Wacky Wednesday!

In keeping with my USATE theme here is another funny game from the team tournament. I was playing board three and in round one we got paired way up! They had a master on board three. Our board one wasn't even a master.

Every low rated dreams about beating a master. Some players never fulfill that dream. I did on that day, but I can't say that it was a satisfying win. It was a severe case of "finger failure". I can't remember the German spelling of the actual term, but it's the act of touching a piece that you did not want to move.



When he picked up his queen and then grabbed my pawn he had the "deer in the headlights" look. The two of us just looked at each other and said nothing. Our teammates watched to see what would happen next. The inner "Mrs. Nice Guy" wanted to say "You don't have to capture like that. I want a challenging game where I can learn something from playing a master." However this is a team tournament where every game point means something. My opponent resigned on the spot instead playing it out hoping perhaps I'd blunder back the queen.

Despite the 633 point rating difference it wasn't enough for the upset prize. There's always some monster upset like a kid rated 600 beating an overconfident adult 1800. Also winning the game did mot improve our chances in the match. We lost 3-1 instead of 4-0.

Four years later I would beat a master in the US Amateur Team. That would be my true first master scalp. This particular game was a fluke.