I was invited by John Winters, regular club reporter, to write this month’s submission. The assignment is a short article from the point of view of a beginner chess player. My title for this article is:
A Beginner’s Guide to Playing Chess at The Landings
Three years ago, I became enthralled by the Netflix chess drama “The Queen’s Gambit.” This was new for me since I had no idea how to play chess. But I loved the premise that an abandoned young girl could sneak off and learn to play chess in an orphanage, becoming so good she eventually played professionally. She soundly beat male opponents gaining recognition and wealth along the way.
This spurred me to ask my husband, Michael, if he would teach me the game. I wanted to know how to play chess so I could check it off my bucket list of things I wanted to learn. He was extremely patient teaching me how the pieces moved, how to set up the board, and gave me some basic openings. I am forever grateful for his lessons as teaching someone to play chess, especially a spouse, takes incredible perseverance.
About the same time, I spotted an announcement in The Landings Life newsletter about the Chess and Checkers Club. Michael and John played occasionally so I called John, explained I was a beginner and asked if I could play at a club meeting. “Sure!” he enthusiastically replied. “In fact, we’re recruiting beginners.” If you are going to play chess with experienced players, you must swallow your pride and bury your ego. It is indeed a game of humility. But good humility and so much intellectual fun.
I showed up the next Tuesday and immediately was thrown to the chess wolves. It was so gentle that I practiced with them steadily until my husband became sick with heart disease and died. It was a year before I came back. I realized that you must play repeatedly and steadily with competition better than you. The members of the Chess and Checkers Club are so gracious with their time and talent to novices like me. Never once did they make me feel unwelcome or ignorant but rather spent a great deal of time letting me take moves back until I understood why.
Yes, chess is challenging at any level. I did finally beat someone better than me, but that was because they made an error, and I had learned to pounce! We are fortunate at The Landings to have these generous experts who share their knowledge for free.
Don’t forget to protect your king—and your queen!
