95分，和他们班里英语最好的同学并列第一。从8年级起，娃化了很多的时间在projects上，已经有两次夜里2点才睡，7年级的英语期末是80分，今年到目前为止的project或作业绝大部分是4分，估计8年级的英语应该在90以上。

Memoir

As I picked up my Knight, I hesitated and thought to myself, this single move would decide the outcome of my last game in the Ontario Chess Challenge. It would determine if I would be triumphant against the highest ranked player here, or suffer the well anticipated defeat. Deciding if the months of practice would yield the outcome that I would have aspired, or having to wait another year to prove my supremacy in the chess community. I made my move, anticipating what my opponent would do next…

      It was April 23rd 2017, and was time for me to enter the annual Ontario Chess Challenge after qualifying through the regional competition. It was time for the provincial tournament, where I would be playing some of the best players in Ontario. It was the break of dawn and it was time to start heading to Mississauga, the city in which the tournament is held. The ride to Mississauga was silent but with good reason. I needed to prepare myself mentally for the hurdle I needed to jump over that was awaiting at the end of the highway.

As I got to the tournament, I was greeted by many of my friends and rivals that I hadn’t seen in months. I advanced to the front desk where the tournament director would check me in. As he was highlighting my name on the player list, I was able to manage to get a quick glance at my opponents. The competition was getting tougher every year and I was starting to second-guess myself. From about a couple of years ago, I lost the motivation I had for chess. The once bonfire burning passion I had for chess had turned into a flickering candle, extinguishing at any moment. But this year, I had a good feeling that this was gonna be the year where I would come first and join the Ontario Chess Team and participate in the Canadian Chess Challenge.

By 10 o’clock, the pairings for the first round were made, where I would encounter my first opponent. The kid I was playing was named Daniel Qian. Since my rating was well above the median, I got placed with someone who was not ranked so high in the tournament. I assumed he was not an exceptional chess player and thought lightly of him. I still gave the game my all, double, triple and quadruple checking all my moves. But Daniel Qian’s lack of knowledge and skill had resulted in an overkill win for me. Hmm maybe these players aren’t as skilled as I expected I thought to myself.

I shook his hand, set up the board and proceeded to the scoreboard to mark my effortless victory. Little did I know, that was when my luck had ended. I would be paired against tougher and tougher opponents every round. But I knew that my years of experience would be able to throttle me through the first rounds with ease. There was nothing in my mind that could stop me from a clean sweep in this tournament...

“Checkmate.” I had just won my fourth game in the tournament. I was 4-0, undefeated. The last game wasn’t going to be easy. I’d be playing one of the most renowned players in the chess community, notorious for how accurate every single move he made was. His name was Benjamin Lin. I’ve played him once before, but this time I had the upper hand. I would be playing as white this time. I’ve been plotting my opening, weeks in advance just for this very game. Analyzing every single variation possible, leaving him no choice but to fall for my trap. Surely I will be able to win this time. I can’t afford to wait another year just to prove my supremacy in the chess community. I’ve been dethroned and now it’s time to reclaim my title.

“Players, please make your way to the playing hall to begin the final round.” the announcer said on the intercom. I could already feel the aura everyone around me was emitting. They knew that my game was going to be the most influential game in the entire tournament, deciding who would claim the title of “Number One Chess Player in Ontario” and advancing to the Canadian Chess Challenge. It was time to decide if the months of practice would yield the outcome that I would have aspired. I approached the board, where I found my opponent, Benjamin already waiting there. He was examining me, analyzing my every move even before the game started. His stone-like face, emotionless with his eyes locked onto my every step, I felt like he was trying to intimidate me and it was working. I tried not to show my anxiety on the outside, but I was going ballistic. It was the first time I was playing at the number one table, the table displayed 10 feet above the ground, towering over all the other players.

The referee gave us the signal and we began. We initiated our openings, setting up our defences. e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5. Now it was time to commence my attack, besieging his wall of pawns. Surely he must have saw this coming. There is no way a player like The Great Benjamin Lin would fall an attack like this. But maybe I’m overestimating him. Nf6 O-O Ng4 h3 h5. Perfect, the trap has been set, now will he take the bait? Will he take my knight and suffer his well anticipated defeat? Is he really going to move his pawn and allow me to penetrate through his defenses that easily? He grabs his pawn and takes my knight!

“Yes, What a fool!” I mutter to myself, trying not to smirk. I look around the room, remembering my first time participating in this tournament. I was about eight years old and had just started playing chess. I reminisced the moment when I first found my name on that piece of paper, securing a spot in the top ten. It made me feel so proud and accomplished. It was then where I had found my passion for chess and was the birth of a long treacherous journey. Today would be a day I would never forget. I look at Benjamin. He has been thinking for 20 minutes straight, trying to come up with a counter attack. His clock is slowly ticking down, getting closer to his defeat. Ever since that tournament, I’ve always dreamt that I’d get first someday, but now, I realized it was actually within arms reach. It was like a five year fantasy that had come true. It felt like I had just finished a gruesome marathon. I could already feel the smooth glassy surface of the number one trophy. The game was essentially over. Benjamin reaches for his queen. There was no counterplay to my attack I thought to myself. He’d might as well just resign right now instead of dying a slow painful death. My heart drops. Q-Q--Qd7, how is that even possible? My face turns into a bright red. I feel a bead of sweat forming on my forehead. I look at his face, trying to scan his thoughts and emotions. He looks into my eyes and grinningly says one word... “Checkmate.”

I was devastated. Everything was a blur. I had lost my last game, ending with a score of 4-1. There I was standing on the podium with my fifth place trophy, unsatisfied. Merely a hollow shell smiling at flashing cameras, yet on the inside, nothing but remorse. I look up at Benjamin, grinning with his first place trophy tightly gripped in his hands. Yet another triumphant victory for Benjamin. He must have so many trophies by now that he is running out of room to put them. No wonder he is notorious in the chess community for how accurate every single move he made was. Benjamin must have seen my attack before I even began it. He then purposely fell for my trap, with a counter-attack in his back pocket. Then he pretends that he didn’t mean to fall for my trap and spends 20 minutes on trying to figure out a counter-attack. He let my guard down by pretending he made a fatal mistake. Benjamin had turned the tables and it looks like the predator had turned into the prey. “How could I have been so dim-witted” I mumbled. Now, I have to spend another year of regret, just to prove my superiority in the chess community. Never again will I underestimate my opponents.