessboard. The PG guy got 5k, while the second runner up got 2500.

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At a time when I was wondering how to survive, God somehow provided 10k. And had I not listened to my gut, I for don hear am. I sold that board for 3k. And I was very okay until I finally got some financial help..

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Morals of the story: Listen to your gut instinct, it's almost never wrong. Recognize your windows of opportunity. Never underestimate anybody.

Believe in yourself, even when things appear hopeless(anything can happen). Believe(faith) is what will inspire you to act in your best form.

Let me know your views.