It was a captivating day of chess filled with nerve-wracking moments and fierce competition. The team ended ultimately with a commendable draw, owing largely to heroic performances, particularly from Juhani and Pekka who won their games against masters.
Aatos–LauttSSK 2–2:
- Antti Virtanen (2268) – Juhani Lehti (2193) 0–1
- Teemu Keskisarja (2262) – Karri Laine (2079) ½–½
- Ari Issakainen (2169) – Pekka Kauppala (2063) 0–1
- Aku Salonen (2091) – Evgeny Sobenin (1992) ½–½
- Jyri Lammi (2088) – Ashwin Kumar (2007) ½–½
- Rami Kivilahti (2008) – Harri Nyrhinen (1925) 1–0
- Heljä Lehtinen (1844) – Jyrki Kivinen (1963) ½–½
- Mikä Puttinen (1896) – Mikko Piippo (1882) 1–0
While observing the games, I noticed an interesting pattern as far as time management was concerned. Aatos played their opening moves very rapidly, with almost every player gaining some sort of a time advantage early. In the middle game however, they thought for twice as long. I wonder if there is a useful lesson to learn from this.
Another interesting pattern was that the "lower boards" finished their games first and the higher boards later. For this reason, I will start the report with the lower boards first.
On board 8, Mikko had a normal queen's pawn position, but it eventually evolved into a rook and pawn endgame with a 3+1 versus 3+2 configuration, which he was unable to defend.
On board 7, Jyrki managed a draw in his game against Heljä, who played the black side of the Sicilian defense Kan variation.
On board 6, Harri faced a challenging endgame with a bishop, rook, and four pawns versus a knight, rook, and five pawns. It had the potential to be a draw, but a knight fork blunder ended the game on the spot.
On board 5, I got to practice some ideas against the King's Indian Defense. Though I lost a pawn in the middle game, I was able to transition the position into an opposite-colored bishops middle game and simplify it to a draw
On board 4, Evgeny faced the talented teenager, Aku Salonen, who seemed to gain some positional trumps in the game, but nothing that was substantial enough to break through Evgeny's solid defense.
Board 3 was the final game to finish, lasting about 5,5 hours. It was an absolute must win for us, so that we would be able to salvage a team draw. The tension was high, and many people were watching closely as Pekka fought hard to convert his small advantage into a win. There were many moments where it seemed as though Ari would escape with a draw, but Pekka showed excellent technique to win the Rook+Pawn vs Bishop+Pawn endgame, cordoning off the king methodically.
On board 2, Karri defended his 2 pawns down opposite colored bishops middle game position very professionally. He never seemed uncomfortable despite the mounting pressure, leaning back in his seat with arms folded.
On board 1, Juhani pulled off a surprise win. Antti played the opening effectively and put Juhani's pieces in some uncomfortable positions, but Juhani's pawn structure remained intact and he was able to level the game. Just as the game seemed destined for a draw, Antti made a calculated risk that didn't pay off, and Juhani seized the opportunity to win the game.
Cheers
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