“I scheduled today off from work because I figured I'd be spent from the Open this over the weekend, and I was right. My last 2 games were difficult.
The last one was more so because my opponent was a snotty teenage lad. He repeated moves and I offered a draw in fairly even position. I thought I had better chances but not enough to win and he arrogantly declined.
Anyway, he ended up resigning in a bit of time trouble but with a lot of game to play. After looking at the game again this morning I'm pretty sure I was better enough to win but the game still had a lot of room for mistakes on both sides. Oh well, I'll take it.
Round 6 was my longest game. I won a pawn around move 25 or so and then somewhere around move 45 my opponent really could have resigned - legitimately. It was just a matter of walking my king to pick up his remaining pawns and eventually queen a pawn and check mate him.
Well, he made me do it and, for his last 8-10 moves took his merry ole time calculating the many complex variations that would arise from moving his king to the ONE available square I allowed for it. It finally ended with checkmate at around move 70. And, we were off to lunch - finally!
Many thanks to Mike N, Ken L and John R for the camaraderie and support - Mike N especially for the laughs and stories - the best! And also to Ken T for making a special stop for us and the good vibes he sent our way. Very much appreciated!
This was my first tournament in 35+years and it was still as exhilarating and nerve wracking as I remember it being when I was in high school. I'm looking forward to the Chess Festival in November the same was I did when I was in high school - a lot of anxiety, nervousness and apprehension but also very excited and great anticipation of the challenges.”
Vince V.
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