My first tournament

During my first tournament, when my name was called, I leapt up. Then, Mum unwrapped something in her lap -- it was her chang, a small tablet of red jade which held the sun's fire. She told me that it was 'luck'. My first opponent was a 15-year-old boy from Oakland. As I began to play, a light wind began blowing past my ears. ~SECRETS~ "Blow from the South" "The wind leaves no trail." I saw a clear path, the traps to avoid. The wind blew stronger. "Throw sand from the East to distract him." "Blow, blow, blow. He cannot see. He is blind now. Make him lean away from the wind so he is easier to knock down."

Mum placed my first trophy next to a new plastic chess set that the neighborhood, Tao society, had given me. As she wiped the trophy, she told me to win more tournaments and lose less. And I was like sometimes I have to lose pieces to get ahead. She doesn't really understand chess ar? Then she was like "Better to lose less, see if you really need." What does she mean? Huh?