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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us March 7, 2005 A piece of the chess action By Amanda Bolsinger Tidings Correspondent The clock ticks down precious minutes until the end. Parents, friends and fans breathlessly watch each move as the tension thickens with time runing out. It could be any high school competition, but Thursday and Friday, Gabe Hoxmeier and Nate Knapp will be representing Ashland High School in Portland at the state chess tournament. "Sometimes there are parents just standing over their kid's shoulder trying to be intimidating," Knapp said. Gabe Hoxmeier, right, and Nate Knapp are two of Ashland's chess players traveling to the state chess tournament this week. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings "When it gets really intense they scoot everyone back," Hoxmeier says. "Sometimes they have to escort the parents out!" Hoxmeier took first place at the regional tournament in Grants Pass and Knapp took third place on Feb. 19 to qualify for the state competition. Hoxmeier won five matches at the regional competition for his first place finish. Neither boy expects too much attention for their accomplishments. "They didn't even mention it at school," Hoxmeier said, about his winning the tournament. But he is used to it. Both Knapp and Hoxmeier are veterans to the state chess tournament. They both competed in middle school and continued pursuing the game into high school. Knapp won second place at the state tournament in eighth grade and Hoxmeier won the tournament his freshman year in the reserve division. This year's trip to state will be the fourth time for both boys to compete at the state level. While both boys have been competing for years, they don't take themselves or the game too seriously. The boys sat outside Saturday, playing each other in a game of chess as they talked about the tournaments. "In one game a parent tried to accuse me of psyching her kid out," Knapp said between moves. "Just because I said 'Hi' to him before the game. It was so lame." As well as trading stories about controlling parents, the two joked about the different more stringent rules at the state level. For instance, if a player touches a piece inadvertently they must move that piece, or if they drag a piece during their move they must move to the first square their piece touches. If one player asks to use a clock during the game the other player must agree. With the clock come more rules. A player must touch the clock with the hand that touches their piece. "Some people take it really seriously," Knapp said. "Like if you have to go to the bathroom they won't pause the clock. Or if you forget to hit it after your move they will sit there looking at the board like they are trying to make up their mind but it's on your time." As much as the boys joke about the tournaments and the intensity of some players, they still compete to win. While the boys practice against each other they will talk about their moves, and will be lenient on rules but still are focused on improving their game. "Usually Gabe wins a little bit more, but when I get down and think I do OK," Knapp said. Right after that he looks up after a move and exclaims "I totally wasn't thinking!" In practice little mistakes are things to learn from, but in tournaments one moment of not concentrating can cost a game and the tournament. Both boys have been in that situation and also lost games the same way. "I totally know how they feel," Hoxmeier said, talking about his opponents. "After one move you just knew you lost. You know you are winning and one move later you know you lost. You just moved too fast." DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress afsa studentloans home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms fasa student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation wholesale diamonds Currancy Exchange web conferencing Online Casinos Community Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams