Chapter Sixteen: The Chess Tournament
At dinner on the following day, Professor Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.
'I am very sorry to interrupt your dinners, but I have a very important announcement to make. I would like to announce that Hogwarts will be staging a Wizard's Chess Tournament. The tournament will be an elimination tournament to determine who the best chess player in the school is, anyone, regardless of age, may enter, and to do so they are to inform their Head of House.
'You have a week to submit your entry and Professor McGonagall and I will perform the draw to see who plays whom, and all match-ups are final. All matches will be played in the Great Hall during lunchtimes and dinnertimes, and we will be using muggle chess sets. This is due in part to the quite possibly large volume of matches being played at the same time. I expect all competitors to adhere to the prescribed chess manners during matches and that no player receives outside help during matches.
'The winner of the tournament will have the opportunity to challenge myself to a game of chess; will win a prize of five hundred galleons, and the title of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Chess Champion.
'I will give further explanations of player's conduct during the tournament next Friday evening when the draw has been concluded. Thank you.'
Dumbledore retook his seat to finish his dinner while the hall buzzed with chatter about the Headmaster's announcement.
'Are you going to enter, Ron?' Harry asked.
'Yeah, I'll give it a go, you?' he replied.
'No, I'll probably get my arse kicked, what about you, Hermione?' said Harry.
'No, chess just isn't my game,' she replied.
As people were leaving the Great Hall for their beds, they were approaching their respective Heads of House to submit their name for the chess tournament before Ron gave his name to Professor McGonagall and then going back to Gryffindor tower with Harry and Hermione.
The next day at breakfast, the Daily Prophet's front page was dedicated to Dumbledore's announcement the previous night.
HOGWARTS TO STAGE INAUGURAL CHESS TOURNAMENT
Last evening, Albus Dumbledore announced that the first ever Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Chess Tournament will take place. The competition is open to all students and will have a first prize of five hundred galleons, a chance to play against Albus Dumbledore, and the title of School Champion. Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones, was pleased to inform us about the new feature at Hogwarts.
"The tournament is all about fun, first and foremost. Anyone who was educated at Hogwarts knows that there is a huge rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin students so another hope is that the tournament will bring about a little more house unity," she told us.
Head of the Auror Office, Alastor Moody, believes that the tournament is an excellent exercise to determine which students have the best aptitudes for Auror training in the future.
"Chess is a game about planning, strategy, quick thinking and skill. Being the winner of this tournament and future tournaments would be an advantage for when applying for Auror training upon completion of the N.E.W.T. Examinations and having acquired the grades necessary."
One thing is for sure the tournament is going to be interesting to say the least, and we at the Daily Prophet wish each competitor the very best of luck.
For the history of chess, see page 2.
For the rules of chess, see page 3.
When Friday evening finally arrived there was a lot of excitement in the air as most students found it difficult to eat and just wanted Dumbledore to begin the festivities so to speak. Thankfully, Dumbledore did not keep them all waiting for very long. He got to feet after calling for silence.
'I am sure you are all eager to find out who will be playing whom but before we begin the draw I will go over the rules of the tournament. It is a single elimination tournament; this means that if you lose you are eliminated from the competition. All players will conduct themselves in adherence to usual chess manners during all matches. Any player found to be giving advice during matches will be disqualified as will the beneficiary of said advice. Any competitor who attempts to handicap another will be disqualified, and further punishments could be Detention, Suspension and even Expulsion from Hogwarts. So, now that you know what is expected of you, it is time to do the draw.
'We had one hundred and twenty-nine entries for the tournament; this means that the first two names that we draw will play a preliminary match to qualify for the first round.'
Dumbledore then invited Professor McGonagall to join him and she brought with her a hat that contained the names of all the entries. Dumbledore took the hat from her and held it open for her to remove the first two names.
'Playing in the preliminary round will be …' said Professor McGonagall, as she dug around the hat full of parchment before taking out one folded piece to unfold and then read the name written upon it aloud to the hall, 'Ronald Weasley, First Year, Gryffindor, and he will play …' Professor McGonagall then repeated the process, before saying, 'Draco Malfoy, First Year, Slytherin,' she finished.
Ron merely shrugged as Malfoy did not look too pleased at being drawn to play the preliminary round match. Ron heard the name of his possible first round opponent as Lisa Turpin, who was also a first year but in Ravenclaw. The rest of the draw was tuned out by Harry, Ron and Hermione until it was finally complete.
'Matches can begin to be played tomorrow lunchtime, good luck to all whom have entered, and goodnight,' said Dumbledore.
They walked back to Gryffindor tower thinking to themselves about the tournament getting started tomorrow. Hermione broke the silence.
'Are you nervous about facing Malfoy?' she asked.
'No, because I've been playing chess since I was two, and I've played against Dumbles a few times before, but I haven't managed to win yet, only drawn,' he replied.
They got to Gryffindor tower before wishing each other goodnight and going to bed.
The next morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione got up early and went for a run before showering and changing for breakfast. They spent the majority of the morning relaxing and having fun until lunchtime. The three of them made their way to the Great Hall for lunch and for Ron to play Malfoy. As Ron was eating Malfoy came over to their place at the Gryffindor table.
'Are you ready to lose and admit that I am your better, Weasel?' he drawled.
Ron swallowed his mouthful of food and said, 'Are you?'
Malfoy scoffed and said, 'You do realise that whoever loses between us will be last place in the whole tournament?'
'The thought had crossed my mind,' Ron replied as he slid a set up chess board in front of them.
'I'm not playing you at this table,' said Malfoy, disdainfully.
'Ravenclaw table in five minutes?' asked Ron.
'I accept,' said Malfoy, before he stalked off to the Ravenclaw table as Ron finished his breakfast.
When Ron finished his breakfast he joined Malfoy at the Ravenclaw table and sat down opposite him, and they were quickly joined by Professors McGonagall and Prince who were going to supervise. Ron then took a pawn of each colour and moved them around between his hands before showing Malfoy two closed fists hiding the pawns. Malfoy pointed to Ron's left hand which he opened to reveal a black pawn, and Malfoy smirked.
Ron made his first move and the tournament was officially underway.
Even though Hermione had not known Ron for very long, she had noticed that whenever he played chess he wore an expression of confidence as well as concentration. She was also pleased to see Ron's brothers had gathered around to watch him play and support him, too.
As Ron made his moves he noticed that his brothers had come to see him play and was very glad that they had. He just hoped he would not disappoint them. However, it turned out that he had nothing to worry about as he easily wiped Draco's pieces off the board using his Knights and Bishops, leaving Malfoy with nothing except his King, while Ron had his Queen, both Rooks, and a Knight and a Bishop, with a few Pawns. Ron had perpetual check all day long, and after putting Malfoy in check a few times, he ended it by trapping Malfoy's King on the back rank with his two rooks, declaring checkmate.
Once the game was over, Malfoy stood up and stalked off in huff, without shaking hands.
'Detention, Malfoy!' said Professor McGonagall.
Malfoy ignored her and continued to walk towards the exit.
'Double detention, Malfoy!' she said.
Ron, meanwhile, could not care less that Malfoy had detention, he was busy being congratulated by his brothers and Harry and Hermione. Ron then moved to where Lisa Turpin was sitting and repeated the same pre-game process before she chose the white pieces, and the game began. To Lisa's credit she lasted longer than Malfoy did, but was defeated by Ron and he advanced to the second round.
By the end of lunch, all of the first round matches had been played. Ron found out that his next opponent was to be Alicia Spinnet, a third year girl who was a Chaser in the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
The next day at lunchtime, Ron played his second round match and won. He even won his third round match against a seventh year Ravenclaw by the name of Paul Mullen, who was thought to be one of the favourites according to the betting pool that Fred and George had going. Of course, the twins had given Ron very short odds knowing just how good he was. As the week progressed, Ron kept winning and found himself in the final against another seventh year Ravenclaw whose name was David Clayton. He had beaten all his opponents with just as little difficulty as Ron had and, had even been kind enough to congratulate Ron for making the final, and Ron returned the compliment.
Dumbledore announced that the final would take place after dinner on Saturday night. This was to allow for a celebratory party for the victor in his common room after the presentation.
As Saturday progressed, Ron found himself getting nervous as the time for the game against Clayton drew nearer. He played some games of chess against his friends and brothers to keep his mind focused; unfortunately, the games simply weren't long enough to keep his thoughts from drifting back to his impending doom as he called it.
This negative behaviour surprised Hermione, because to her, Ron was always confident when he played chess. He always seemed so confident in general, but this game, this one game of chess, had turned her best friend and hopefully soon more, into a nervous wreck, and she had no idea what to do to help him.
When dinner time arrived, the Gryffindors all left the tower together. It seemed that the whole house would be supporting him all the way. Ron wondered who the Hufflepuffs would be supporting as he knew that the Slytherins would either show complete indifference or support the non-Gryffindor.
When they were all in the Great Hall for dinner, Ron ate very little, which was unusual for him, he couldn't help being nervous, of course. Then, after what felt like a few minutes to Ron, but in reality, it had been an hour and a half, Professor Dumbledore called for attention before getting to his feet.
'In a few moments I shall be preparing the table for the final of the inaugural Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Chess Championship. I hope every student in this hall stays to see the tournament come to an exciting conclusion. If everyone has eaten their fill, I shall clear and temporarily remove the house tables from the hall, so if you would all please stand …'
The students did as they were told and watched as Dumbledore flicked his wand to make the tables vanish. The benches on which the students had been sitting moved to the edge of the hall, and the students retook their seats once more.
'Would our two finalists please come forward?' requested Dumbledore.
Ron nervously got to his feet as did his brothers and Harry and Hermione.
'Good luck, Ronald,' said Percy, shaking Ron's hand, 'I'm proud of you.'
'Good luck, Ickle-Ronniekins!' said Fred and George together, with identical grins and looks of pride on their faces.
'You can do it, mate,' said Harry, shaking his hand.
Hermione then threw her arms around his neck and whispered, 'Whether you win or lose, you are still my best friend in the whole world and I love you.'
'Hermione …' he whispered before pulling back to look her in the eyes and said, 'I'm going to win, and I'm going to win for you.'
Hermione smiled at him and he smiled back at her before moving towards Dumbledore.
'Finally, if we may have the rest of our guests join us?' said Dumbledore.
A group of people then entered the Great Hall, Mr and Mrs Weasley were among them, who both came over to give Ron hugs for good luck, as did two people who had to be Clayton's parents, and representatives from the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet. The Minister of Magic herself Amelia Bones had come to see the final and stood with the finalists and Dumbledore for photographs. Once this task was completed, the Minister took her seat along with the representatives of the Daily Prophet.
Dumbledore flicked his wand once more and a table with a beautiful ivory chess set on a wooden board appeared. Ron was invited to sit behind the white pieces as Clayton sat behind the black pieces. Dumbledore picked up a pawn of each colour and switched them around his hands before displaying two closed fists to Ron, who pointed at the Headmaster's left hand, which he opened to reveal that Ron would be white. Dumbledore replaced the pawns back on to the board.
'Mr Ronald Weasley of Gryffindor house will be white,' he informed the hall. 'As soon as I take my seat, you may begin,' he then told the finalists.
Once Dumbledore sat down, Ron and David Clayton shook hands once more before Ron moved his King's Pawn to E-4, and the game began.
The silence in the hall was deafening, as the two players made their moves. The friends and families of both players had everything crossed in support of their son/friend/brother.
Hermione was the first to notice that Ron had his game face on; this meant that he was getting more confident as the game progressed. Although nobody could see the actual board, Dumbledore had had the idea to have a large board depicting the game being played so the audience could see it, and every pair of eyes in the hall was glued to it.
Ron had moved one of Knights to fork Clayton's King and Queen and then declared, 'Check.'
Clayton moved his King one space to the right before Ron took his Queen with his Knight.
Clayton moved his King again only for Ron move one of his Bishops for a double check and a discovered check.
Clayton knew he was beaten and did the only thing he could do which was to tip over his King in resignation and offered his hand to Ron in defeat. Ron took his hand as his opponent said, 'Well played, mate.'
'Thanks, you too,' said Ron.
The hall burst into applause and stood to give both players a standing ovation. Dumbledore then called for silence before speaking.
'Ladies and gentlemen, students of Hogwarts, we were treated to an exceptional and exciting final! Congratulations to both players on a well-played game! The presentation ceremony will take place shortly.'
Ron then walked towards his friends and family and was engulfed in a bear-hug by his mother and was finally let go when Ron told her he could hardly breathe. His father hugged him and told him he was proud of him before Percy, Fred, George and his little sister Ginny gave him a group bear-hug. Next was Harry, who simply shook his hand and gave him a look that said, 'I knew you'd win, no worries, mate.' Finally it was Hermione's turn and she flung her arms around his neck with his arms going around her waist so he lift her and spin her around to make her dizzy before setting her down again. He then quickly introduced Hermione to his parents and Ginny, as he stood between Harry and Hermione.
It was then that Dumbledore called for attention once more.
'Ladies and gentlemen, we are now ready for the presentation to begin. First, to our gallant runner-up, two hundred and fifty galleons and this commemorative plate go to Mr David Clayton!'
Clayton came forward to collect his prizes and posed for photographs before going back to stand with his friends and family once more.
'To our winner, five hundred galleons, the beautiful ivory chess set he just used, this trophy and the title of Hogwarts School Chess Champion go to Mr Ronald Weasley!' said Dumbledore.
Ron stepped forward towards Minister Bones and she presented him with a bag full of galleons as she shook his hand while being photographed. Ron then stuffed the bag of galleons into his pocket before moving to Dumbledore who gave him an enormous trophy while shaking hands and pausing for the photographs, and then finally, raising the trophy high above his head in victory for yet more photographs. Ron and Clayton stood together with their trinkets in their hands for another round of photographs before Ron was given the floor once more as he posed with the trophy and the new chess set he had won.
'Will you be challenging the Headmaster to game of chess, Mr Weasley?' asked the reporter.
'Definitely, but not tonight though, I'm exhausted!' replied Ron.
Finally, after all the photographs were taken, Ron was allowed to leave the hall with his prizes, along with his friends and family to a loud party in Gryffindor tower that would go on well into the night.