FunMasterMike's 'My Fault Cup' -- Cultural Zeitgeist?
Stay with me here.
There was once an event in history that the entire country wanted to attend, especially New Yorkers.
The event would bring together young people in a way that only that exact period in history could. The previous year had been tumultuous, and a massive collective event would help them forget about the country's issues, if only for one weekend.
Organizers were bombarded though as the crowds swelled at the last minute. It was clear that way more people wanted to attend than had been expected.
Things began late. The crowd showed up but nothing happened until many, many hours later. The kids got restless. They wondered if this was just another disappointment.
Those holding the microphones didn't know what to say. The entire plan for day one was scrapped.
On day two, the crowd was upset after a disastrous opening. Organizers scrambled and made the best of it. They decided to let everyone in for free and refunded many thousands of payments.
But on that second day, everything came together. Patience prevailed. Community formed. The kids made the most of it. After all, everyone knew what CPR stood for.**
Some got an experience even better than they were expecting. It wasn't the original plan but they enjoyed it. And if anyone can show resiliency, its kids. Their event got a bonus act.
You see kids, the messiness of the US Chess/ChessKid K12 Showdown is not so unlike Woodstock, except the lack of mud and their version of the Star Spangled Banner was better. Just ask your grandparents if they attended. For those that did, I'm sure they would never regret it.
**I'm being told that CPR and CCR are not the same thing. Extended metaphors aren't perfect, but even John Fogerty exclaimed, "I wanna move." And so do the kids. See them January 9 for the FunMasterMike 'My Fault' Cup!
Company Contact and News Accreditation:
- Email: Mike@chess.com
- Phone: 1 (800) 318-2827
- Address: PO Box 60400 Palo Alto, CA 94306
Mike Klein began playing chess at the age of four in Charlotte, NC. In 1986, he lost to Josh Waitzkin at the National Championship featured in the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer." A year later, Mike became the youngest member of the very first All-America Chess Team, and was on the team a total of eight times. In 1988, he won the K-3 National Championship, and eventually became North Carolina's youngest-ever master. In 1996, he won clear first for under-2250 players in the top section of the World Open. Mike has taught chess full-time for a dozen years in New York City and Charlotte, with his students and teams winning many national championships. He now works at Chess.com as a Senior Journalist and at ChessKid.com as the Chief Chess Officer. In 2012, 2015, and 2018, he was awarded Chess Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America. He has also previously won other awards from the CJA such as Best Tournament Report, and also several writing awards for mainstream newspapers. His chess writing and personal travels have now brought him to 99 countries.
