While Trevor Magness was busy representing Illinois at the National Denker High School Tournament of Champions, his parents Phil and Cheryl Magness kept a lovely journal of Trevor’s participation in the event, and their reflections on his involvement in chess in general.  On the next page are some excerpts.  To read the whole thing, go to:
http://roundunvarnishedtale.blogspot.com/

Trevor did Illinois proud and came in fifth in a very strong field.    

Phil from the Denker opening ceremony:

It really is a great honor to be here. The opening ceremony was about ninety minutes long and included several speeches and moving testimonies. This is the 25th Denker Tournament of Champions, and many former participants have gone on to great things--both in and out of the world of chess.

All the participants have a little state flag by their board. Trevor really is representing our state of Illinois! At the opening ceremony all the state champions got a gold medallion--plated in real gold (so, yes, they are heavy!). They also received a thickly laminated chess card of Arnold Denker, after whom the tournament is named. The cards were signed by Denker before he died and have the notation of a game he personally picked as one of his best on the back. They also got a copy of the Arnold Denker Commemorative Edition of Chess Life magazine.

Trevor is 10th seed in the tournament, so is not favored to win, but could possibly come in the top five and get a few hundred dollars for college. The winner, of course, gets a 4-year, full tuition and room-and-board scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas.

Right now Trevor is playing his first round, against Matthew Parshall of Alaska. He's favored to win this, but the question mark on Parshall is his rating. Because he doesn't get a lot of tournament play in Alaska, he probably is seriously underrated.

On a personal note, I'll add that I'll miss these tournaments. Trevor and I really enjoy the times we share together. As I write this my eyes mist up with memories of playing "keep off the bed" in Pittsburgh, "There is no pawn!" in Atlanta, and, of course, the wild trip to Orlando when we almost missed our flight due to my driving to the wrong airport.

We've had some heartbreaking losses along the way--especially in the beginning. But, oh, has Trevor had his triumphs! State Primary Champion in 3rd grade; 4th in Nationals at that wild Orlando tournament; tied for 5th at the U.S. OPEN last year, and now, Illinois Denker champion.

Earlier tonight, at the ceremonies, one of the chess celebrities, Bill Hall (USCF Executive Director), talked about how he played in Denker almost 20 years ago, representing Tennessee. He was from a small town (pop. 3500) and never had much opportunity to travel. He didn't say how he won the state championship, but evidently his little high school had a chess team and he won a state championship and so got to go on to nationals. He said it opened up the world to him, which is why he devotes so much of his life to promoting chess for America's youth.

Phil from the beginning of Round 2:

The second round of the Denker National Tournament of High School Champions is up and running. There was more than the usual excitement when the pairings (the listing of who is to play whom) were posted this morning. My mind was taken back to when Trevor use to play in scholastic tournaments and how excitement filled the room as the joyful report filled the air: "Pairings are up!"

Trevor is playing Spencer Bledsoe of Georgia this morning. Spencer is a stronger player than Trevor's opponent last night, a high "Grade A" player with a rating of 1962. Trevor has moved up from 10th to 9th position; Spencer is in 18th by virtue of having won his first game. With this pairing, Trevor may have dodged a bullet: the top-rated player in the tournament, Jeffrey Haskell of Floida, drew (tied) his first board last night and so dropped from 1st to 19th place. Because the "fold" right now has players 1-9 playing 10-18, and the 19th position playing down, slight changes in how the other games went could have resulted in either Trevor having to play Haskell this round or being paired up against the current gentleman on the first board: Robert Lau of Hawaii. But, of course, if Trevor continues to win, he will have to play one--or both--of these dynamos before tournament's end. Indeed, looking at the current standings, it seems likely that he'll have to mix it up with Lau tonight.

On a personal note, it was a morning to savor. We slept loud and long, having gotten to bed relatively early due to Trevor's quick win last night. This is unusual, because Trevor is a methodical player who usually prevails over his opponents three "yards" at a time. So it was great to have an alarm-clock-free morning. We went out for breakfast, taking a chance on the Waffle House nearby and being very pleasantly surprised. (I had stopped going to WH due to a couple of bad exepriences, but this one was like the WH's of my youth: clean, friendly, fast, and good.) The only drawback was Trevor's infamous "tournament tummy," which kept him away from the bacon. His stomach seems to be the way his body expresses his anxieties, and so Coach here will need to make sure that we get him on a schedule--and diet--that is as close to his home routine as possible. Fortunately, we secured a room at an Extended Stay hotel, and so have a large fridge, range, dishes, pots, utensils, and cutlery. So, we'll be off to the grocery store later so that we can have comfort food in our room for dinner tonight.

Meanwhile, for me and the rest of the chess parents, it's the "world wide wait" as the players' clocks tick away . . . .

(Note:  Trevor won Round 2)

Cheryl, after Trevor’s first loss of the tournament in Round 4:

If you read my huband's comments on the morning post you know that at some point while he was going for coffee the game took a turn for the worse (from Trevor's perspective, anyway). Phillip called at about 1:30 Chicago time to let me know that Trevor had lost. :-(

It's okay. Trevor has been here many times before. How does that old saying go . . . the "thrill of victory" and the "agony of defeat"? "Thrill" and "agony" are pretty fitting words for the roller coaster ride that is the typical chess tournament. This tournament in particular, pitting as it does a group of young players who are so similarly talented and equally matched, means that the ride is going to be even more harrowing than usual. There are slight ratings differences among the players at Denker, but they are slight, and any one player is capable of vanquishing any other player in any given game. Trevor was the underdog in this round, by virtue not only of his rating but of playing as Black. And yet the result could have easily gone the other way, and no one would have been surprised. Every competitor at Denker knows how amazing every other competitor is. That is what makes it so special.

One of the things I have come to deeply appreciate about the world of chess is the camaraderie of it. How many times have I watched as Trevor, after experiencing a dizzying win or a devastating loss, has left the tournament room with his opponent, only to immediately find an empty table or open spot on the floor where the board is rolled out yet again and he and his opponent set about analyzing the game they just finished? Sometimes it goes on for an hour, as the winner and loser consider together where the loser went wrong and how the game might have played out had he made another choice at this or that point. Does this sort of thing happen anywhere else? Maybe. But I don't remember the last time I saw two football, basketball, or tennis players spend an hour after their game going back through it step by step as they play out other ways the game could have gone.

The chess world is not large. One sees the same names at tournament after tournament after tournament. Trevor has repeatedly played many of his Illinois chess friends in competition. Right now in Skokie, Illinois, the family of the young man with whom Trevor tied at the Illinois Denker Qualifying Tournament is watching and cheering for Trevor as he gives this his best shot. (Although Trevor and his friend Eric Rosen each had the same number of points at the qualifying tournament, Trevor squeaked through on tie breaks.) If the shoe were on the other foot, we would be doing the same. Next year Trevor and Eric and the rest of the top-rated Illinois high school chess players will again contend for the Illinois Denker title, and each of them will give it his all, showing no mercy, playing to "kill." And yet after the dust has cleared, they will smile and shake hands and study their games together and play some "skittles" (chess for fun) while wishing the victor well as he moves on to Nationals.

So here we are, more than halfway through. Wow, it's going fast! No matter what happens, the memories that have been made and the things that have been learned will be a part of Trevor and will return home with him. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. There are two rounds left to be played. And I have a feeling Trevor is already looking to the future.

Phil, at the start of round 5:

Anything can happen when so many state champions mix it up. Chris Andrews of Wyoming came in as the lowest-rated player (only a 1118), but has two points and is tied for 19th with Evan Sandberg of California (2131)! This puts him ahead of Richard Herbst of Colorado, a USCF Expert with a rating of 2052 who has had a rough start and will have to work hard to come out above .500 in the tournament. Biggest surprise so far: Felix Yang of Massachussetts may "only" be a 2033, but he has 3 points and is holding his own against Robert Lau.

On a personal note, I was very proud of how Trevor handled his loss today. Sure, we weren't expecting to win this thing. But it is still hard to watch a dream die. So we had some quiet time to absorb the loss and then went out for a cold, invigorating swim. And Dad's "bachelor food" seemed to provide just the right fuel to get us back on track. We got to the tournament site a little earlier than usual, so had a chance to enjoy meeting Trevor's opponent, Joshua. They are off to a good start and are both enjoying what we all came to do: play (or at least, watch) good chess!

From Cheryl, at the tourney’s end:

Trevor tied for 5th place, and so was recognized at the awards ceremony. A nice finish to a wonderful tournament!