On Saturday the 14th I played in a chess tournament. I know I said I'd quit competitive chess, but this one was exceptional; in addition to the tournament, there was a simultaneous exhibition with a grandmaster strength player!
International Master Jacek Stopa (it's pronounced YA-sek) played against the thirty players who had shown up all at once, making each of his moves almost instantly, pausing at a maximum of fifteen seconds at each board. I had studied up on Stopa's openings a little bit, but apparently he likes to freak the little people he plays in simuls out because he played something totally unexpected against me. I had no idea what to do by move four, which is not a good sign at all. However, I tried to keep my cool and make objectively good moves.
After twenty moves I had kept a reasonably even position and was glad to have even made it this far. (Seven or eight people had already lost at this point, and were slouching between games, looking at the ones who were putting up a good fight.) Jacek moved to my board and, after four second's thought, moved his queen forward one space. Crap, he's attacking the a-file, I thought. Better come up with some desperate little defense before he-. I stopped literally in mid thought here. I'd just noticed something-I could move my knight to attack both his queen and rook at the same time!
Stopa was at the next board. In a frenzy of excitement and panic I did a quick tactical check. Were there any hidden traps? Surely a player of his caliber would have some sly combination up his sleeve? No, I was quite sure I could pull this one off!
Jacek came to my board. I played the knight to c3, and his eyebrows seemed to shoot up into his hair. So I was right! There was no trap! His hand hovered over his queen, and then pulled back. Should I offer a draw? He'd take it, wouldn't he? I knew this might be the chance of a lifetime, to beat one of the strongest players in the world, but could I forgive myself if I lost?
I had to offer a draw before he moved. As his hand swept down to move his queen, I offered it. He accepted, shaking his head with a quirky little smile.
Should I have offered the draw? Could I have won the game? I guess I'll never know, dang it! Still, a draw against a player who won the U.S. Open last year and has a rating of 2571 is nothing to sneeze at! Stopa's record in the simul was 27 wins, 3 draws and 0 losses.
The tournament went well too. I tied for first, beating a player rated 1700 along the way and winning some prize money. I don't know how much I'll play chess this next year, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to play against such a great player.
2 comments:
Yay for you! That was fabulous! I was seriously impressed! I just with that in chess you could stand in the back with a sign and pom poms and do a little shouting! This is not a good hobby for parents who like to loudly support children. Congratulations chess stud.
Wow, that sounds like it would give me an anxiety attack. Way to keep your cool - and show 'em all who's awesome!
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