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I asked my husband to write a piece on his tournament chess experience as a child. Here is a fond memory from Dan:

Tournament Life
By Dan Sherman

As I became more interested in chess as a boy, I knew I wanted to play in a tournament. Of course I hoped for success, but mostly I longed to be part of a competition with rows of players at their boards, each pitting their skill against an opponent.

Finally the day arrived. I walked into the large tournament hall, on the ground floor of a hotel by the airport. There were a few hundred players, of all ages and abilities. I found the pairings sheet, which tells all the players their board number and whether they have the white or black pieces, and sat down at my board. The Tournament Director thanked everyone for coming, made a couple of announcements and instructed us to start our games.

I lost my first game, but there were five more to go and I was thrilled to be part of this chess gala. Yet the best part of the tournament, the one that would improve my play the most, took place between the scheduled games.

I walked with a group of chessplayers to a nearby fast food restaurant. There was plenty of time before the next round. Inside the restaurant was an incredible scene, one I had never imagined. Chessplayers were everywhere. Most of the tables had a roll-up board in the middle, with players seated on both sides looking on as someone “went over their game” by reading moves from their scoresheet and re-creating the tournament game he or she had just played. I found an open seat at one of the tables and sat down.

The player showcasing his or her game gave their opinion of various moves, whether each was good or bad, and what moves might have been played instead and why. The onlookers chimed in with suggestions. You could ask a question, like “Why can’t white go here?”, and the player going over the game might say, “Right, I thought he might do that, and I was going to play this…”, or “No, he can’t do that…” and he or she would show you why. No one criticized you for suggesting something or asking a question.

For the three days of that tournament I happily lived and breathed chess. There was the morning game, then over to the fast food place to go over games and eat, or just sip a drink if you weren’t hungry, then the afternoon game.

I finished with two wins, three losses and a draw in the tournament. Yet starting with that tournament my skill improved greatly. I could beat my friends at school every time now. At subsequent tournaments I could see I had improved. And of course I always went with fellow players between rounds to eat and “go over games”.