Sarah chose Chess for her after-school enrichment program the last go-round. She had never played before, but, as I expected, took to it quickly and became preoccupied with it. Don has played for decades and enjoys it, so he played with her and gave her pointers. I barely know the basics and don't care for it, so she quickly exceeded my abilities.
During the fifth weekly session, they started an elimination-style tournament, and Sarah survived the first round. The next and final session, she won the tournament -- five weeks after first playing, and against kids who had taken the program multiple times before. When she puts her mind to something, step out of the way.
The ironic part -- and this is SO Sarah -- is that she didn't realize she'd won, because she didn't get the elimination part. She kept insisting she couldn't have won because she hadn't played everybody. She still won't quite accept it. This is a symptom of her all-or-none, perfectionist tendencies -- something I really hope we can temper before her teen years.
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