I won’t say I won the Neil Falconer Marathon concluded last night at the Berkeley Chess Club, but rather, I backed into it.
There are seven or eight regulars one might expect to finish ahead of me in an open tournament. One of the masters fell ill, and two of the other masters room with him, so all three took a month off. The fourth master, 80 years old, had a senior moment in our 2nd round game, and overstepped the time limit in a position that would be dead drawn in a move or two.
Two of the expert-types also played incomplete schedules, while another had the tactical accident shared here. A B-rated opponent reached an equal position with good knight vs. my bad bishop, then hung a piece.
I got lucky in all the ways one can get lucky at a chess tournament. The better players didn’t play, while opponents fumbled in various ways.
Miniatures happen.
