Last three rounds

This is the continuation of the chess tournament that my son and I were playing in. We finished the event this evening with both of us having 2 points out of a possible 6.

My rounds:
Round 4 was lost to Andrés. I was not sure how to evaluate him as a player going into the round. I had seen him play in an earlier round. He became pretty frustrated with his opponent’s lack of attention to the game. The other player was not just up and down quite a bit throughout the game (which is not unusual), but he was goofing around with other players like he would rather be out on the playground wrestling than playing chess. The opponent was about 12 years old and I would guess Andrés to be 16 or so. He ended up tying that round. When we played I tried to get an early win with a “Mate al Pastor.” I am not sure what it is called in English, but its translation is “Shephards Mate.” It is a short 4 move checkmate. It did not work. I don’t remember much from the round other than I lost.

The fifth round was a bye. Automatic 1 point.

My opponent never showed on the sixth round. I won by forfeit. A cheap way to win, but a win none the less. Some day I will win a game on my own. Until then, I will be happy to take a hand out.

My son’s rounds:
He had a tough fourth round. I did not see much of the game, but when I looked back and saw his game on occasion, I noticed that he did not have many pieces on the board while the other player had most of his pieces left. Needless to say, my son was in material trouble throughout the game and the resultant loss was not a surprise.

Fifth round pitted him against Sarah. She was probably 10 years old and the daughter of a chess teacher. She did a good job, though sick with a cold, of winning the game. She had to think to do it, but she was confident in her moves and knew her end game strategy well.

The sixth round netted my son his second point. He won against a young boy of probably 7 or 8 years of age. Somehow the boy got my son’s queen early and really had a material advantage for a long time during the game. But little by little he lost his advantage. My son was able to get him trapped on the back row behind several of his own pieces. It only took a rook to get the mate.

Awards ceremony is Tuesday. We certainly did not place, but we will go to the event just to cheer everyone. This was a rated tournament. My son has an official rating while I do not. I am curious as to how this event will affect his number and where I will land after the event.

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