Chapter 11 — No One Wants to Lose

Part III — Interschool Tournament

The poster posted on the school bulletin board clearly states: "Regional Interschool Chess Tournament — Qualifying Round: 15th of next month. Location: District Gymnasium." Lam Khe stood in front of the bulletin board, reading that line over and over again as if the more times he read it, the truth that he was about to enter an official, highly competitive tournament became clearer.

"Stressed?" Nam Phong stood next to her, also looking up at the poster, his voice gentle.

"A little bit," Lam Khe admitted. "This will be the first official tournament I participate in as a club member, not just an internal friendly anymore."

"You'll be fine," Nam Phong reassured. "Teacher Hung has decided on the official lineup, you are on the list of four school representatives, along with me, Quang Minh, and Duc Anh."

The team meeting took place that afternoon in room 203. Teacher Hung stood in front of the whiteboard, drawing a diagram explaining the competition format. "This year's inter-school tournament has twenty-four schools participating in the regional qualifiers, divided into four groups of six schools each. The top two teams in each group will enter the semi-finals, followed by the regional finals. The champion team will represent the region to participate in the city-level tournament."

He stopped and looked around at the four members who were listening attentively. "I have to tell you frankly - if our club does not reach at least the semi-finals this year, there is a high possibility that the school will completely cut its operating budget, and the club will be considered dissolved. This is our last chance."

The atmosphere in the room softened a bit at that information, even though most people already knew about this risk. Lam Khe glanced at Nam Phong, seeing a tension on his face that rarely showed, before he quickly regained his usual confidence.

"We will do it," Nam Phong spoke up, his voice firm, as if wanting to motivate the whole team. "This year's squad is much stronger than last year. Lam Khe has improved significantly, Duc Anh has also improved a lot in the endgame, and Quang Minh is still a solid pillar of the club."

Quang Minh, a quiet, quiet friend, just nodded slightly, his eyes full of determination. Duc Anh grinned and raised his fist to signal agreement. Lam Khe felt a warm spirit of solidarity spread throughout the room, a feeling of belonging that she had never fully experienced before joining the club.

In the following weeks, the team's training schedule became much more dense. In addition to the two official sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, Mr. Hung also organized an additional practice session on Sunday morning, focusing on analyzing the playing style of potential opponents in the group.

"The most formidable opponent in our group is Le Quy Don school," Nam Phong explained during a practice session, pointing to a board with information about rival schools that he had diligently collected. "They have a very uniform squad, especially a girl named Khanh Linh, who last year reached the quarterfinals of the city-level tournament. His playing style is quite similar to Lam Khe in the early stages - solid defense, but now has developed the ability to counterattack sharply."

Lam Khe attentively recorded that information, feeling the pressure gradually increasing as the official competition day approached. But unlike before, this time, that pressure did not make her want to cower in a safe shell, but motivated her to practice harder and more determined.

One afternoon, after practice, Lam Khe stayed in room 203 later than usual with Nam Phong to analyze some more of Khanh Linh's games that he had found from previous tournaments. Fluorescent lights illuminated the deserted room, leaving only the sound of two people discussing quietly.

"Do you think I have a chance to win against him?" Lam Khe asked, his eyes still glued to the chessboard while analyzing.

"I think you have a good chance," Nam Phong replied, his voice sincere. "But more important than winning or losing, I want you to play to the best of your ability, not to prove anything to anyone, but so that you can be proud of yourself after the game ends, no matter what the result."

Lam Khe looked up at him, feeling the sincerity in each of those words. "You always know how to say things that make me feel better," she said, smiling.

"That's because I understand you better than you think," Nam Phong replied, his eyes gently looking at her in the pale yellow light of the empty room.

That moment lasted in comfortable silence, both of them feeling something growing between them, even though no one had officially named it yet. Lam Khe looked down at the chess board, trying to focus back on her analysis, but her heart was still fluttering because of those eyes, because of the warm closeness between the two of them in this quiet room.

"It's late, I should go home," she said, although she felt a bit regretful.

"Let me take you to the school gate," Nam Phong suggested, standing up to collect his books.

They walked out of room 203 together, walking along the quiet hallway under the pale yellow light, not saying much, but the silence between them was not uncomfortable, on the contrary, it brought an unusually warm and close feeling. Arriving at the school gate, the two stopped for a moment before parting ways.

"Good night," Nam Phong said, a warm smile appearing on his face under the streetlight.

"You too," Lam Khe replied, feeling her heart beat faster than usual when looking into those eyes.

On the way home, she thought about the upcoming tournament, about Khanh Linh, about the pressure on the whole team, but mixed in, her mind also kept lingering on the moment she had just spent with Nam Phong, about the warm feeling every time she was with him, a feeling that was increasingly difficult for her to deny as simply friendship between two teammates.

That night, before going to bed, she texted Yen Chi about the team meeting, about the risk of the club being dissolved if it did not achieve good results, and about the pressure of the upcoming tournament. Yen Chi immediately replied: "You will do well, I believe in you. Besides, with a handsome homeroom teacher by your side to encourage you, you will definitely play better than usual," accompanied by a mischievous smiley emoji that made Lam Khe unable to help but laugh alone in the room, even though her cheeks warmed up a bit from that tease.

She put down the phone and looked at the old wooden chess board, where she often sat and played both sides when she needed to think. Now, that chess board is no longer a place where she hides from the outside world, but has become a part of the journey she is embarking on, with all the suspense, hope, and fear still present, but no longer enough to stop her from moving forward like before.

In the days that followed, Lam Khe's training routine went so fast that she barely had time to think. Every night, after completing her classwork, she sits at the chess board, solves the Nam Phong chess positions sent via text message, and takes meticulous notes in a notebook that is almost full of pages. There were nights when she stayed up until nearly twelve o'clock, her eyes stinging from looking at the phone screen for too long, but strangely, she didn't feel tired or depressed like when studying for exams for major subjects. On the contrary, the more she practiced, the more interested she became.

Yen Chi, even though she doesn't understand much about chess, often stops by Lam Khe's room on weekends, sits next to her best friend while she practices, and occasionally asks a few naive questions about the rules of the game, causing Lam Khe to laugh and explain again from the beginning. "I don't understand why these wooden chess pieces make you change so much," Yen Chi once commented, resting her chin on her hand as she watched her friend attentively rearrange the chess position. "In the past, you never persistently stayed up late for anything."

"Maybe because for the first time I feel like my efforts really make a difference," Lam Khe replied, not raising his head from the chessboard. "Before, I practiced just to not lose, but now I practice to actually get better. The feeling is very different."

Teacher Hung, realizing Lam Khe's outstanding progress through each practice session, decided to give her a few more individual tutoring sessions during recess, focusing on the opening part where he thought she still had a few gaps that needed to be overcome before entering the official tournament. "You have the potential to become one of the strongest players in the school in the next few years, Lam Khe," he said during one such tutoring session, his voice filled with confidence. "Don't let old fears hold you back, not even a little bit."

Lam Khe nodded, engraved that advice in her heart, and told herself that she would try her best not to disappoint the trust of teacher Hung, Nam Phong, and even herself - who had spent too many years to find that trust again.