Spotlight on Talia Rolle

Talia Rolle

Interviewer: Talia, congratulations on your graduation from high school. Your final year was completed during a pandemic. What was that like for you? What were some of the challenges? Were there any benefits?

Talia: Firstly, thank you. Completing my final year of high school during a pandemic was rough. I barely had a proper summer before it, considering that I had BGCSEs from July to September. They kept getting postponed due to surges of covid outbreaks, and instead of cancelling them altogether, the ministry insisted that we took the exams anyway. Then, once they did confirm the dates and release the schedules, the exams were postponed again after one week of testing. It was mentally exhausting having to take exams under those conditions, and the constant back and forth made it even more difficult to prepare. As for my senior year, I started it a bit late due to the delay of the BGCSEs, and missed almost an entire month of lessons. As a result, my school year felt very rushed, especially with the impending AP exams I had at the end of it. Trying to manage that while also looking for and applying to colleges was quite stressful. The majority of the school year was also spent online before switching to a hybrid-learning model. I had grown accustomed to online school, but when we returned to in-person classes, it was crazy seeing how much had changed. We had to wear masks at all times (aside from eating), we were only allowed to walk in one direction on each corridor to prevent crowding, and the campus felt empty with so few people present at a time. It was not my ideal senior year experience, but I managed to somewhat enjoy myself during it. Being taught face-to-face is definitely a more effective learning method for me personally, but online learning had its own set of advantages. I had more access to assistive learning materials, and I had more flexibility than I did in person. It was unfortunate that I didn’t get to spend my senior year in person with my friends, or participate in the usual senior events that were organized before covid, but I managed to make it through regardless.

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Interviewer: During your high school years, were you active in non-academic activities? Which ones and what about those activities interest you?

Talia: During my high school years, I did Track & Field, and attended music lessons. (other than chess club, of course). For track & field, I really just enjoyed running. The sport kept me focused, disciplined, and although it was tiring, it gave me a chance to clear my head after long days at school. As for my music lessons, I play the flute and the piano, and I’ve always had a love for music. I was even part of a concert band, and had a lot of fun playing with them at recitals.


Interviewer: I believe it is safe to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all human life on this planet. Has this pandemic changed or impacted the outlook on the future of you, your friends and/or your associates? If so then how?

Talia: This pandemic has impacted the outlook of the future for me and several others. I am a recent high-school graduate, and usually the next course of action would be university. However, because of the fluctuating numbers of covid cases, it makes it difficult to go on campus or attend classes in person, so almost everything is virtual. I feel like this takes away from the exciting parts of the university experience, and I’m sure it is the same for many others. Some people are afraid to travel abroad to attend their classes in person, even if their universities allow it. This is especially difficult for students with practical, “hands-on” majors like myself, who would prefer to have in-person lessons. So, I feel like this pandemic has really robbed people of experiences they were looking forward to, whether they were academic, or just personal desires.


Interviewer: Speaking about the future, what is next for you? College or University?

Talia: This fall I will be attending the University of The Bahamas to major in music performance with flute as my primary instrument, and piano as my minor instrument. However, I do plan to study abroad later.


Interviewer: When you graduated from high school, you were a student chess player. How did you come to chess? Did chess find you or did you find chess? What were your initial impressions about chess? Were those impressions accurate?

Talia: I had known about the game of chess for years, but I was properly introduced to the game in grade 7, during my first Latin class. You would think that we would be learning actual Latin on the first day, but instead, we learned how to play chess. That one session piqued my interest, and I started taking lessons from my mom’s co-worker, Mr. Kean Smith. My initial impressions about chess were that the game seemed boring, complex, and that it was only for really smart people. However, after properly learning, I came to realize that it isn’t boring at all, and is not as difficult as it seems. There are so many different strategies and move combinations to play, and you don’t necessarily need to be a genius to think of them.


Interviewer: How long did it take for you to learn how to play chess? Is it a difficult game to learn?

Talia: It didn’t take me very long to learn how to play chess. It is a challenging game, and there are a lot of rules to remember, but once you memorize those and learn the fundamentals of the game, it becomes easier to progress and start to form your own strategies. It also helps to constantly play other people (preferably stronger opponents), learn moves from them, and try to incorporate those into your own playing style.


Interviewer: What did your friends say when you told them about your interest in chess?

Talia: I don’t completely remember, but one thing I can say for sure is that they were not very surprised, since I apparently “look” like someone who plays chess. Other than that, a few of them asked me to teach them how to play, and even joined our school’s chess club.


Interviewer: How did you benefit from learning how to play chess?

Talia: Learning how to play chess significantly improved my critical thinking skills, and it taught me to always consider my options carefully before making a decision, whether within the game or in real life.


Interviewer: Would you recommend chess as an activity to other teenagers or for younger children? Why?

Talia: I would definitely recommend chess as an activity to other teenagers and younger children. It can help both groups to improve their concentration skills, it’s a way to build creativity, and it is generally a fun and enjoyable game.


Interviewer: Some people believe that girls are not as good at playing chess as boys. What are you general thoughts about that?

Talia: I don’t believe that boys are naturally better at playing chess than girls. It is true that the highest ranked players are male, but that is mainly because most of the players are male. But overall, I think it just depends on individual practice, skill, and talent. Wherever those lie, the strongest players can be found, regardless of gender.


Interviewer: As a student player, did you choose to play in any chess tournaments or friendly matches? What was it like playing in your first tournament? Were there any other chess events that were memorable?

Talia: I played in several chess tournaments as a student player. My first chess tournament was actually a team tournament at Tambearly, where I played a lot of younger children because I was older than the majority of my teammates. This tournament was probably the most memorable for me. Our match lasted until the very end of the tournament, so we were the last two players at a board, and all eyes were on us. The pressure was a lot to handle, and eventually, I ran out of time. It was a bit embarrassing considering that I lost to a 2nd grader, but I think I handled the loss quite well. I’m sure that kid was happy, anyway.
I would say that my matches at the Center for the Deaf and the Brenton Smith Scholastic Tournament were also pretty memorable. Both events allowed me to play very skilled and interesting opponents.


Interviewer: GM Vasily Symslov, former World Chess Champion, was an opera singer. In your view, are there any similarities between music and chess? Please explain.

Talia: I think that there are some similarities between music and chess. Both require a certain level of creativity and focus. Improvisation, for example, is something that is utilized in both music and chess. Musicians improvise notes and melodies, while chess players may improvise openings, or their entire game really, instead of relying on a specific strategy, and I feel like this is where creativity comes into play. Both music and chess also involve recognizing patterns. In pieces of music, notes often follow pitch and/or rhythmic patterns, and these patterns may repeat themselves throughout the music. The musician has to take note of these patterns, and be able to recognize them when they appear in different sections of the piece, or when similar patterns show up in other pieces of music, so that they can play as accurately as possible. A similar concept can be applied to chess. It is important to be able to identify certain playing patterns, and openings, so that the player can come up with effective counterattacks. Therefore, both music and chess require both creativity and focus.


Interviewer: Is there anything that can be done to make chess more appealing to teenage girls?

Talia: I don’t think that anything really needs to be done to make chess more appealing to teenage girls. Not every teenage girl is the same. Although there were mostly boys in my high school chess club, there was a fair amount of girls in there (including myself). I even invited a few of my female friends to join, and they enjoyed it and became active members of the club. So, in my opinion, if you like it, you like it and if you don’t, you don’t. I don’t think that chess has any aspects that would be more appealing to any gender, no matter what stage of life they may be in. If you are someone who doesn’t mind exercising your brain with something that is not school/academic related and enjoys strategy games, then chess is the game for you. But on the other hand, I think it would help if people would stop pushing the concept that chess is solely a male sport. Chess is a male-dominated sport, and I feel like that alone can be discouraging to some women, especially when they try to participate, and get insulted for even trying due to their gender. That is why I always love seeing articles about female chess players like Judit Polgar and Hou Yifan, who are the top female players in the world right now, but also local female players who are very skilled, like Daijah Johnson Trinity Pinder. This kind of recognition can be inspiring to other girls who may be interested in chess.


Interviewer: Lastly, a question on “Climate change”. What should we know about how climate change is impacting your generation?

Talia: Climate change is having a detrimental impact on not only my generation, but every generation that is alive right now, and will impact the generations to come if sufficient measures are not taken to combat it. Climate change raises the intensity of natural disasters, damages marine resources, and even threatens wildlife. Although action is being taken, and many organizations are working to fight against climate change, there is always more to be done. So doing small things to benefit the environment like recycling, composting, using less fossil fuels, and using biodegradable products can reduce pollution, and ultimately contribute to the fight against climate change.