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I still remember that day. Day, when the doctor told my mom, “I am sorry to tell you this, but your daughter has ADHD.’’ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. I was shocked and so was my mom. We both didn’t expect that. I was always an active kid, I couldn’t sit still in one place for a long time and I was getting bored of every single thing, except chess. Yeah, I am a chess player.
When I was five, my grandpa taught me how to play. It turned out that I was pretty good at this. At the age of eleven I had already had the title of Grandmaster. And that’s why none of us thought that I could have ADHD, since chess requires high level of focus. At first, I was kind of worried. I felt like I was not good enough and that’s the end of my career. But my grandpa helped me realize that it’s not true at all. My illness was actually my strong side. I could see things on the chess board in the way that no one else did, which made me a powerful player. And here I am, stressing out before my international tournament. Of course, I had played in tournaments before, but never in such a big one. It took me a long time and a lot of hard work to get there. My mom was dying of pride, and I was dying because of my anxiety. There were only a few hours left, which passed by like minutes. I won the first round with ease; I was playing white. In the second round I played black, but I also won. Third game was the hardest, my opponent was a really tough player and I played black again. It ended with a draw. After a few more days it was time for the finals. I was nervous like never before. I was scared that my stress would take over me during the game and I would lose. I could barely even sleep at night. My mom was constantly cheering me up and repeating that it would be okay. And now, here I was; sitting in front of my opponent. Luckily, this time I was playing white, which meant I got to do the first move. I decided to play my favorite opening, which starts with knights. My rival wasn’t very creative with his beginning, I was able to predict his every move. But his middle game was very good and it got me thinking. He was playing very aggressively and he was focusing more on attack, than on defense, which was his greatest mistake. I could checkmate him in three more moves and he didn’t seem to realize that, since he was focused on attacking too much. To be honest, he wasn’t that great, I thought he would be better. At the end he realized his position was hopeless. He didn’t have other choice than to resign the game.
And I won. I was the winner of this tournament, and it hit me, once I was already with my mom back home. “I told you that you would make it,” she exclaimed, really happy and proud of her daughter. I was able to prove everyone that my grandfather was right. “An illness should never be able to stop you from achieving your dreams.” - those were the last words that he had said to me a year ago, before he had gone to heaven.
When I was five, my grandpa taught me how to play. It turned out that I was pretty good at this. At the age of eleven I had already had the title of Grandmaster. And that’s why none of us thought that I could have ADHD, since chess requires high level of focus. At first, I was kind of worried. I felt like I was not good enough and that’s the end of my career. But my grandpa helped me realize that it’s not true at all. My illness was actually my strong side. I could see things on the chess board in the way that no one else did, which made me a powerful player. And here I am, stressing out before my international tournament. Of course, I had played in tournaments before, but never in such a big one. It took me a long time and a lot of hard work to get there. My mom was dying of pride, and I was dying because of my anxiety. There were only a few hours left, which passed by like minutes. I won the first round with ease; I was playing white. In the second round I played black, but I also won. Third game was the hardest, my opponent was a really tough player and I played black again. It ended with a draw. After a few more days it was time for the finals. I was nervous like never before. I was scared that my stress would take over me during the game and I would lose. I could barely even sleep at night. My mom was constantly cheering me up and repeating that it would be okay. And now, here I was; sitting in front of my opponent. Luckily, this time I was playing white, which meant I got to do the first move. I decided to play my favorite opening, which starts with knights. My rival wasn’t very creative with his beginning, I was able to predict his every move. But his middle game was very good and it got me thinking. He was playing very aggressively and he was focusing more on attack, than on defense, which was his greatest mistake. I could checkmate him in three more moves and he didn’t seem to realize that, since he was focused on attacking too much. To be honest, he wasn’t that great, I thought he would be better. At the end he realized his position was hopeless. He didn’t have other choice than to resign the game.
And I won. I was the winner of this tournament, and it hit me, once I was already with my mom back home. “I told you that you would make it,” she exclaimed, really happy and proud of her daughter. I was able to prove everyone that my grandfather was right. “An illness should never be able to stop you from achieving your dreams.” - those were the last words that he had said to me a year ago, before he had gone to heaven.