Chapter 28 — No One Wants to Lose

On the final day of competition at the city level, Lam Khe was placed at table number one in the leading group — an arrangement that clearly showed the high position she had achieved after two days of excellent competition. Her opponent is a girl named Thuc Trinh, from a specialized school with a long chess tradition, who is leading the individual rankings with an absolute winning record.

"This will be the most difficult match ever," Nam Phong said as he walked her to the match table, squeezing her hand a bit before letting go. "But I believe you can do it. Just play according to your trained instincts, don't think too much about the results."

Lam Khe nodded, took a deep breath, then walked to the chessboard, where Thuc Trinh was already sitting, his calm face exuding the confidence of an experienced player.

From the stands, Lam Khe caught a glimpse of her parents who were present early, sitting next to Yen Chi in the front row, all three of them turned hopeful eyes towards her. She smiled slightly at them before completely focusing on the chess board in front of her.

The game began with cautious moves from both sides, each trying to probe the other's playstyle. Thuc Trinh, true to his reputation, played extremely accurately, not revealing any openings throughout the first twenty moves, forcing Lam Khe to use all of his delicate defense to maintain balance.

By the mid-game stage, the game becomes extremely complicated, with many pieces tightly interwoven, creating a tactical maze that requires extremely precise calculations. Lam Khe felt the time pressure gradually tightening as her match clock had less than twenty minutes remaining for the remainder of the match.

At that moment, an opportunity presented itself — a daring rook sacrifice could open up Thuc Trinh's defenses, creating a powerful coordinated attack on the enemy king's position. But this is an extremely risky move, requiring absolutely precise calculations for at least the next eight moves, and if you miscalculate even one step, Lam Khe will lose a decisive advantage, which can even lead to complete failure.

In that moment, Lam Khe felt a familiar fear flash through her heart, a reflex that had been ingrained for many years. But this time, instead of letting that fear completely control her decisions, she stopped for a second, took a deep breath, and asked herself the same method she and Nam Phong had practiced: was this real fear about this move, or was it old fear trying to creep in?

She looked back at the chess board, carefully calculating each possibility, weighing both risks and opportunities. This was not a blind risk — she had calculated far enough, firmly enough, to believe that the odds of success were in her favor, even though there was no absolute guarantee. This was exactly the kind of calculated risk that Nam Phong had been teaching her all year.

Lam Khe took a final breath, and placed the rook on the decisive chess square, officially making that bold sacrifice.

Thuc Trinh was stunned for a moment, clearly surprised by the sudden boldness of an opponent she thought was only playing solid defense. She spent nearly ten precious minutes calculating how to respond, but time pressure and the complexity of the situation prevented her from finding the perfect defense plan.

The game entered its most tense phase, with Lam Khe continuously maintaining the momentum of the attack, gradually tightening the siege around Thuc Trinh's king, while still having to calculate carefully not to reveal any loopholes that could be counterattacked. The entire audience around their match table gradually gathered with viewers, realizing that this was becoming one of the most dramatic matches of the entire tournament.

At move thirty-five, after a series of precise calculations down to every detail, Lam Khe completed the inevitable checkmate. Thuc Trinh looked at the chess board for a long time, then looked up, nodded slightly to acknowledge defeat, and reached out to shake.

"Excellent game," Thuc Trinh said, his voice sincere even though he couldn't hide his regret. "I underestimated your attack ability. That was a very brave move to sacrifice the vehicle, and you calculated it perfectly."

Lam Khe shook his opponent's hand, an overwhelming feeling spread throughout his body. She sat quietly for a moment, looking back at the chess board, unable to believe that she had just defeated the strongest player in the tournament with the same daring play that she thought she would never dare to do.

Applause rang out from the stands, and when Lam Khe looked up, she saw her parents standing up, clapping nonstop, her father's face filled with such pride and emotion that his eyes sparkled with rare tears. Nam Phong, having finished his game earlier, ran to hug her, not hiding his happiness from everyone.

"You did it!" he exclaimed, spinning her around in his arms. "That was the best game I've ever seen you play, Lam Khe!"

The final results of the entire tournament were announced immediately afterward — Trung Vuong's team won second place in the entire city, an unprecedented historic achievement for the club, while Lam Khe, with a decisive victory over Thuc Trinh, officially won the title of Best Player of the tournament in the women's individual group.

The award ceremony took place in an atmosphere of extreme joy. When Lam Khe's name was announced to receive the medal, she walked up to the podium to receive the award, looked down at the stands where her parents, Yen Chi, and the entire club were clapping and cheering. Her eyes met those of her father - the man who once lost everything because of a reckless gamble, now standing there, watching his daughter win thanks to the same courage that he feared he would never be able to pass on to her.

Mr. Hung, standing next to the stage, could not hide his tears of happiness when receiving the official announcement from the board of directors via phone right after the ceremony - with this impressive achievement, the school will not only maintain the operating budget for the Chess Club, but also increase the budget to invest in facilities and intensive training for the next school year.

"We did it," Mr. Hung told the whole team, his voice choked with emotion. "Not only did we save the club, but we took it to the next level. I'm proud of all of you, especially the journey that each of you has gone through to get to this point."

After the ceremony, when Lam Khe found her parents waiting, her father hugged her, his voice shaking with emotion. "I'm so proud of you, Lam Khe," he said, his voice choked up. "Not only because of this medal, but because you taught me an important lesson — that no matter how much you stumble, the road ahead can always be rewritten, you just need to be brave enough to move forward."

Lam Khe hugged her father tightly, tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks, feeling the full meaning of the long journey her whole family had gone through together to get to this moment - a moment that not only marked victory on the chessboard, but also the victory of healing, of trust rebuilt from the broken pieces of the past.

Her mother stood beside her, unable to hide her emotional tears, gently stroking her daughter's hair. "I've never seen you shine like that," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm proud of you, and I'm proud of all three of you, for going through a long journey together to get to where we are today."

Yen Chi, standing nearby, couldn't help but jumped in and hugged all three people, making the whole group burst out laughing amid tears still on their cheeks. "I told you, you can do it!" she shouted proudly, causing several people around her to turn around and look at her with affectionate eyes.

Nam Phong stood a little distance away, observing that warm moment of reunion with a gentle smile, not wanting to interfere with the Lam Khe family's private moment. But when she turned to look for him, her eyes lit up, he walked closer, and her father, with an unexpected gesture, proactively shook his hand.

"Thank you," Lam Khe's father said, his voice sincere. "For patiently accompanying my daughter throughout the past year, for helping her find what I once feared had been lost forever."

"I'm the one who should thank you," Nam Phong replied, bowing his head politely. "Lam Khe did most of the hardest work herself. I was just lucky to accompany her on that journey."

The whole group left the gym together in the late afternoon, the pale yellow sunlight at the end of the day spreading across the vast steps, bringing with it the complete joy of a memorable day, a day that will forever be engraved as an important turning point in the growth journey of both Lam Khe and her family.