Checkmate in Four

Checkmate in Four (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog)

My seven-year-old son whipped my butt in chess last night.

He’s beaten me before… once when I was paying attention to fending off an attack deep in my territory, and he suddenly popped his rook out from behind a row of pawns, pinning down my king.

I’m embarrassed to say that he did the exact same move on me yesterday, so he actually beat me twice in the same day. In my defense I don’t play as aggressively as I could. He often doesn’t protect his queen when he launches into an attack mode, and although he knows rooks, bishops and knights are worth more than pawns, he often makes bad sacrifices. So at some point I will focus only on blocking his attacks, keeping the game going as long as possible, unless he makes an obvious mistake.

If he plays well, I will let him get a pawn to my end of the board, and once he’s gotten an extra queen I’ll shift into fighting for my life. The two times he used his rook to pin down my king I was surprised, but since I had deliberately held back at an earlier stage, I didn’t think much of it.

But last night, I moved the king’s pawn forward and didn’t guard it or cover the gap with another piece, so that he was able to get his bishop off to one side and take out the pawn with his queen. There I was, slack-jawed.

“I got that from a book,” he chirped. “But you moved your knights differently.”

My boy, who will dance in front of the mirror for fifteen minutes with one sock on if I don’t remind him to put the other one on, made eye contact, leaned very close, and whispered, “Daddy, you should really watch the whole board.”

The other day, after reading a few blog entries I’ve recently posted about Peter, my wife said, “Peter’s getting old enough that he might want some privacy. I wonder if he knows that you blog his whole life.”

“Not his whole life,” I mumbled.

Peter chimed in: “He doesn’t know the future!”

9 thoughts on “Checkmate in Four

  1. Dennis, Awesome story with Peter again! For those of us who met Peter, or remember him as “Schneeb Phoebe,” reading about his adventures is great and act as testimony to excellent parenting. I always look forward to the next story.

  2. Sue, when the students are minors, then definitely protecting their privacy is an issue.

    There are quite a few professors who blog anonymously, because they want to complain about their administrators and colleagues, and sometimes to “vent” about problem students.

    But since I ask my students to blog under their own names, and I expect them to be respectful and professional, I do the same.

  3. I think it’s cool that you interact with the students on the blogs and that you don’t talk about the “bad” stuff that goes on. The other day I was reading Dr.A’s blog, which led me to other teacher’s blogs. I found it really interesting, considering that I want to be a teacher some day, but I found that pretty much almost all the teachers hide their identities so their students can’t find them. I would have thought that they would want to talk with students to have a better understanding of them, or get to know them better. Is it only ok to do that on a college level? I’ll have to remember all that for when I’m a teacher.

  4. Yes, but you’re “jaded” aren’t you? You said so yourself today in class :-)

    I’m happy for you, and for Peter. You must be very proud.

    On another note, the fact that you mentioned blogging Peter’s life reminds me of the time your family visited and I met them in the dining hall. Carolyn’s version of “this little piggy” really had me laughing. Just thought you might like to know that I appreciated the humor.

  5. Since I know some of my students regularly read my blog, I am very cautious about blogging about students, or even just kind of casually whining about what a draining day this is turning out to be (what with the first major assignments coming due and students starting to feel pressure).

  6. I’ve enjoyed your posts about your son’s chess prowess but the question of how much to write about family or friends can be difficult. Years ago I wrote some things that I meant to be good humored but later realized (seeing my writing more clearly) that maybe the folks depicted wouldn’t have seen it that way. I’ve also found some people just don’t like the idea that they may end up being written about. So anymore I err on the side of caution.

  7. Way to go, Peter! I think that your postings about your son add an element of the personal that makes it very interesting. And too, you are not in bragging mode, and have revealed a growing personality that indicates your own very real paternal awe and sometimes frustration. But your position as a teacher also gives a nice slant on the amazing process of the learning process of children.

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