Norwegian Chess Championship 2010, Video

I am finally finished editing the "Norwegian Chess Championship 2010, Video". This video lasts for 8-9 minutes and shows the Event itself. It was the best I could do with a handheld camera, a cheap computer microphone, terrible combination of white and yellow flouracent lights in the ceiling (a photographers and videomakers worst nightmare) and the fact that I am filming after my own games are finished. But you do get to see the chess, speed chess, analyzing, awards, Gamlebyen i Fredrikstad, up and coming talents and more and what to me is the most important thing... the Atmospehere.

All I can say is this; Enjoy.

Norwegian Chess Championship 2009, Class 5, Game 9

Picture 1, Marianne, my wife
Picture 2, in the Analyzing Room with Vidar, going over our game

Picture 3, Vidar Gjære, my opponent in game 9

GAME 9, the most important game played
My opponent and I spent much time together during the tournament. We analyzed games and talked about chess in general. I knew he liked to play the English Opening as white. The opening that gave me my only defeat in game 3. I also knew that he liked to play the Center Counter Game, also called the Scandinavian Defense as black if white moves e4 on his first move, which I off course do. I also knew that he had a tendency to make one bad mistake during some of his games. Anyway, for me this is the most important game of the tournament. Before this game, Vidar has 2nd place. I have 3rd place. Between us, with a draw, he keeps second place. So I need a victory. We both have 6.0 points. But at the table next to us, table 3, there are the only others with the same amount of points. So, their outcome can very well reflect our standing. I open with e4 and Vidar plays the Scandinavian Defense. Not knowing to much about openings and definately not this one, I am outside the book theory in no time. He attacks my castled position, but one of his moves comes just to sudden, without proper preperation. I stop him and he has no way to penetrate my pawns. After some back and forth moves he gives it one more shot, and sorry to say, he makes a mistake, loosing a whole piece. After that I consolidate and then prepare for my own attack and eventually check mate him after a very good defense on his part. (He ends up in 5th place overall).

0000 Gaute Michel Ferstad, Trondheim, White, 1
0000 Vidar Gjære, (No club), Black, 0

Norwegian Chess Championship 2009, Class 5, Game 8

Picture 1, Vågen - the docks, where a great naval battle happened in 1665
Picture 2, my wife, the photographer
Picture 3, Class 5 player during speed chess

GAME 8, the most unbalanced game
My opponent has won all his games. He wanted to play in Class 4, because I think he felt to good to play in Class 5. But the tournament organizers wanted it differently. He has beaten Niklas Savio which gave me my only defeat so far. And he beat Vidar Gjære in game 7. I have no expectation of winning this game. I have many games ago accepted the fact that this might very likely be a lost game. And I am thinking of everybody that might pass me, gaining a point in a win or a half point in a draw. But I am not going down without a fight. After some moves I am actually at a loss what to do. I do not want to go on the offensive, but I see no defensive developing moves either. He breaks the balance. He threatens my knight and walks away. Without moving my knight, I threaten his queen. He comes back, takes my knight and walks away again. I take his queen. Now, walking away like that could very well have been part of his strategy. Thinking he has left his queen for the taking. But it wasn`t. He told me during our analization that he wanted to make the game unbalanced, which he definately did. Afterwards he attacked relentlessly. I only had my queen while he had three pieces. And he was good. He never let me use my queen at all...until I finally got it into action in the end. That was all that was needed. We ended the game in a draw and I broke his winning streak. By making the game a draw, this half point was all he needed to actually win Class 5, no matter what the outcome of game 9 is. I felt good about my draw. (He ended up in 1st place).

0000 Henning Lohne, Bergen, White, 1/2
0000 Gaute Michel Ferstad, Black, 1/2



On the bottom right hand side, switch the colors so that black is in front of you.

Norwegian Chess Championship 2009, Class 5, Game 5

Picture 1, Bryggen is on the Unesco World Heritage Sites list
Picture 2, the tournament chess store filled with books and videos
Picture 3, I came in nr 4 in the speed chess championship Class 5. Niklas Savio(middle) nr 3 and Vidar Gjære (to the left) nr 5. "The Gang".

Speed Chess
There is always a speed chess tournament one evening during the tournament week. It lasts for some hours and we are all quite tired from our regular game of the day. You have 5 minutes to play your game. You loose by either being check mated by your opponent or playing past your 5 minutes. Our Class 5 where divided into two groups. Everyone plays everyone in the group. Then the best half of both groups play each other. The teenager all the way to the right on picture came in second place. He was breathing so hard during our matches that I almost thought he was having a heart attack. After our games I had to tell him to relax... that it was only a game. It threw my concentration completety off. The person next to him won the Class 5 speed chess tournament. He had this fantastic way of moving the pieces where you just didn`t see him make the move, nor punch down on the clock. You were sitting there waiting for him to make his move... and hey...it was your own clock that was running out of time. I definately need to learn that technique. Speed chess is for fun even though some take it very serious. Having a lot of contact with Niklas Savio in the middle (nr 3) and Vidar Gjære all the way to my left (nr 5), it was great seing us all get a medal. (I ended up in 4th place.)

GAME 5, my best combination
My opponent has one of the highest ratings in Class 5. Our game is not only very even, but almost identical in position. Then he goes for an attack with his queen. I use almost half an hour on my next move. There is no real threat against my position, but I am looking at all angles of play. Then, I finally see a good combination. I counter attack and in the short battle that pursued, he looses a piece. I consolidate and bring home the victory. A few days later I ended up talking to him while we were playing speed chess, and he was still very irritated for having lost this game. (He ended up in 12th place overall).

0000 Gaute Michel Ferstad, Trondheim, White, 1
0966 Thormod Thingstad, Hønefoss, Black, 0