How an Entrepreneur Defeated a Chess Wonderkid in Tournament

I am at a village guesthouse with a cozy atmosphere, surrounded by a soothing lake, with 70 chess players from the country.

A rapid chess tournament will start, in which each player has 15 minutes to make all their moves, with 10 seconds increment for each move.

I feel ready for this tournament. I trained daily for a month; I took the last two days off from work to fully concentrate here. I feel like I can accomplish a lot!

My old buddy, Costel, invites me to play some friendly games since he didn’t have the opportunity to play chess or train. I lose all six games, and I anticipate a disastrous performance, all my preparation being in vain.

What am I doing here? Did I study too much and charged my brain excessively?

In the first game of the tournament, I get Rafael, the wonderkid of our city. He is only 14 years old. The owner of the guesthouse just offered him a financial prize for his performance at the national team championship!

He is the favorite no. 7 to win the tournament, I 42nd, out of a total of 70 players. We had played two more games; in both, he was the winner.

How to approach this game? I look elegant, in a suit, with a chess squares tie. My clothes give me confidence. I play white, so I have to be more aggressive!

I start with the king’s pawn, showing him that I want to play a spectacular, aggressive game, with fireworks on the board.

I know that, in a long and strategic game, I would be terribly bored, and he would exploit even a small pawn advantage. In a strategic game, a strong opponent gradually squeezes you like a snake around your neck, taking advantage of the slightest mistake. In tactical games, we have to calculate a lot and quickly, so errors occur on both sides.

He replies with the Sicilian, the most aggressive defense, but also the hardest to learn. There are so many variations, and he thinks that an entrepreneur cannot memorize the theory of this opening.

I choose the Sozin attack, preferred by Bobby Fischer, and I hope he gets into my plan. For this system, I have also studied the spectacular style of Grandmaster Velimirović. I know that we will, at least, have fun! Maybe I don’t have a real chance to win, but I will play aggressively. I will show him what I know, and I will come out of here stronger!

Rafael seems quite bored, moves quickly, and often walks to the table where his brother is playing. I’m a little confused that he keeps getting up from the table and is relaxed.

The owner of the location is almost glued to our table; he doesn’t leave during the whole game. He admires Rafael so much that he follows him as if he were Maradona on a pitch. He expects him to make a spectacular move and tell it to his grandchildren. How nice it would be for him to explain to them how he saw a real star in action.

I’m a weakened bull, waiting for the sword from the invincible matador, to lie on the ground.

Time passes fast, and I make a major error. I offer two pieces to my opponent: a rook and a knight. He just has to choose one.

I can’t believe this! What was in my head? That’s it! Calm down! Let’s see what can happen. If he captures the knight, it will be impossible for me to come back. If he captures the rook, I’ll checkmate him in 2 moves! Of course, he won’t do that. It’s impossible not to see the right move. Everything is lost.

The owner of the guesthouse smiles, confident that his favorite champion will win as usual.

And yet, he captures the rook … Did I miscalculate, or did he really make a mistake?

Yes, he is wrong! I capture the pawn in front of the king, and it follows the checkmate in two moves. His only chance is to give up his strongest piece — the queen.

My heart is almost out of my chest…

He doesn’t even try to win on time, he holds out his hand and leaves in the hallway, with tears on his face. Not only is he a professional, but he also puts a lot of soul into confrontations.

The arbiter asks me what happened, and I have to tell him the result, slowly, from a distance, to not disturb the players. I signal to him that I have won, and he doesn’t seem to understand. Then, I raise both hands in the air, like a goal in the stadium! Now he understands!

I put the pieces in the initial position, and Rafael returns to our table. I ask him discreetly: “Why didn’t you capture the knight, man? I was lost!”

He tells me: “I was losing anyway.” Then, he reproduces the whole position on the board; all the pieces had remained in his mind. His memory stuns me!

I reveal to him that something is missing; he makes a small change on the board that helps him comprehend where he went wrong.

The spectators on the sidelines, whom I do not know, congratulate me with bright eyes. Now I am a model for them to push their limits!

In conclusion:

• Luck comes to us if we really work!
• The time dedicated to training turns into “confidence bricks”!
• We must face confrontations with courage, to attract good things in our life!
• It’s important to find pleasure in what we do, to feel comfortable with our own style. In Bobby Fischer’s words:

You can only get good at chess if you love the game.

This story originally appeared on Medium.