Hello, dear readers! Time flies! It is about time to play 2016 CYCC. This is my fourth time playing CYCC. I had very sad moments in prior years: tears in my eyes; long hours’ trip with the feeling of nothing has been accomplished….
This year, I have a trip with everybody: my mom, my dad, Lily Ma and her mom Coco. We are staying at a commercial centre in Windsor which provides us a suite with a big public kitchen and a huge fitness centre (which kids are not allowed to show up).
Coco and my dad are our Logistic team: responsible for driving, grocery shopping, cooking, technical support and all the backup support. My mom works as a schedule planner, a catcher in the rye and an eye never closed upon us….
2016-07-05 Day 1:
I woke up around 8:00 and enjoyed a buffet style breakfast in the cafereria next to the lobby. Bagels, cereals, juice and milk were provided. I took a little of everything.
When we finished our appetizing breakfast, I returned to our room and started playing chess on en.playchess.com. It’s a big chess server where a lot of famous GM plays and teaches. There’s Nigel Short who’s playing occasionally. I played some blitz, then my mom told me to switch to rapid games. I won 3 games in rapid. I probably played against opponents whose ratings were too low. But I didn’t care as I only started playing on Playchess recently and I was unrated in the rapid rating. As long as I win, everything’s all right.
The tournament was hosted in the Caesars Windsor Casino. Wow, the buildings were really tall and majestic. The playing hall was even more. There was blue light on the ceiling mixed with the traditional crystal lights. The room was gigantic, and it was the Augustus room, just to be exact. As a chess player who gets used to playing in community centres and colleges with less fancy facilities, I truly feel honored to play in such magnificent venue with such wonderful riverside view. But you know, chess is chess, magnificent or minimalist style, I am in!
Opening Ceremony:
The back wall is basically a big photo wall. If you look carefully, you might find yourself on the wall; I love this photo, it gives you a glimpse of harmony among kids, parents, chess…
Lobby of the Cesar Hotel: a wish fountain. I found some nickles; obviously not by luck..there is a reason we call it Wish Fountain:
I played against Rivard Jacob in first round. That ended quickly in my favor. Then Lily finished. She lost because she touched a piece by accident. According to the FIDE rules handbook, if someone touches a piece by accident, it doesn’t count. That’s what happened, but Lily didn’t call the arbiter. She lost because of that.
Qiuyu Huang VS Rivard, Jacob
I am thinking or dozing?:
We returned to our place. I did my daily exercise: rope jumping for 1000 and had my dinner. Then I went to sleep.
2016-07-06 Day 2
Day 2 of the CYCC was pretty normal, no miracle or surprises in majority.
I recalled one thing today: when we go to the bathroom, we have to pass our card, or so-called tag with our names on it to the event volunteer before we enter the bathroom. If you don’t have the tag, you’re not allowed to get in the bathroom..just imagine that…
I played against someone whose name is difficult to remember and pronounce, so I won’t list it out here. He played well, although he gave me a lot of pieces. He resigned afterwards.
Qiuyu Huang VS Washimkar, Arhant:
Next round: I played against Neil Doknjas. I won! Yay!
Qiuyu Huang VS Neil Doknjas:
We ate dinner, played Frisbee for a while, and then went to sleep. Stay tuned for the next day’s report!
2016-07-07 Day 3
Today is round 4 and 5.
I had the continental breakfast again. All was normal, the wave of heat was always there. Some of you may ask what this ‘wave of heat’ is. Well, these days, the temperature reached 35oC and it was hot everywhere. I could say that our car was literally an oven. When we got in the car, we felt like being toasted. Air-conditioner did not help in the very beginning. We did a group photo beside the river. Kevin Zhong and Alexandra Chan weren’t there for the photo.
Quebec team photo with Captain Lefong Hua beside the river (Detroit downtown is behind us):
U12 Group at the playing room (plenty of friends here):
Then let’s take a closer look at the trophies:
First round of the tournament, I played against my friend Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux. It was a dull game in the beginning, but arrived at a more interesting middle game. However, I didn’t find any breakthroughs or discovery in that position. It went on till the end without any chances. A boring draw.
Qiuyu Huang VS Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux:
Finally, I ate dinner in the waiting room, dozed for a while and then pulled myself together for the next round.
Round 5, I played with Tanaka Tyler, who I played a lot before. We were so familiar with each other’s style. It went pretty quickly, and I won. I trapped his rook in such a funny way that a lot of people came to see what happened. Some laughed, while other serious chess players just checked and returned to their game quietly. We discussed what he could have played to keep some resistance. After that, I returned, ate dinner and went to sleep, the usual affair.
Qiuyu Huang VS Tanaka Tyler:
Some minutes before going to bed, my mom announced that Patrick Huang won his game today, making it inevitable to play him next morning. Wish me good luck!
2016-07-08 Day 4 Last but not least
It’s not the last day at Windsor, because tomorrow we’ve got a whole day at a beach, AGAIN. But that’s not why you are reading this.
Today, the morning was always the general affair. Only thing is that I saw on the news that there was a police ambush at Dallas in the United States. Five police officers were killed, several injured. Let’s pray for the death and hope that the injured ones will be well any days soon.
Today was not that hot because it was previewed to be raining outside. I don’t know if it did because I was indoor focusing on chess all day long. I played with Patrick Huang in 6th round. I won! It was a deep and difficult position, where both sides couldn’t do anything. Until he started playing the same thing over and over, I switched my pieces to a better position, grabbed a pawn, then he made a blunder and I won. My teacher Mr Peng spoke highly of this game in which I showed courage and patience; in another word: Fearless. This is something he would like to see: no fear, no burden, just better command of pieces until the triumph quietly arrives.
Qiuyu Huang VS Patrick Huang:
Are we ready for the tournament?:
I was always preparing to play against Nicolas Vettese, but finally all was wasted because of the fact that I played against Max England for the last round.
Qiuyu Huang VS England Max:
I drew the game. So I’m tied with Nicolas, and waited for the official result to come out which is based on tiebreak.
Finally, I got the crown! First place! Now I’m finally going to be playing in the WCCC!
U12 Top 4: from left: Shawn, Nicolas, Qiuyu, England; I am sure we will see each other very often:
Ok, here are some fun things that someone invented about chess titles.
WCM = WC master (Women Candidate Master)
CM = Chippo master
NM = Not master (not a master)
FM = Fake master (because you don’t need any norms)
IM = Incompetent Moron or Illegal mover
GM = Grandma
We are so dedicated to chess games not just because of the winning. It is also about exploring the world and been around with friends. It is also about the team:
Our wonderful Quebec team:
Quebec Captain Lefong Hua is with us throughout the tournament:
Thanks to the organizers:
It is also about support from different parties:
Leo’s mom organized a yoga exercise in the early morning before the tournament.
Ted: never know you can stretch like that:…
Thanks to my mom and my dad. My dad always supports my mom who always supports me:
Thanks to my friends:
My favorite bughouse with Maiili; I remember last year I was playing bughouse with her too:
We and Mr Stranger Kenta:
Thanks to the Hotel that we stayed; they provide a fitness centre that I was not allowed to be there (We were kicked out right after this):
I got a CYCC T-shirt as a gift; I love it! Of course, I love the trophy the best:
At the same time, I also love the small participation trophy from last year. It is so small so trivial; but at that particular moment, it meant so much to me (last year after last round with tears and the participation trophy at hand):
Again, winning or losing is just temporary. How to navigate the direction and keep on going is the most important.
Quote what my mom says all the time: hold yourself up, otherwise your crown will be falling…
Photo credit to:
-Lefong Hua
-CYCC organizer