Andy has climbed up to the top 1 in his age group by uscf ratings twice. He hopes to continue every year.
A weird studying position
We had a big snow storm in February. We lost electricity for two days. All of us crammed into one bed and piled all our blankets on top of us to keep warm. We had to grill the food in the backyard and use candle light at dinner time.
The kids had online school for half a year. It was not a good system.
Piano recital at the end of school year. Both kids received medals and ribbons for their performance at the music teachers association festivals and theory tests.
I read a legend about the donkey that Jesus rode to Jerusalem to be crucified. It was said that since then the pure-bred donkeys had crosses on their backs. I saw one of these donkeys at our Easter activities at church a few days later!
This is the zoom screen for the semi-final tournament:
Andy tied for the third. He had to play extra Armageddon (White has 5 minutes and Black has 4 minute. But Black wins if the game is drawn) game to decide who gets the bronze medal. Andy never played Armageddon before. By lot, he had the right to choose White or Black. He yield from upstairs "I have to choose quickly. Which color do I choose?" I wanted him to choose White by logic but somehow he preferred Black. David said "Let him. He'll learn if he makes mistakes". Sure enough, he lost. At one moment he had a forced draw. But he tried to play for win because he forgot that Black wins if the game is drawn. After he realized he missed the opportunity, he broke down to crying. He was the only person in the whole tournament to choose Black willingly and he learned a big lesson! It just hurt my heart seeing that he narrowly missed the medal. But it's part of the growing process. During the whole time of the tournament, Andy was upstairs with two laptops/cameras and speakers. David and I were quiet in our bedrooms. Emily went to the garage to play with her friends. Sometimes her friends yelled and laughed loudly on the trampoline and in our backyard. One side of me wanted to ask them to be quiet. On the other side, I didn't want to spoil our neighbor kids' fun. Thinking back, I probably should have asked them to be quiet just for that day for Andy.
School picture
Another church retreat
