I was stoked to read in the Daily Globe about an area chess club forming in the Sibley, Iowa area. Sibley was about 15 minutes away from my hometown of Worthington, Minnesota and was a place I would visit often for their dollar movie theater. I guess you could say that the town has something else to offer for cheap entertainment- a chess club.

The article brought in a flood of memories for me going all the way back to learning how to play the game from my Grandma Rust. I still remember the emotions of finally winning against the greatest chess player alive (she was the only one I knew who played chess). My grandma learned the game from her brothers and would tell me that the only way to advance was to play better players like she did.

I also remembered taking my first chess board to West Elementary where I spent many of my free times engaged in playing against friends and foes. I found out that most people are non-intentional in their play and just move the pieces without calculating the next series of moves. Doing the opposite is the key to becoming a better chess player. It served me well until I arrived at high school. (Dr.) Dan Harris and (Dr.) Brent Heeringa were the two people I dreaded playing because they never seemed to lose. Many band trips would be spent in the back of the bus trying to win (or in my case, force a stale mate) against these opponents with a crowd of overseers coughing and twitching, trying to drop hints. But my grandmother's words kept me coming back as I got trounced again and again.

I suppose my favorite loss came during a ski retreat at Camp Forest Springs in Wisconsin. My youth pastor, Greg Loy, was rumored to be a decent player (given his age, j/k). I pestered him to play and when he finally gave in, he took me to town and cleaned house! The thing I remember most about the match was after it was over and Greg said he would never play me again. His exact words were, "now I can always say that you NEVER beat me." Let's just say I lost sleep over that phrase.

Even with all those notable losses, I still kept my chin up and enjoyed playing the game with whomever sat in the chair across the way. With this all said, I have a deep gratitude in my heart for my grandma teaching me the game. I know this comes across as a bit cheesy, but I really wouldn't be the same without her taking the time to pass on the gift of playing chess to me.

If you have the ability to play the game of kings, make sure you share it with others too.

P.S. - While writing this, I thought of five other memories associated specifically with the game. I'll have to share those with you some other time. Would love to know if you have any memories of the game?

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