Introduction

In my post Where have you been, I discussed my experience with intense tournaments and preliminary matches, and how I unexpectedly reached the finals. It seems to be a common beginner’s mistake to get overly excited about correspondence chess because it seems to fit so well. That said, you end up with a lot of games in parallel. Or in other words: too much on your plate!

Champions League 2024 C2

I was thrilled to join a very experienced team, FSB Thuringia I, and was highly motivated to contribute to the team’s success. However, I had a false start in one game due to an unforeseen issue. After the usual virtual introduction and my opponent’s unconventional opening with a5, I responded confidently and submitted my move… only to inadvertently resign. I did not intend to resign; the mishap was caused by Grammarly running in the background, which, due to a glitch with Chessbase, checked the “resign” box when correcting a typo. It took me a while to experiment and discover what had happened. As a result, I scored 0 points for that game.

Frustrated, I then botched another game by messing up the move order in a well-known opening of mine, which I might also lose.

I need to calm down, refocus on what’s next, and perhaps submit another ticket to Chessbase—though, given I have six unresolved tickets and haven’t heard back from them for weeks, I’ve canceled my subscription. More details are in my blog post What’s Next.

CCM Michael Dudley

I played against CCM Michael Dudley, whom I have met multiple times. This game was drama-free; my goal was simply not to lose. Thus, the game ended in a draw, which was precisely what I was aiming for against such a strong player.

CCM Paulo Adriano Matozo

This match was somewhat frustrating as I felt I could have turned it into a win, but ultimately, I wasn’t able to. My position as Black was quite strong. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this game.

CCM Amayak Martunikovich Babasyan

Against this Russian player, I offered a draw after the first and 10th move and he accepted. You can see my open letter to ICCF. It is disheartening to contemplate an award package going to Russia and a team named Volga-Moscow associated with the event, especially when the participation of Russian players contradicts the principles of peace, freedom, and human rights that the ICCF aims to uphold.

CCM Graziano Maioriello

In this game, I thought I could secure a win, but White’s counterplay was excellent, and my small advantage eventually slipped away.

ICCF Veterans World Cup 13 Semi-Final 9

In this competition, the winners of the ten semi-final groups, along with any players tied after tiebreaks, will qualify for the final. I’m currently ranked 14th out of 15, with two games left to play. Some great learnings here, and if I win these last two games, I might advance to the mid-field with 6.5 points.

CCE Hugo Poelvoorde

This challenging game ended in a draw. Hugo had given himself 50 moves to find a path to victory, which neither of us could find.

ICCF Veterans World Cup 14 Preliminary 56

IM Denny Marbourg

Denny exceeded the time limit, resulting in a win for me.

CCE George Dimitrov

This game against George from Varna, Bulgaria, would have ended in repetition, so I offered a draw, which he accepted.

Jan Johansson

I thought I was on a winning path, but the game ended in a draw. Unfortunately, I couldn’t convert my advantage into a win.

Amici Sumus

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