ChGK in the Prairie

Chapter 10: Seattle's Own Game

For months now I tried to limit my spending, no extravagant clothing, accessory or electronic devices, I try to limit going out to what's strictly necessary. And, of course, I was able to get 2 days off for the ChGK Nats, because I never took any before. Ainslee and my boss are the only ones at work who ever heard of me even playing ChGK, let alone going to Nats. I saved up since July 4 for an eventual trip to the ChGK Worlds, but I will probably need to take the remainder of my vacation time soon, though, Patricia reflects on her lifestyle.

Upon arrival in Seattle in late morning, as soon as they arrive, Patricia and Sergei are singled out for more information about other intellectual games being played at ChGK Nats.

"Don't forget: while you both played brain ring in high school, the KSHSAA version of it asks questions in the same topic order. Here topic distribution isn't the same. Also, there's svoya igra. I sure as hell would not be very good at SI since it's much more about erudition. It plays out mostly like Jeopardy. If we ever made it to Worlds, there would be erudite quartet, but the time is not ripe to discuss it with you" Bohdan explains to them.

"Is it possible to register for svoya igra without committing the whole team?" Patricia asks him.

"Yes"

The good thing about American college is that you're not necessarily committed to a major right out of the gate. In a sense your education is broader than it would have been in Russia or Ukraine. But something's gotta give; you don't get the same depth. A broad knowledge base is an asset in ChGK, however, teams that prioritize subject coverage over team synergy usually don't perform very well, Bohdan reflects on how Patricia and Sergei differ from Vira's ex and the player who died last year.

At Columbia, we beat a bunch of other teams that played in Helsinki and played for more established ChGK countries; Syria, North Korea and Iran's national teams would barely compare with how this team played before I arrived. In ChGK, there are political points to score, or to deny to China or Russia, but there isn't any in svoya igra or brain ring. In the past few years, we saw intellectual games being used as part of sports diplomacy, and I remember having overheard Stephanie and Vira's ex talking about how Syria was introduced to ChGK in 2016... Patricia muses while Yakiv is driving the rental van around Seattle so they know where to go, where the hotel is, and go to Seattle Center before visiting the University of Washington. And, of course, familiarizing themselves with the layout of the campus as well as the schedule of the ChGK Nats.

Day 1 is held in Smith Hall, with svoya igra in the morning and brain ring in the afternoon. Day 2 is held in the Haggett Cascade Room. They know they don't have much time for sightseeing in Seattle, so they drive around the city and only briefly stop at the major landmarks, such as the Space Needle.

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Then comes a conversation the following morning during breakfast at the University Inn, which is about a topic that makes people in neighboring tables a little uncomfortable:

"I overheard Vira's ex talking about a 2016 special episode of ChGK for Russian troops stationed in Syria. What makes that special episode, well, special?" Patricia asks her teammates around the table.

"The game itself wasn't special; what made that episode special is how it politically polarized the ChGK world. Up to this point, ChGK sporadically made political news, mostly in Russia, but then ChGK diplomacy became real during the Ukraine war" Bohdan explains, not suspecting that the topic of ChGK politicization is a topic making Yakiv and his relatives squirm at the table.

"I don't think this is the right time to discuss that facet of the war in Ukraine; it's one thing we'd all rather forget" Yakiv speaks on behalf of his relatives, while he gets flashbacks of life during the siege of Mariupol.