Chương 17: Book 1 - Chapter 16

Tuesday evening my life as a public figure began. Jake Morrow returned to the hotel to interview me and my family. He had spent most of Monday talking to teachers at my elementary school and the high school, and researching us. He was wearing a suit this time, looking the professional reporter. The interview was after dinner, and set up in Mom and Dad's hotel suite. Sitting across from Mom, Dad, and me, Jake had his tape recorder on the coffee table between us.

Grandpa was off to the side, interested in watching the interview. He had been there when I first met Jake and played chess against him beside the hotel pool. Grandma was next door in her suite with Mattie, keeping her busy.

"Mr and Mrs Cook," Jake began, addressing my parents, then turning to me with an easy smile.

"And John. I appreciate you making time for me. I think the entire state will be fascinated by your story."

"It's certainly been a busy few weeks," Mom said warmly. Jake opened his notebook.

"I've spoken with principals and teachers from both your elementary and high school. I just want to confirm a few facts for the record, John."

"Go ahead," I replied.

"You are currently seven years old, turning eight in July?"

"That's correct," I confirmed.

"And you went from finishing the third grade—after taking the final exam and scoring perfectly—to enrolling in high school in the space of a week?"

"More like two weeks," I said.

"I took the IQ test the day I tested out of Third Grade too and got a perfect score." Jake Morrow whistled softly.

"Incredible. The stories I heard from your elementary school were astounding. Specifically, about a demonstration of memory in the library, where you were reciting text from books based only on the page number. Is that accurate?" Dad chuckled, leaning forward.

"That's my boy. He's always been great with books, but that display surprised even us."

"It was certainly a shock," Mom added.

"But we're just focused on keeping him grounded and healthy."

"Speaking of keeping him grounded," Jake Morrow added, turning his attention to Mom.

"I imagine readers are picturing a little professor, but I bet he's still a typical seven year old in a lot of ways." Mom smiled.

"Oh, absolutely. He's totally a normal kid in most ways. He'd do anything for pizza. He hates asparagus with a passion, but he'll devour crunchy vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, and celery. He loves anything spicy."

"When I was at the high school," Jake continued, "I saw records showing you completed essentially four years of high school in four weeks. Several full year high school courses were finished in just one or two days—Geometry, Physical Sciences, Typing and French?"

"Yes, sir," I answered.

"I was able to test out of many classes after just reading the book. French took a whole weekend to learn, listening to audio tapes and reading the book."

"And the French class," Jake pressed, "led directly to your first novel, so to speak. Your high school principal, Mr Endicott, mentioned that as part of your French composition requirement, you completed a full science fiction novel.

'Accident on Mars' which you also translated into English over a weekend."

"I wrote the French version first, then the English version. It's actually called 'Alone on Mars' in English," I clarified.

"It was a fun project." Mom smiled at Jake.

"It's quite a gripping story. We're working with a law firm to find a literary agent for both versions."

"That's remarkable, John. A soon to be published novelist, high school graduate, and college freshman, all by age eight." Jake Morrow paused, then confirmed the final big rumor he had likely heard.

"Is it true, John, that you have finalized your acceptance to the University of Tulsa?"

"Yes," I confirmed.

"I will be starting college there this fall." Jake closed his notebook and leaned back, his expression shifting to one of genuine curiosity toward my parents.

"Mr and Mrs Cook, this whole process—the speed, the high school principal agreeing to the tests—it must have been surreal. Do you have a story from those first two weeks that really sums up the shock of realizing your seven year old was now a high school graduate?" Dad ran a hand over his face, shaking his head.

"It was sheer chaos, Jake. The funniest part for me came after John went to the high school the first day. He came home and announced he had passed a class. He had mastered typing in just an hour or so, enough to get an A for the class, and get full credit for it. It wasn't even on his schedule, he just happened into the room with the teacher and one thing led to another!

"I watched him as he typed the novel at our dining room table. Amazing. About a hundred and twenty words a minute, just a week or two after first learning."

"It was amazing to watch," Mom agreed.

"He was perched on our largest dictionary so the height would be right at the dining table as he used the typewriter the high school loaned him. It was hard not to laugh. I held it in, so that I could read each new page as it came off the typewriter. He did the French version first, which I can read. Ray had to wait for him to start the English version before he could read it, but he did the same thing while it was being written."

"It's true," Dad said.

"It was a gripping and exciting novel. I hated sending him to bed, because I wanted to keep reading it."

"We were just following John's lead," Mom summarized.

"The school system couldn't hold him. We realized he wasn't being arrogant, he just despaired being bored. Once we got him into the high school, it was just a matter of keeping the books coming and the tests followed." Jake Morrow nodded.

"That brings us to your University of Tulsa goals. I understand you're not taking typical freshman classes. Can you confirm you're starting with advanced work like Physical Chemistry I and Linear Algebra?"

"That's correct," I said.

"And your goal is an ambitious dual major in Chemistry and Mathematics?"

"Yes," I confirmed.

"Chemistry and Math. I want to get to the lab as quickly as possible." Jake Morrow looked impressed.

"And what is the rush, John? What is waiting for you in that lab?"

"Who knows? I'm sure I'll find something that will keep my interest." Jake Morrow nodded decisively, turning off the tape recorder.

"That is all incredible, John. Thank you for walking me through it. That will make a phenomenal story." Then Jake made a surprising offer.

"Would you consider taking part in a chess tournament this weekend?"

"I don't know. Where is it?" I asked, leading him on. I knew exactly where this was going. This was my pivot point. The tiny start that had huge consequences.

"I talked to the hotel here, and to my boss. The paper is willing to put up a five thousand dollar prize to be shared among whoever can beat you at chess. The hotel can set up a playing area, four tables in a square. We put you in the middle, and you play against everyone. Anytime a game ends we add a new player until we are through all those that come to compete." Grandpa spoke up from the side.

"I like the idea, but put a cap on it or he might be playing for days."

"Would you match the paper's prize, Grandpa? If no one wins, we can specify it will be donated to the Red Cross. I think 200 games would be sufficient. How many at the table at once? How much do they win if it's a draw?" I asked.

"They have big tables, so twenty at a time," Jake said.

"I'll pay $100 for every draw and match the paper's prize money," Grandpa added.

"We will need a time limit," Mom said decisively.

"No game over 40 minutes. If someone hasn't reached a win or draw by that time, game's over, no prize."

"One game per person," my Dad added.

"We can hand out numbered tokens on registration," Mom continued.

"First 200 get a token. They play according to their number. We will draw it out of a bag." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. She paused for a moment thinking.

"The hotel will handle all of this and the paper will advertise it?" she asked Jake.

"I'd hate to get a bill from the hotel or only have six people show up." Jake looked at Mom in a new light.

"The hotel promised to provide the space and the staff to organize it. My paper will have a write up about it every day starting tomorrow. I'll need to teach you notation so you can keep track of your wins and losses and establish a chess rating. The US Chess Open is on August 4th in Fort Worth. If this goes well, you should plan on playing there."

"I think maybe this is a little too crazy," Dad interjected, thinking everyone had gotten too excited.

"I've been to a simultaneous exhibition. I play chess. My rating was 1890 last time I competed. This kind of thing is done by Grandmasters not seven year olds!"

"I didn't know you played chess, why didn't you teach me?" I asked.

"I was under the impression you weren't old enough yet," Dad said defensively.

"Dad, I challenge you to a five game duel. Beat me even once, and I'll not do the exhibition." Dad agreed, and he and Jake taught me short and long notation as we played. I beat Dad all five times. There was some question as to what my elo rating should be. I said, "I've read about the rating system, and I know the equation they use, I don't know for sure what score to give myself to begin with. I also don't know what Grandpa's score is."

"I occasionally play a guy at the club. He says his score is 1900. I beat him one third of the time." Jake guessed what Grandpa's score would be, and so with those numbers I calculated my score. We came to about 2100, a respectable score for a talented beginner.

"I'll make a note in the article that you're a beginner, and part of this is to help establish what your chess score is. I'll tell them that people with a score of 2000 or better are urged to come and play," Jake said.

"The rating is given by FIDE and the US Chess Federation. We can't guess and make it official. You only get tested on official match games," I told him.

"The estimation we just did is like my IQ. The test rated me over 170 but couldn't do better than that, because that was the limit of the test. Our calculations tell us what my score will likely be after enough games."

"I hadn't heard that. The IQ test said over 170?"

"He ranked in the 100th percentile. That particular test had never had a perfect score, or been completed in the time Johnny finished. He blew it out of the water. Based on the things he's done since I'm guessing over 200. The question is, how much over 200?" Mom proudly bragged.

"Can I have your permission to get a copy of those results?" Jake asked eagerly.

"Sure, since you've been so nice to help out. Right, Mom and Dad?" I asked. Dad agreed. By then it was getting late so Mom insisted on the kids going to bed. Wednesday morning we eagerly read The Oklahoman. Jake's article didn't include anything from the interview, but it promised an interview and more details in coming days. The article title was 'Genius John Cook challenges Oklahoma to a game of chess.' It featured a candid school picture of me. I wondered only for an instant if Amber had helped with that title.

A future memory confirmed that Amber had been interviewed, but the 'Genius John' nickname had surfaced earlier in his research. Thursday, the interview article came out. It was mostly Mom talking about how I was a typical 7 year old who would do anything for pizza, hated asparagus, loved crunchy vegetables like bell peppers, carrots and celery. Friday's article was an interview with Superintendent Clayton who talked about how I wasn't typical at all.

He talked about my test scores, my IQ test, my music ability, my artwork. There was a picture of my painting of him and the two Principals. There were a few comments from teachers. Ms Peters insisted that if it wasn't for my jeans and cowboy boots, I'd be mistaken for a native Parisian. Each article discussed the tournament, the prize to be split among the winners, or go to charity, and the $100 prize for each draw. It emphasized only 200 would play and called for the best players to come. Saturday was the big day.

The line started at 8am at the hotel. The tournament was scheduled for 1pm. The line of contestants reached over 1, 500 people long at noon. The hotel was pleased but seriously worried about what to do with those 1, 300 non players that wouldn't cause a riot. A ten thousand dollar grand prize had generated massive amounts of interest. Salvation arrived in the form of a news crew, and they agreed to do a live broadcast onto the hotel TV system in exchange for exclusive recording rights.

With some quick wiring help from Dad they were patched in, and the TVs in the bar, lobby, and everywhere else were tuned to the correct channel. Since the line was huge, hotel staff went down it and asked who had some sort of chess membership ID. They pulled out 290 serious chess players and put them through the bag of random chance to determine what order they would play. They expanded the table to fit 40 players at a time.

One nationally ranked chess master arrived to serve as referee, or TD, as organized by the paper. Eventually, after I had lunch in the hotel room, I came down just before one pm. The forty chess boards were set. I was allowed in with the referee, then the square of tables was closed. I talked briefly with the referee, and he let me know that he had received my presumed score, but his presence would not be enough to let me record the results, as certain rules had not been met for official matches.

"That's disappointing. Will the players have to wait for me to circle back to them before they can make their move?"

"Traditionally, in a speed chess challenge like this, that's the way it's done."

"Just let them play their move," I told him.

"I'll remember the board when I get to them. I'll be able to move in just a few seconds."

"That will make the challenge go faster," he agreed, but his face looked skeptical. At just after 1pm he called the game to order. He told everyone the rules, then added, "John will take the first move. You will then play your move before he comes back to you, as he travels around the tables. You may take a pass one time, and John will move on, but you must have played by his return." This caused some hubbub among the experienced players, but with a bottle of water in hand, I began.

For every game I made one of three openings. Each side of the square was 20 feet long and had 10 players. At a slow walk it was two minutes to make a circuit. We called a break at an hour after 25 moves. I had 18 wins, no losses, no draws. After the bathroom break and a new bottle of water, I continued. During play I also got a snack: a 5th Avenue bar and a bottle of apple juice. I played for another hour and had 39 additional wins, no losses, no draws. After my second break I played for 2 hours straight.

An additional 81 wins, no losses, one draw with a man that was later revealed to be ranked as an International Grandmaster. I took a longer break then, to get off my feet and eat dinner. I returned after 45 minutes. It took almost another 2 hours to finish the promised 200 players. Final score, 199 wins, 1 draw. Grandpa paid the man his $100, and the newspaper got a photo of us shaking hands. My referee was pulled away, for an interview, and I snuck off for bed. Grandpa did a little speech so I wouldn't have to.

"Thank you for coming. This has been quite the day. The American Red Cross will be receiving the ten thousand dollar prize money. I'm sure John would like to thank all of you too but it's past his bed time." He got the laughs he wanted, and the cameras got it too. As far as publicity stunts went, it was exhausting. But in just a few days, everyone knew who 'Genius John' was, all it cost was a few hours, and a hundred bucks. Sunday morning we made a quick and secretive exit of the hotel.

Dad went through the Longtown McDonald's for breakfast. There were people who had stayed over after the tournament hoping to meet and talk to me. Some of them were still around. The tournament had made the national news. Tom Brokaw described me as "a young man with a prodigious intellect, who might be the smartest person in America today." Clips of the tournament were played, some of me talking to players as we played. Most of the news though was from the Referee and the Grandmaster.

They were both incredulous at the speed I played, letting players take their turn while I was not watching, and seemingly keeping 40 games in my head at once. They explained, "At these sorts of demonstrations, the Grandmaster is usually only up against twelve players at a time at the most! They watch the opponent take their move, and then play. This lets them keep a vague notion of the game in mind, but generally treat each move as a new and fresh game.

"When John had his opponents take their turn out of sight, he would identify the piece they moved, and often named the gambit they were using. He showed that he was fully aware of all 40 games simultaneously. I've never seen this sort of play before, and have only heard stories of an idiot savant who could do the same, against far fewer players." There were also unavoidable references and comparisons to Bobby Fischer.

When the Grandmaster was informed that I had just graduated high school and was starting college in the fall majoring in Chemistry and Mathematics he was dumbfounded. The best soundbite of the newscast was, "If they don't disqualify him because of his age, he could be the 1985 Grand World Champion of Chess." At home things got back to normal. Mom contacted a Realtor to ask about homes near the University but not full of rowdy students, and a good neighborhood, and a long list of other things.

Summer vacation was in full swing. Sunday I spent much of the day riding my bike to the river and practicing Tai Chi between meals. I hadn't had a chance to practice while on vacation and really needed the help to recenter into the Now. I called Grandpa at his hotel in Tulsa.

"Hi Grandpa!"

"How do you have this number?" he asked, surprised to hear my voice.

"It's not even written on the phone, and we just got here a few minutes ago."

"Okay, calm down, Grandpa. I knew what hotel you were going to." I could hear Grandma ask, "Who is it Joe?"

"Tell Grandma hi," I said, to distract Grandpa.

"John is on the phone, he called to say hi," he told her.

"Hi John!" Grandma shouted at the phone.

"Grandpa Joe, if you go out to eat, be back at the hotel by 7pm."

"Seven? Why?"

"If you trust me, you'll be in the hotel by that time, and you'll stay inside till morning. Give my love to Grandma, I'll talk to you tomorrow." At eight o'clock I snuck back to the phone. Dialing the number, I softly used the highest pitched voice I could muster.

"Hello, Channel Nine newsroom? This is Nancy Hicks Gribble from down at the National Weather Service in Dallas. Our systems not updating properly, so I'm giving you a call that Tulsa is going to get a huge storm tonight. Y'all are under an emergency flash flood watch for most of the night.

"Thanks shug, I've got other news stations to call, make sure you let your weatherman know, emergency flash flood watch 8pm to midnight." I took a deep breath, and made three more calls. That done, I could only go to bed and wait. It was the first time I had directly used my abilities to reduce the death toll of a disaster. I saved 13 lives that night. This was only the beginning, I had the knowledge of how, when, and where to apply the lever to move the future. What else could I do?

When you know what every single action results in, how can you not pick the best outcome, the most perfect choice?