Final Thoughts on US Class Championship

The last time I played in an OTB tournament, I was in 6th grade.  The tournament was a lunch-time event involving a handful of students.  I won that tournament.  This tournament was essentially my first real-live chess event I've ever participated in.  To say the least, it was fascinating.

It amazes me that in all my interactions with so many people in my neighborhood, church, work and school that I don't regularly find serious chess players.  I mean, chess is a very popular game and has a huge following, but I've never found that one friend who will stay up til midnight playing chess with you.  When we moved to Houston, I began in earnest to ask more often if people actively played chess.  Miraculously, I've been able to find a couple of gentleman who play.  One goes to my church and the other I met at at chess meetup.

Then I go to this tournament and it's as if I've finally found the party after searching all these years.  The best thing I liked about the tournament was simply talking to others about the game - knowing that there are other people like me who have the same crazy delusions about getting better at this game.  Getting the prize money wasn't the most valuable thing I got - rather it was the experience of the event ... one that I'll never forget the rest of my life.  It was exchanging contact info with other people and meeting fellow chess bloggers.

I was a little apprehensive about the tournament at first, but now all that anxiety is gone and I'm planning which tournament I want to sign up for next.  This addiction has gone to the next level.