The Development of Chess Skills by Waverly in Rules of The Game by Army Tan

In “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan, the main character, Waverly, learns how to be very good at chess as she practices very hard, insists on playing, and defeats others. Later she wins the championship trophy.

Waverly concentrates hard on her chess skills. Her brother, Vincent, got the chess set. After he got it, Waverly was curious about how to play chess. At first, her brother didn’t want her to play, but when Waverly said that she would use her lifesavers in place of the missing pieces, her brother said that she could play. As she is playing and learning, she gets better chess skills. She practices vary hard at home. When her mom stands in the doorway, she says, “Ma, I can’t practice when you stand there like that.” Waverly wants to practice and to be better at chess.

Waverly wins against others. She plays with her brothers. When she won too many games, her brothers stopped playing with her. Later, she played Lau Po (which means old man in Chinese). She represents her family. If she wins, her family would be very proud of her, and if she loses, she will bring same to her family. “Is shame you fall down and nobody push you.” Waverly attends tournaments farther away from home, and no longer has to do chores because her mom does no want any distractions for her. Her brothers also sleep on the couch. This quote encourages Waverly to keep going, and to never give up, and to be the best that she can be.

Waverly has conflicts with her mother. Her mother shows her off at the market. She feels embarrassed. When she doesn’t come home, her mom says, “We are not concerning this girl. This girl not concerning for us.” Mrs. Jong says this, but actually, she is very concerned about Waverly. When Waverly grows up and wins the championship trophy, she has some confliction with her mother. Waverly doesn’t like how her mother tries to show her off. She also doesn’t like her mother grasping her hand.

The change of Waverly is positive because she has finally mastered chess skills. No matter what it is, never give up on your dreams, even if you do get rejected. The moral lesson is that if you keep going and have confidence in yourself, you will succeed. You never know unless you try.