Chess Tournament Again

I'm pretty sure I blogged about Solomon's chess tournament last year.  I know I at least mentioned it in passing.  Well it's that time of year again.  The tournament is sponsored by the public school district and something called the Interscholastic League so I'm spending the day in a high school cafeteria, waiting around on standings and pairings and playing practice rounds with Solomon in between actual rounds.  There's a lot of sitting around and doing nothing.  So Solomon and I are going to conduct an interview.

Me: So how did your first round go?
Solomon: My first round was very short. I really didn't even get close to beating my opponent. I learned about a move called en passant. It happens when two pawns are right next to each other. One pawn can move forward diagonally and take the opponent's pawn. This can only happen if your pawn has not attacked another piece yet in the game.
Me: Wow, so even if you don't win a game you can still learn something to help you in a future game, right?
Solomon: Yes.
Me: What about your second round?
Solomon: This one was very close.  I almost won with only my king and five pawns.  My king was in check every 3 moves but each time I found a way out of it.
Me: So what ended up trapping you?
Solomon: One of my opponent's pawns was at my king's side and she replaced it with a queen. I moved away and then one of her rooks moved in until the rook pushed my king into a trap with the queen.  Then I looked at my options and realized there was no way out.
Me: What is your strategy for the third round?
Solomon: Well, I guess I will start off with a knight because they're confusing.  And then whatever their move is, I'll bring out my second knight.  Then I shall take all the pieces I can.  Actually, I'm just imagining this.
Me: Okay, then.  We'll take a short break now to regroup and prepare for the third round.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Me: When we last reported here you were about to enter the third round. How about telling our readers what happened during that round?
Solomon:  Yeah.  Third round.  Isn't that the one I won?  Yes, yes, it is.  Fortunately and unfortunately, I won and it was the only time I won.
Me: But winning the third round was fun, right?
Solomon: Sorta. Yeah.  Who doesn't like winning?
Me: What about the fourth round?
Solomon: I lost.
Me: Do you want to say anything else about the fourth round?
Solomon: Um ... I was one of the last in there.  But I still lost.
Me: Bummer.  How about the fifth round?
Solomon: I was black on the very last game.  We were set up with a clock.  The white cheated because they kept pressing the clock so it would go on my turn when it was his turn, wasting my time.  Literally.
Me: Did you talk to a judge about that?
Solomon: No.
Me: Why?
Solomon: Because the judge had just told me to keep going when they set up the clock.  It was extremely close until he took my bishop because all he had was his king and queen.  And both of them can go in any direction so I couldn't attack or he would attack me back.
Me: That sounds like a really tough game.  What did you learn during this chess tournament?
Solomon: If someone's cheating, go ahead and tell the judge about it.