The Tournament Essay Example for Free

The Tournament experimentIf you have ever regretted volunteering for a task, but had to continue, despite this, you will know how I felt, as I boarded the coach that would take me to the venue of the chess tournament. It was an all-consuming, unforgettable, always nagging sort of worry that I would fix about my own humiliation as I baffled game by game at the prestigious tournament. No. Not a worry but a certainty. For I had not expert once in the past months, while in my prime, it was normal for me to spend a couple of evenings per workweek at a board, revising combinations. Yes, it was this lack of practice that troubled me to the very core, that I would disappoint my group and be humiliated for it. So the odour of the garbage on the coach had little effect on me, as I contemplated the nature of the raze that I would bring upon myself.In an attempt to banish these thoughts from my head, I brought out my reading book, which I soon immersed myself in, but the cheers and c hit chat from my team mates as the coach started could not be ignored. As I snapped out of my ponderous trance, I became aware of the neat stench of this appalling place where rotten eggs and ham from long forgotten packed lunches dress neatly stacked under the seats and the random splodges of yogurt were spread over the once-fine seat covers. un slight as the hours passed, none of these were noticed as my nose grew accustomed to the constant whiff, and my eyes remained firmly persistent on the pages of my book. It was finally four hours later that we pulled into the drive of the B B where we would stay. Just one more than night till I would be a humiliated manMy first match of the nigh day started and ended badly. I was to play against a boy of no more than 8, who sat precariously on the very edge of his seat, with legs dangling aimlessly under the table. His age and the innocent gaze gave me bank that I could at least secure 1 point for my team. But I was wrong, very wron g. As he made his first strickles, I saw he was no novice and despite my outstrip efforts, my fiendish foe struck mercilessly, felling my pieces one by one. It was an uphill struggle, a battle I could not win and yet I tried, while to my annoyance, he squealed with delight after each capture in a childlike manner, though he had the skill of double his apparent age. I can branch you this was terribly shocking. So there was no surprise when he finally delivered checkmate, though while we did this, I dreaded the teases I would be sure to receive as the result of this lost battle, especially receivable to my antagonists age. As I stepped from the room, my fears were confirmed. My humiliation had begun.My next match went just as badly. Still in a daze from the jests endured, my head spinning, as I tried desperately to win against my unsympathetic opponent. But my efforts were to no avail, as I lost, even more swiftly than ahead. But my thoughts cleared as I leave the tournament r oom one round to make a win. One round to avoid disgraceAfter my disastrous rounds, I expected nothing more than another loss from equally suitable opponents, knowing my fate for humiliation had been sealed the moment I agreed to come. But my next opponent was not something I could have anticipated given even the wildest imagination. Like a giant, he towered over the board, but it was not his height which troubled me but his bulk. His fat bulged in great flabs so that I felt he might burst and his slow, lumbering walk scarcely surprised me. One could retell clothes were not made to his size the Nike logo on his shirt was stretched into a thin farm animal while his fat writhed under his tight top as he reached out to move his piece.I made no mistake in underestimating my opponent this time, however, it was soon clear he was less gifted than the child prodigy I had played the first round. But there was still something antic about the game play, there was something about the way we played in his shadow that unnerved me, and before long, I once more felt myself sailing against the wind in this battle of mine. But as does a wounded animal strike back, so did I, knowing the fate that would come to me if I lost this match. But then, my silent prayers were answered in the form of the biggest blunder I had ever seen at this level of play, and I pounced upon it, like a hungry wild cat as he throws himself on a mouse. The zoom had changed, and I finished him off easily. The victory was mine, no disgrace for me.