Saturday was a wonderful day. My friend Rich organized a chess event at St. Olaf College. This was the first time I've played in the event and have been at the college. I knew I was close to my destination when I saw the windmill running in the gentle spring breeze.
After I parked and had a chance to walk to the student center, I felt great. The campus reminded me a bit of where I started college. The students I talked with during the day were very engaged and interesting in learning.
I played in the Reserve section (U1600) and I had no expectations. I played a terrific tournament, in which I won my first three games out of the four. I hadn't started like that before, and I was both shocked and thrilled. I felt that I was playing with a combination of solid focus, understanding, and familiarity with the positions I was playing. I didn't play games of fireworks; rather, I just played solid moves and looked for advantageous ones when my opponents played moves that did not seem as strong.
My last round was the toughest, though, as I played the only other person who also had three wins. Lynn played very well and better than I for the entire game, although I did manage to make it to the endgame which was just a simplification of the rest of the game in which he was clearly winning.
I tied for second, won a few bucks, and drove home tired but glad I came down for the day.
John put the results on his website.
No comments:
Post a Comment