Chess Master Ollie

To encourage my sons' interest in chess, I offered them both a quick $100 cash... when they are able to beat me at a game of chess. I am by no means a chess wiz, but I do enjoy the game.

What has surprised me is how well my 5-year-old (Ollie) has taken to the game. We have a "Lego Chess" computer game that he frequently sits in front of, mostly experimenting and getting the animated pieces to clobber each other. We also play a game (or two) together before bedtime.

Tonight, Ollie played one of the best games ever. He made it through the openning, middle game, all the way to an end game. While I was a tad ahead on material, he did an amazing job of coordinating the pieces he did have to hold me back.

I think Ollie's next major step, chess-wise, is to start learning Offense. So far he plays mainly "to not loose" (vs. playing "to win").

I'm not sure what Ben (my 8-year-old) thinks about all of this. I know he pines after the $100 bounty himself. In fact, he went through the Lego catalog a few weeks back and identified the items he is going to purchase with his winnings. :)