Oh, Caissa! Oh, Karma?

I know that some people get mad when I post players' blunders. But I feel that this next one must be a rare one at the expert level.

This Saturday was the Boylston Chess Club's first quad of 2009. I decided to play and landed in the top quad. In my first games, I played some very tense and complex chess games against a master and a 2100+ expert. Up a piece in the first game, I avoided the dangerous positions and then promptly blundered away all my material in time trouble. In the second game, I had to sack a piece for 3 pawns to avoid getting steamrolled. With the computer evaluation swinging wildly with each move, I landed up 4 pawns and got my piece back. Then I missed a clever mate in two. For my opponent.

I felt that I was playing creatively in the middlegame against strong opponents, so when I was playing a 1900 in the last round, I felt I deserved a win in the final game. Oh, Caissa! Oh, Karma? My opponent allowed me to win a pawn on move 4. He had played this rather sheepishly, and I didn't suspect a thing. I abstractly felt karma was rewarding me for my earlier efforts.



White to win after 4....Nxe4??

I'm told Karpov once allowed 5.Qa4+ in this position..... no comfort after a tough chess day, even if true. Caissa has a healthy sense of humor. Har har!