“What does community mean to you? What makes a community?”
This year, I have started my freshman year at Westview High School, where the first few days have been focused on community-building rather than academics. And while I have grown tired of these particular questions, the relentless repetition of them has forced me to think of my own answers.
For me, a community is much more than a group of people who live in close proximity geographically. It is a group of people who share a common interest, who provide a base of support and encouragement for each other. Every member of a community should feel they belong, and they should feel happy to be a part of it.
The chess community has been a one that I have been a part of for a long time, and from my first tournament to my most recent achievements, I have always felt happy and supported here. I have been given so much from my peers, my competitors, and my mentors that it always felt right to give back.
After so many preparations, my dream of doing something for the other chess players in Oregon finally came to fruition. And in such a spectacular fashion as well!
I arrived very early with my fellow co-founders this past Sunday at our first ever Puddletown Chess quads, preparing pairings and sets and board numbers. I never appreciated how much work goes into getting a tournament ready until I had to do it myself. Then the players slowly started filing in, and my excitement rose in anticipation. Three minutes, two minutes, one…
Almost surreally, I walked to the front of the room and gave the traditional TD announcements (touchmove, restrooms are here, don’t talk to your opponent during your game, etc.). After I told the players to start, I heard the familiar sounds of pieces shuffling across the squares, clocks touched after every move, the rustling of notation and pencil as moves were recorded. How strange of a feeling to know that I had started a tournament.
The next rounds flew by, with some quads finishing quicker than others. Soon, Austin, Ishaan, and I were busy analyzing the games of those who had finished. There were lots of instructive games, and great job to all the players for always trying to notate their moves! This is a great step to improvement, as you need to notate to review your games.
Finally, all the players got free pizza and we hung around, playing fun blitz games and having a great time together. I think all of us at Puddletown Chess can agree that the tournament was a huge success!
This quad, our first ever tournament, was very fulfilling for me as a recipient of so many kind words and actions from our chess community. I saw players who had never played in a USCF rated tournament before, and I was honored that our quads would be their first. I saw girls that reminded me of how I started chess, young kids (the youngest was only 6 years old!) whose concentration and focus I was amazed by, players that lived all the way in Corvallis that drove for nearly two hours to get to our tournament, and so many others.
I also saw chess friends who I had not seen in a long time. I still remember playing chess at the school club together with Jackson. He was a kindergartener back then, but now he is already in fifth grade. His dad told me that Jackson came just to support me, even though he has quit chess for three years. I was very touched by these words; all the work I did felt worth it.
Seeing the diversity of our chess community, hearing about the individual stories about how we are unique and yet still connected through chess is huge motivation for us at Puddletown Chess to continue providing tournaments and making better than before. Thank you to everyone for coming, and hope to see you again at our future events!
