Playing Strangers at Hollywood Beach!

INTRODUCTION

Every summer in the last week of June, my family and I take a little staycation to beautiful Hollywood Beach in South Florida. We stay in a hotel there for a week and make the most of every minute down by the ocean. This trip has become the highlight of the summer for us.

The only problem is that I simply cannot last a whole week away from chess, the game that I love dearly. So, this year, I decided to bring my chessboard with me to the beach. My hope was that I could collect some random strangers who know how to play chess off of the beach and the Broadwalk and play against them in a short game or two.

However, I knew that the chances were very slim that anyone would actually stop and play chess with some kid, especially when there was a beach to enjoy. I went down to the beach and set up my board with very low expectations that I would get any opponents at all.

I could not have been more surprised with the way things turned out. I got to play four great games and even made four great new friends. I could not think of a better way to spend my staycation!

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

- There's no time control because I accidentally forgot to pack my clock for the trip (whoops!)

- I alternate back and forth between playing white and black in the games

- All of these people are totally random strangers who saw my sign and were interested in a game

GAME VS. CHANIQUE

I tried to draw some attention from passersby but not too much attention so as not to embarrass myself. Eventually, I got one person to stop, thanks to the insistent persuasion of her friends.

She let me know that she wasn't that great of a player and only knew the basics of chess. She said that she had been really getting into it recently, though, and I encouraged her to continue to play and get better.

The game we played was kind of weird because she played all the right moves at first, but then she made a bunch of really odd moves in a row and just kinda fell apart. See here:

After the game ended, I asked her what her name was, and she told me it was Chanique. I thanked her for the game and she wished me luck in my endeavors. Then I waved goodbye to my new friend Chanique and awaited my next opponent.

GAME VS. DRE

It was taking a while to get my next opponent, so I took a quick pizza lunch break, which actually gave me an idea of how to attract more people to play against me. I upgraded my sign to make it say, "Beat me at chess and I will buy you a pizza", taking the idea from a YouTube video that I recently saw by @thechessnerd. 

The new sign worked like a charm and I attracted my next opponent in no time. He was hesitant to play at first because he said that anyone who sets up a chessboard in public must be very good at chess (which I guess is a fair point). Luckily, I was able to convince him to give it a shot after telling him that there was no penalty for losing and that it was all just for fun. 

I asked him what his name was, and he said it was Dre. I also asked if he'd played chess before, and he told me that he knew how to play but, like Chanique, really only knew the basics. I couldn't tell if he was tricking me or not, but I guess there's only one way to find out...

This game was actually the exact same story as the game against Chanique. He played a very real opening and then played one iffy move and it all went downhill from there. Here is the full game:

After the game, Dre had a huge smile on his face. He said that he knew he would lose because I was "just too good for him". I offered to buy him pizza anyway because I felt a little bad, but he refused, which was a good thing since I'm practically flat-broke. I thanked him for the game and he said that I had a future in chess (I sure hope he's right). Then I waved goodbye to my new friend Dre and once again awaited my next opponent.

GAME VS. DAVID

At this point, to my surprise, there was actually a small crowd of about 5 or so people hovering around me and my chessboard. My next opponent came out of the crowd, looking determined to beat me.

He immediately told me that I was going down and that he wasn't about to be beaten by a "teenage kid". I told him that I liked his confidence and asked him what his rating was. And, in true chess hustler fashion, he refused to tell me until the game was over. So I was facing a good old trash-talking chess hustler, which is exactly what I had been hoping for.

As for the game, I got a great attack on his king and refused to back down until there was a checkmate. See here:

After the game ended, I told him that he'd played very well and asked him what his rating was. He told me that his Chess.com rating was hovering around 1220. He said that I was a very strong player and that he was ashamed he had been "smoked" by a young kid. I thanked him for the game and for his words of encouragement. Then I waved goodbye to yet another new friend of mine, David.

GAME VS. KRISTEN

I was just about ready to call it a day and pack up when my neighbor from my hotel noticed me and asked if it was too late to play a quick game. I told her that it most certainly was not too late and began setting the pieces back up again.

I had met her previously on the trip and already knew that her name was Kristen, so I asked if she had played chess before. She told me that she was trying to pick chess up because she was inspired by the Netflix show, The Queen's Gambit (why am I not surprised?). She said that she was going to do her best. She also asked me if I could coach her a little bit afterward, so I happily agreed.

She played a great game, considering she's only ever seen chess played on a TV show and has never actually played it herself. I helped her out a lot along the way and it turned out to be a pretty competitive game. Check it out:

After the game, I gave her a quick chess lesson on the basics, like how to attack and checkmate and all that. I told her that since she had played that well in her first game, she was sure to find success with chess. She said that she had had so much fun even though she'd lost our game and that she wants to keep learning.

It looks like I've got my first chess student! I am looking forward to giving her another chess lesson soon, whether it's online on Chess.com or next year in Hollywood Beach! But for now, I waved goodbye to her and officially ended my chess adventure for the day. 

CONCLUSION

This was certainly one of the most fun experiences I have had in a long time. All of these people were so nice. I thank them all for their kindness. I hope to meet them again sometime in the near future!

Here are some awesome pictures from the day:

Me looking for a place to set up

Don't I look so motivated?

My dad "helping" me by scream-asking beach-goers if they play chess

The beautiful view from the balcony of my hotel

What a great day at the beach!

I also posted a YouTube Short recap of my struggle to find an opponent. Go check that out as well!

I hope you enjoyed this blog. Cya next time!