November 2040. While both financial literacy training and Congressional debate have been expanded to allow all psychiatric hospital patients, the most complicated to implement was the screening. The survey ran for several weeks and was distributed among all long-term care patients and their families. But even when the survey's results were sufficiently convincing to persuade the board to go ahead with the screening protocol, the hospital couldn't implement it without first going through a competitive bidding process.

However, on Friday night, they realize that something is not right as they watch the opening ceremony of the ChGK Worlds, held in Helsinki this year.

"Too bad our MAK rating wasn't as high as we hoped" Yakiv points out.

"MAK rating?" Patricia asks, raising her eyebrows.

"The MAK rating, also called the MAII or, less commonly the IAMG rating, is a rating used in ChGK to gauge the relative strength of teams" Bohdan explains to the newest players. "While it goes without saying that playing in more tournaments correlates with higher MAK ratings, how a tournament affects one's MAK rating is mostly based on three factors: the type of tournament, its field strength, and how well you place"

"We entered the International League, then bi-weekly tournaments, before and since, such as the Marseillaise, on the week of July the fourteenth. But no one would have expected us to make it to the top-one hundred at the International League, even with Patricia" Vira then tells the group.

"Of course, we shouldn't expect the US to do well at Worlds, we never do" the sixth player comments, then leaning on his chair.

And then questions resurface in Patricia's mind, but she didn't feel it was appropriate to ask them until now. They kept mentioning the ChGK Worlds for months, but not how to qualify for it. All I could make out was that winning Nats was a way for us to get there, Patricia muses upon hearing about more technicalities of the competitive version of the game. It's not by being tied for 97th place, out of over a thousand teams, at the International League that we will be in position to win Nats next year! Or even compete at Worlds!

Meanwhile, Sergei is busy preparing the popcorn, while his mother gets the original, Russian-language IAMG's livestream on the screen. Then they realize that teams, at the ChGK Worlds, are referred to as "Team of X", where X is the captain, even though, in other tournaments, they are called, say, Al-Azhar or Saturday 13.

"Since the US doesn't stand a chance at the ChGK Worlds, I suppose we root for Ukraine this time around. Or, really, anyone other than Russia or Belarus" Yakiv then makes his point, fist up in the air. He then proceeds to shout, "Slava Ukraini!"

"As much as Belarus and Russia carry personal significance to you all, other countries playing at ChGK Worlds that are easy to hate for people around us include North Korea, Iran and, to a lesser extent, Syria" Patricia comments on how people around her could perceive some countries.

"We beat Syria and North Korea at the International League, but Iran didn't play. But, if we are to push for the ChGK Worlds, we are going to need to beat the big teams, and it's not just Belarus or Russia. China, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine even" Vira warns her teammates. "Typically, wildcards, up to a maximum of five, are given to national teams from emerging ChGK countries"

Rumors are that Iran ate up one of the wildcards this year. I guess we never fully explained ChGK Worlds qualification procedures to my son and to Patricia, Vira muses, while realizing that the time has come for these two to know more about the topic. Especially given when she harbors aspirations of playing at the ChGK Worlds and she believes that knowledge would help motivate the youngest 2 players, motivate them to play and train better.

"Since I have the feeling you two are in ChGK for the long haul" Bohdan then pauses while she faces the youngest two players. "Let me explain how teams can qualify for the ChGK Worlds. I know Vira and Yakiv both dream about playing there since they first watched the Ukrainian version of the show, but they never managed to play on a sufficiently talented team to even get close to Worlds"

"From what I can make out, we need to either win the ChGK Nationals or reach a certain rank on the MAK rating leaderboard, since the US doesn't seem to be an emerging ChGK country" Patricia comments on how she thinks the Kansas State Team can qualify for ChGK Worlds.

Looks like I graduated too late, or it could have been, well, us playing in Helsinki... provided I was enough of a difference-maker to make the Kansas State Team win ChGK Nats, Patricia ruminates while she listens to the requirements for a national championship to be recognized as such by the IAMG for the purposes of ChGK Worlds qualification.

"The real kicker for us is the need for ChGK Nats to have at least forty-five questions. Having five American teams competing is a given since there are at least five state champions playing, all of which are fully made up of residents of their own state. As is the requirement of it being held at least sixty-seven days prior to the Worlds" Bohdan continues to speak. "Before you ask, ChGK Nats are played in late March or early April"

"How is residency defined for international ChGK purposes?" Sergei asks, even though it's not an issue to him.

"Player residency, in ChGK, is defined as the country where you have a physical address. You can change your competitive nationality once per season. For a team to have a specific nationality, no more than two players can reside in a different country" Bohdan keeps talking.

While it makes clearer who can become a national champion, they seem to be implying that team nationality is more important than player nationality, Sergei muses, realizing that it was for the benefit of Patricia to know.

Patricia is fantastic, she reminds me of Inna Druz. But I find Vira is putting a little too much faith in her, Yakiv reflects on his sister's actions of late. However, he knew Patricia knew next to nothing about ChGK history, and probably not about the Druz family, the most famous family in ChGK.

"By now you know that we need to win the state championship to play at ChGK Nats. However, automatic invitations are issued for Nats upon reaching a certain MAK rating by March first. With Patricia we are pretty much assured that we are going to play at Nats. Speaking of the state championship, which is open entry, it's held at Ottawa University on Mardi Gras this year" Vira warns her teammates.

"There's one last route we forgot to talk about. If we win leading international tournaments, such as the Slavyanka Grand Prix, we can still attend Worlds. I don't want to get into the details of what constitutes a leading international tournament, however" Bohdan adds to what Vira told the team.

Ottawa University? I remember a patient, a recovering alcoholic, asking Canada-related questions to Ainslee. She did so prior to a Congressional debate session, when that patient brought up her education. Yet, Ottawa University was where Ainslee went for graduate school. And nearly everything she knew about Canada came from one semester of study abroad at the University of Ottawa as an undergraduate, Patricia gets a flashback from a past Cong session when Vira mentions the location of the ChGK state championship.

"I propose the following: even though Mardi Gras is months away, we go ahead and try to answer the same questions, live, from the ChGK Worlds" Patricia then suggests her teammates. The International League gave us a taste of how Worlds will feel.

"If we do this, we need to be here at one AM on Sunday, since the first game begins at nine AM, Helsinki time" Yakiv points out to the team.

"I urge you to accept the offer; you want to play at ChGK Worlds next year, we will need every opportunity to play high-end sets as we can get! Let's not squander this opportunity I gave you" Patricia warns her teammates, with her face turning red. "What do you think our opponents at State are doing?"

"As far as I am concerned, we are the only serious team in the state" Bohdan retorts, seeing his teammate's increase in intensity about ChGK makes him a little confused.

"We're not going to win Nats if we just focus on what's happening in Kansas! Please take a look at the invite for Nats" Vira hollers, and then opens the invite up on her phone.

This season, ChGK Nats is held in Seattle. Day 1 on Saturday: svoya igra (own game) and brain ring. Day 2: 48 questions. Two morning games, two afternoon games, Patricia muses, while reading the invite. Hopefully I can take two days off for ChGK Nats; I didn't take any time off for months. Since I would want Friday and Monday, at least it won't interfere with the Congressional debate group. By now we decided that Tuesday was for the debate proper, Thursday was for research, critical thinking, and shoring up other language weaknesses the patients might have.

"Finally, you acknowledge what role you will really play in getting us to the ChGK Worlds! As a token of gratitude, we will take you up on this offer" Yakiv and his family nod, while Bohdan turns to face Patricia.

"I don't think you've read Phenomenon of the Game. A little dated, I wasn't even born when that book was released, but, according to that book, there are five major types of players" Bohdan then explains what these are to her. "As a player, you're a hybrid of brainpower and mastermind"

Phenomenon of the Game was a Russian book published in 1982, and, according to it, the 5 major types of ChGK players are the soul, who maintains a lively atmosphere, the controller, who organizes the ideas and supplies the final answer, the idea generator, who comes up with ideas under pressure, the brainpower, who can think outside the box, and the mastermind, who possesses a lot of knowledge.

"In which case we meet again at our place" Vira then suggests to the rest of the team.

"See you tomorrow at midnight, and dobriy vyecher (good night)" Patricia then tells her teammates and returns home.

When the team reconvenes at midnight on Sunday, they make themselves comfortable in the dining room once again. Having slept through the evening, they are ready to face the music, or rather, the 90 questions. In their minds, it's as if the Worlds were held remotely. They prepare their cups of coffee so that they can play through the night.

On the screen, they have the IAMG's livestream, recorded live from the Scandic Grand Central Hotel in Helsinki. They watch the various teams getting seated in the ballroom, with each table identifying the team's captain along with its nationality. Obviously Finland's team is front and center, while everyone else is seated at random.

"Dobriy utro (good morning)" the tournament director announces at the front of the room.

In Overland Park, however, the team decides that this day-long drill will be conducted as follows, with Bohdan explaining the rules :

"For this drill, we'll do as if we were playing in the lowermost group at Worlds, at least the first two games!" Bohdan shouts, his fist up in the air.

"Remember also that no other in-person or strictly synchronous tournament can be sanctioned by the IAMG when the Worlds are underway" the sixth player tells them.

And... wow. Unlike the International League, teams are seeded and it puts a lot of pressure on the teams on the lowest 2 brackets. Yet they know this just doesn't feel the same as actually playing at the ChGK Worlds. At the end of the first game...

"Patricia, Sergei, because neither of you played in-person ChGK tournaments, you must realize that some people, or teams, might perform well in online tournaments but not do so hot in-person" Bohdan warns the two players.

"I played scholars bowl in high school. While I might not have been the best scholars bowl player in the world, they played entirely in-person" Sergei retorts, while memories of Stephanie eating negs like crazy in quiz bowl games resurfaces in his mind.

"That and I also know how nerve-wracking it is to run a mock Congressional debate with a dozen addiction patients in rehab. I might not understand how to resolve the traumas underlying some of their mental health conditions, but scholars bowl or Congressional debate is better than no exposure at all" Patricia retorts to her team captain before the second game starts.

"We're not a claustrophobic team; how we performed at the International League and other online tournaments proved as much to me" Yakiv then sighs.

"Claustrophobic?" Sergei asks his uncle, not sure of what claustrophobia means in a ChGK context.

"Claustrophobic teams and players perform well only in-person. Agoraphobic teams and players perform well only online" Yakiv explains the difference before turning his head towards the screen.

Even with Sergei and I both having our own experience of in-person activities with multiple teams, the veteran players fear that we're both agoraphobic players in a ChGK context, Patricia muses while the second game is about to start. I can tell they're very afraid that I prove to be an agoraphobic player, figuratively speaking, and will make the team underperform at State or Nats. Right now, the top 2 teams in the country are the Quantum Computers and Saturday 13. Since Vira et al pinned all our hopes of beating them and hence play at ChGK Worlds, on me, I mustn't let them down!

The first question of the second game was being asked by the tournament director:

"This area was occupied by Russia in 2014..."

The answer to this question must be in Crimea, in which case I could have visited it as a child, Bohdan muses, but couldn't say anything yet because the 60s signal has not been given.

"Its government in exile's obsession with music led to its dissolution one year later. Name this area" the TD's words were freely translated into English in Patricia's mind.

"We know that it's going to be in Crimea but it's not the entirety of Crimea. A raion would be too big, so it must be a hromada-sized entity" Yakiv explains.

"What kind of hromada government would be so obsessed with music that its government in exile would dissolve over it?" Sergei asks, trying to reconcile the statements given.

In Ukraine, oblasts, the closest equivalents to states in the US, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, are divided in raions. They are themselves further divided into hromadas. Hromadas are often considered the Ukrainian analogue to a village or town administration.

"Usually, local governments don't operate in exile when their territory change hands. And much less dissolve over musical policy. So it may well be one of those "joke entities", here centered on music" Patricia points out, about to fume at her teammates.

"You're saying the answer is not an actual hromada?" Bohdan gasps in horror.

"A joke entity centered on music, and whose territory was in Crimea?" Vira asks Patricia to confirm with 10 seconds to go.

"I was just a teenager at the time, but the Republic of KaZantip corresponds to all facts" Bohdan adds.

They end up answering the question correctly. The wee hours of the morning happen in a succession of riddles on various subjects, sometimes they answer, sometimes they don't. They keep doing this with an eye on Saturday 13's results, knowing that 4 months from now, they will likely play against them in Seattle... provided Patricia and/or Sergei aren't agoraphobic.

"Assuming that we aren't agoraphobic as a team, we should be able to do better than seventeenth at Nats!" Yakiv speaks in a tone that betrays his insecurities.

"Now I understand why you were talking about the Russian interscholastic ChGK circuit even though you came here as a Ukrainian refugee! You used to live in Crimea!" Patricia's mental lightbulb then lights up while she faces Bohdan.

"I guess, the first question in the second game gave me no choice" Bohdan confesses, sighing.

"Unlike Bohdan, we came from a different region. Mariupol for us" Yakiv, the younger brother, then tells her, in turn, also triggered by the allusion to Ukraine in that question.

They did well to wait until then to talk about their connections to Ukraine, 3 of the oldest feel uncomfortable discussing how war led them to come to Kansas as refugees.

Then comes the cacophony of reports on the ChGK Worlds from various media outlets, such as Russia's RT or China's Xinhua, and, of course, Ukraine's UATV, which is the other primary English-language resource used for ChGK Worlds news...

"The Chinese wastes no opportunity to tell the rest of the world they are dumb, or dumber. For decades now, we're told about how dumb we are by the rest of the world, for as long as I've been born!" Patricia hollers, feeling targeted, albeit not intentionally.

"Russia using ChGK to assert intellectual superiority internationally is not new. What is new is China using it as well for that purpose. Five years ago, China needed a wildcard to even play at ChGK Worlds. Now they won a shootout (overtime) over Russia" Vira explains the situation to the youngest two players.

"And next year's Worlds will be held in St. Petersburg. If we win Nats in March, we must make our travel arrangements as soon as our invitation is issued" Bohdan instructs the team.

"This I vow: we must prove to the rest of the world that we can play intellectual games without having to rely on the Chinese or Indian diaspora!" Patricia then shouts, her right fist clenched in the air.