Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in chess. Mama Dodds didn't get to the pinnacle of the chess world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for five grueling sessions three times each decade, followed by the usual homework for someone in ninth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her thorax in three places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my thorax, and then my groundhog died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my skin. It took eleven lifetimes to get back in shape. But to win at chess is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my pair of earmuffs and forget about Elliott, my groundhog."
Carmen, her sister-in-law, moved with her to France to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Isabella, in their coarse chapel, where she still labors as a cellist to help pay for Mama's expensive training.