Sunday, August 29, 2004

Yuppie Lamp

I bought a yuppie lamp at Ikea yesterday.
Grönö Lamp

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Seattle

I moved to Seattle on Thursday and started work on Monday. Needless to say, things are pretty hectic right now. My corporate housing provides a nice view of (south) downtown Seattle though.
Downtown Seattle At Night

Monday, August 02, 2004

Second Place!

I was playing someone rated higher again. This time I had Black though, and I tried to defend with the King's Indian Defence. Unfortunately, it didn't end up seeming too defensive as he got a massive attack. He sacrificed too much though, and I should have been able to hold for a winning position. Alas, defending against a strong attack is easier said than done and I fell to a tactical oversight in time pressure. Nevertheless, I had a full point advantage prior to the last round over the pack that was tied for third. So when the dust settled, I was in a four-way tie for second in my section with 6.0 points (5-2-2). They haven't updated the crosstable yet, but I suspect that they'll do so soon.

Sunday, August 01, 2004

Moving Day

Today was the second last day of the tournament. So this was the day that you needed to move up in the standings if you wanted to be a somebody. I started the day with 4.5 points (4-1-1), tied for second with one other person (in my section) and a full point out of first. My first game I played Black and ended up defending with a Sicilian Defence again. Unfortunately I dropped a pawn, but I managed to rally back and equalize to obtain a draw. For my second game of the day, I was paired against someone rated higher than me for the first time. (My section seems to be dominated by all the young people who have mostly lower ratings). The game ended up being very crazy and with each of us very low on time, I found a nice tactic to give myself a winning position. (Or more precisely, a mating net). All in all, a draw and a win made it a very good day. Being high in the crosstable to start the day, I didn't move much in the standings though! Currently, I'm alone in second place, only half a point back from the leader. But I've already played him. (He's the person who beat me back in round 4). So, I'll need to win (or draw) and get some help from his opponent if I am to catch up with him.