TSSK NVGP 2009
The first weekend of May I competed in the student club’s 5 round long chess tournament. This tournament counted as a sort of championship for Sør-Trøndelag, meaning the winner would be qualified to play in the master class (second highest) in the Norwegian championship in Bergen.
Also, my chess friend Thomas Pronstad came to visit and play in the tournament.
Being the fourth highest ranked player, I naturally expected to be in the top part of the standings, but didn’t think too much about winning. However, I got off to a very good start, scoring 3 out of 3 the first day. I won game 1 and 3 fairly comfortable, but was lucky when Lasse Solbu blundered badly in an advantageous position in the second game.
In game 4 I played against Pål Andreas Hansen from Verdal. Being a young talent, becoming stronger every day, it’s fair to say he has passed my level. But still, he seems to have some problems when playing me (he hasn’t beaten me in long chess yet, but he sure will sooner or later…). With the advantage in the middlegame, he started making some mistakes, and soon I had a winning advantage.
Before game 5 the tension was building up inside me. I knew I would win the tournament with a draw in the last game! Here I faced Brede Hagen, with the black pieces. Again my opponent had the better position in the middlegame, but once again I was saved by a blunder! At that point, Brede offered a draw which I quickly accepted, although I could probably play on for the win.
All in all I played alright throughout the tournament, but I must admit I was quite lucky to finish first!
Anyway, that’s chess…