Take Defeat in Stride
The 2016 Washington State vs. British Columbia International Annual K-12 Chess Match (Intermat) was organized by Chess 2 Inspire (BC) and Chess 4 Life (WA) in this great new location: University of British Columbia - Pharmaceutical Sciences Building.
Both teams consist of two players per each grade, playing two game rounds, against each same grade opponent. In the first round WA played black and lost 9-17. In the second round WA played white and also lost 10.5-15.5. The defeat was not very subtle.
Naomi won her first game and lost the second game to her friend and perennial chess opponent, Luke. Ethan lost both rounds, though he was very satisfied with the high quality of the games. Between games we got pizza lunch, organizers made great efforts for everything to work out smoothly.
While kids played, we enjoyed the University of British Columbia tourist attractions. Before lunch we went on a free campus tour with guides, joining prospective students and their parents. The highlights were the UBC Botanical Garden, the Asian Garden, and the Rose Garden.
After lunch we visited the UBC Museum of Anthropology, devoted to world cultures, with an emphasis on the First Nations of the Northwest Coast. The museum has a splendid collection of totem poles, a mind-boggling array of artifacts from around the world, and a number of changing exhibits, including one from Papua New Guinea and some striking art by a First Nations artist.
In the end we even tried to descend very long steep stairs to Wreck Beach -- North America's most famous and busiest nude ("clothing optional") beach. In the middle of this endless descent we got an email that both kids finished their games, so we had to go back up these long stairs -- empty-handed, so to speak... another crushing defeat of the day. It was just not meant to be.
Arriving home, we found Naomi's birthday present delivered at the front door -- Huffy Ladies 26" Nassau Blue Cruiser Bike, whose assembly from a heap of parts packed in the box took a few hours next day.
This was a weekend of most pleasant memories.
