The Piecemongers 2 (my team) seem to be the team of destiny based on the bloopers on 3rd and 4th board. In the first game, I had already written Goran Markovich’s game off my tax return when his opponent made an illegal move and had to cede a piece. Even more amazing, in a R+N vs. R+2P ending, Goran’s opponent resigned a clear drawn position. For my part, I had to take a draw.
2nd round, Greg Zelner, Goran’s opponent, missed a clear and easy drawing line and walked into a piece and king fork with plenty of time. I won only with my opponent’s cooperation in time pressure in what should have been an easy draw.
3rd round – Adrenaline… Javad was able to penetrate a perceptably blocked position. Dyson lost on time, despite being winning on the board after a Knight sacrifice, exposing Keller’s King. Mandelkern won a position against Phillip Bauer which was highlighlighted at 6 seconds vs. 3 seconds. I failed to find the best continuations in the Budapest and was stuck in a dead drawn ending, but my opponent failed to rush his Rook to b1 and instead sacrificed on b3 having failed to move his own pawn any further, allowing a standard win.
Piecemongers 2 stand alone with 3, after watching our two competitors draw their match. Sunday will be a challenging day!
Tags: USATS chess Florida
