Summer: Herman

So I handed in the final draft of my thesis, but of course only if my supervisor approves, which I expect he will. Now I have some time to think about what I will be doing next month. It will be necessary for me to find a new job, since my current job will be terminated next week Saturday. The job Steven offered in Haarlem seems interesting, though I will have to make sure that they don’t expect me to go cold calling. There will be some outbound, but I understand this will only be after the potential buyers already have shown interest. One disadvantage is of course that it is one hour travelling by public transport. It should be possible to find something closer to home. But I don’t feel like going through a long job-searching process.

Last Tuesday in our summer draughts competition the turn out was even lower than usual. At half past eight only three players were present. So, I decided to wait and see and hope that there would come a fourth. Luckily, after a 5 minutes wait, Arie turned up. So, we had an even two games. I played against Herman, whom usually is an evenly matched opponent who also takes plenty of risks. Probably even more than I do. After an interesting and very high risk opening Herman didn’t dare to keep his encirclement going, and he forced me to initiate a big exchange. The resulting position was slightly better for me (Herman initially thought it would be better for him, but after the game he changed his mind and said it was equal), and in the following building up of our positions I really gained the upper hand. But a draw game was still the most likely outcome. Then, in a forced attempt to gain control over the centre squares, he made a terrible mistake. I did not have a combination, no. It was much easier. His outpost on 24 could have been easily defended, but he lost sight of it for just one moment. I challenged it and won it. With one piece more I won easily, it looked like he had some compensation, but that was only in appearance. I reality the win could not be given away anymore.