SUCCESS!!!

I can't believe it! I've kicked that chess leader board in the BUTT after our chess session today! Usually I dread playing chess, and I'll tell you why...

At the start of the year, the names were placed randomly on the board. And I just happened to be at the very bottom. Just by coincidence. But I suppose SOMEBODY has got to be at the bottom, don't they?
But then again, this was turning into a problem for me. I would only ever move one or two spots up at a time and then I'd move back down the following week and so on. My mum came in one sharing night and saw me at the bottom of the board and started ranting. "You've seriously let your game slip, don't you care about your education, chess is SO important, if you played your brother at home more you'd be better," etc, etc. I still never really did anything about it though, until today.

Just another Monday. The music blared, we all raced down to the mat. Darryn took the roll, we went over the day plan. Sorted ourselves into groups for workshops. The student email got handed over to the same people as last week. Then...
"Chess!"
Oh no, oh no. All of my friends were already paired up, and so I had to challenge somebody I hardly knew. I looked up and down the leader board, from the top to the bottom. All the good spots were reserved by all the really good chess players that I'd have no chance of beating. But somewhere on the board, kind of in the middle, but still pretty high up, I saw a familiar name. "Whatever, he goes to my school, he's not a complete stranger," I thought. With a small sigh, I challenged him and we started the game.

I knew I was off to a good start when I took his queen right near the start. I lured him over with my rook, but by the time he realized that he couldn't take me because I was protected, it was too late, he was over there anyway. I moved my pawn forward - if he didn't move his queen, it would get taken. But he'll move his queen away, I told myself. Don't get your hopes up.
But, miraculously, he DIDN'T move his queen away! He moved a pawn or a bishop or something and realized what he had done only as he lifted his hand off the pawn or the bishop, whatever it was. I moved forward, grinning, and took his queen. Then, it was only a matter of time as I moved my queen to his king and maneuvered him into CHECKMATE!