🍺♟️ Triggerfish Tuesday – New Season, Old Habits, and Tactical Beverages ♟️🍺

This past Triggerfish Tuesday felt like the official start of the season. Players arrived bright and early, suspiciously enthusiastic, and clearly pretending they weren’t all secretly sharpening their weapons for Saturday’s tournament. Very convincing. Absolutely foolproof.

Ben casually mentioned that he was “a bit rusty,” which is a bold thing to say for someone who was recently crowned the best under-11 boy in the country at Mzanzi. Off or not, he still managed to drop two games to Reggie — who has clearly spent the entire Christmas and New Year period doing nothing but eating leftovers and absolutely destroying chess positions. Reggie was unstoppable.

Sven, meanwhile, was Sven. He is never “rusty”. We’re not convinced that’s a state he’s capable of experiencing. He showed up fully operational and immediately started drawing blood. Players were giving him wide, respectful circles — like hikers encountering a bear who definitely knows how to calculate.

It was fantastic to see Bongani back — our former Observatory player who pops in a few times a year to remind everyone that he’s still dangerous. The games were hard-fought, but Bongani later admitted that Sven completely crushed him. Still, Bongani came armed with tactics of his own: he arrived just in time for happy hour, ordered two beers, drank one, and strategically deployed the other as an intoxicating distraction for his next opponent — Naomi.

Their first game was surprisingly respectable, drifting into a fairly equal endgame… right before Bongani’s endgame knowledge calmly dismantled Naomi’s position. In the second game, Naomi decided not to suffer unnecessarily and resigned halfway through when her knight became terminally trapped and Bongani began applying industrial-grade pressure to the pinned piece.

Philip also joined the action and had some solid, interesting games. We were especially happy to welcome Nikki, who’s keen to start the year with us. Her story felt very familiar: once a chess parent, always a chess parent — and nobody enjoys standing around bored at tournaments. Playing is far more fun than spectating, and with her 22-year-old daughter now getting into chess, Nikki has officially been pulled back into the tournament ecosystem. Resistance is futile.

Tian arrived smiling broadly, full of optimism and opening theory. The plan, as usual, was strong: win the opening, confidently march into the middle game… and then creatively unravel everything in the endgame. Luckily for him, Daniel was also rusty, and Tian managed to come out on top this time — a rare but cherished victory before the position inevitably started asking difficult questions.

All in all, it was a high-energy, exciting night — full of returning faces, new beginnings, strategic beverages, and just enough tournament tension to keep everyone honest. If Triggerfish Tuesday was anything to go by, Saturday is going to be very interesting.

Summary

♟️ Ben claimed he was “a bit off,” despite being the reigning U/11 national champion — and still managed to lose two games to a completely unleashed Reggie.

🔥 Reggie apparently spent the festive season training instead of resting and came back ready to collect scalps.

🩸 Sven showed up fully operational, incapable of being out of form, and immediately became the reason everyone was walking in very wide circles.

🍻 Bongani arrived just in time for happy hour, used one beer for courage and the other as a psychological weapon, and calmly dismantled Naomi in the endgame.

😶 Naomi lost to experience, pinned pieces, and strategic beverages — and immediately retired to spectator status.

👩‍👧 Nikki proved that once you’re a chess parent, you’re never really free — and that playing is far more fun than being bored at tournaments.

😄 Tian executed his trademark strategy: excellent opening, adventurous middle game, and a thrilling race to see what collapses first — luckily escaping with a win this time.

🎯 With returning faces, new energy, and tournament tension in the air, Triggerfish Tuesday officially declared the season open.