St. Louis Tournament 2007
AAR – 10th Annual St. Louis Tournament – July 2007
Earlier in the year, Mark DeVries talked me into going down to Missouri with him in order to attend the St. Louis Tournament. Not having anything else scheduled that weekend and said I’d go. Unfortunately things didn’t work out for Mark and he couldn’t go down – but Jeff DeYoung could so Jeff and I drove down on Friday to spend the weekend playing ASL.
This was my first time down for this tourney and found out that it’s quite a drive down there. About 9 hours with breaks. Fortunately Jeff is a great passenger and, although long, the drive really wasn’t too bad. Getting into St. Louis was another issue. We tried coming in from the East but there was too much over-stacking on the bridge hex and we bounced out and took a bypass around the north side of the city to sneak in from the west. We made it there about 30 minutes before the official start time of 5:00pm due to the time change between Michigan and Missouri.
The St. Louis tourney is very similar to the Chicago Open (see my previous blog) with the only exceptions being that it is a 5 round tournament and the first round is not structured; you find your own opponent as soon as you get there. This actually works well since it means that some of the players can get there early and pair up instead of waiting for their opponent to show up. I think Jim Burris (the TD) does seed everyone for the tournament software – but that initial seeding doesn’t affect the 1st round pairings.
Friday July 27 – The beginning
Jeff and I check in the pretty decent hotel and pick up the tournament scenario pack/rules and T-shirt. Love the shirt. It has the St. Louis ASL club logo on the front – but the real catch is the back. A single panel drawing copied from Bill Mauldin’s book Up-Front. My Dad gave me an original printing of the book decades ago and I’ve always loved it.
Right after I check in I run into Doug Kirk (St. Louis, MO). He’s looking for a game and we’ve never played so I’m game. Doug placed 2nd last year and two years prior to that and has also done well at the Chicago Open so I’m looking forward to a strong game. We pick CH149 Final Embrace. Rolling for sides I get the British (who have to attack against a strong German force anchored by two Panthers) and Doug is the Germans. In a nutshell, Doug was able to stop me cold. Nothing I tried really worked (although I did get a Panther with a bounding fire shot with APDS) and everything he tried did work. That included a HIP flamethrower/838 ambush that I walked into leaving me minus a 9-2 and company deleted from my plans on turn two. The general consensus on the floor (there were 5+ playings of it) seemed to be that this was a tough one for the British and I agree. Regardless, I really enjoyed the game and Doug was a classy opponent. Doug will go on to earn a 3-2 record and place right ahead of me in 10th. End of round one and I’m 0–1.
Saturday April 14 – Success at last
Round Two
Saturday morning finds me seeded 18th out of 29 and matched up against … (drum-roll) Jeff DeYoung (Grand Rapids, MI). Yes, we drove 9 hours to play each other!! He also had lost his first round (against Bob Bendis who will go undefeated to win the Tourney) and the pairings matched us up. Well, this is actually a good thing. We’ve never played each other even though we’ve known each other for years and I’ve even been to his house to play ASL – just not against him. We’re both looking forward to the game and get a bit of a laugh out of it. We sit down and select HP31 Operation Eisbar, roll for sides (I get the Brits) and start to play. This scenario finds an elite German infantry force attempting to push through some British light infantry (elites) reinforced by two AA guns and a heavy mortar. The brits also get a ‘rat-patrol’ style reinforcement in the shape of a 2-4-8 half squad and 9-1 leader on an aamg armed jeep. He either has to exit 10EVP or destroy all the AA/MTR ordnance. I set up an AA gun and Mortar on a 2nd level hill and run the last AA gun toward the back in a reverse slope position. On my first WP shot with the Mortar it box-cars out. A turn later it will be eliminated on the repair attempt but that is about the only thing that goes wrong for me. Jeff manages to turn several of my MC’s on him into damage as he rolls several 12’s on the MC’s and my mortar crew stoutly defends the end of a gully with their pistols breaking his lead assault group when a good IFT roll and bad MC rolls for Jeff leave the stack broken and shattered. While Jeff makes a great recovery and (after realizing the exit VC is not reasonable) makes a strong push over the hill and towards the last AA gun. A fortunate rally of a DM broken half-squad that adds a hero to my OoB suddenly anchors a crumbling center and Jeff falls just a hex short of taking out the AA gun. My first win of the tourney and a great game with a fellow Michigander. Jeff will go on to end with a 2 – 3 record and place 20th. End of round two and I’m 1–1.
Round Three
With my win in round two I move up 4 places in the seeding to 14th. This round finds me paired with another local and fellow 1-1 record holder Dale Holmstrom (St. Louis, MO). I played Dale’s brother (Bob) last year in Chicago and lost to him, but have never played Dale and don’t really know anything about his playing style. We pick FrF16 Last Orders and dice for sides. I’ll get the defending Germans in this rather small scenario with variable victory conditions. This scenario favors the Russians and the tourney list has it recommended being played with the German balance of adding a Psk to the OoB. Dale will command 3 T-34/85’s, a SU-85, and 5 elite squads with a FT and LMG led by a 8-1. I’m defending with two PzJg Tigers and a captured T-35 ‘land-battleship”. The T-35 isn’t much worth against the T-35/SU-85 – but with a plethora of MG’s and a 75mm howitzer can keep the Russian infantry off of the Pz Jg Tigers. A card draw gives me the VC of killing 28CVP. I’m not real thrilled about that because that means I have to take out all the T-34’s and the SU-85 (and their crews) or almost all the infantry and three of the tanks. Dale enters with the lead T-34’s and finds out that the PzJg Tiger can’t be penetrated from the front when I move toward him and zero in on the lead T-34. Soon the Tiger and a fortunate PF hit from a conscript squad have taken out the 3 T-34’s – although the Tiger will be taken out in close combat. That leaves the SU-85. I run the T-35 into the SU-85’s hex to prevent him from firing out (without this the SU-85 would have a side shot on the PzJg Tiger as I cross a bridge) and then roll up two hexes away with the 2nd JgPz Tiger and finish off the SU. Game over as none of the crews survived the elimination of the tanks. Good game but I had good fortune with To Hit’s and the maneuver game. Dale will go on to a 2-3 record and place 21st. I’m now 2-1.
Round Four
The middle of the seeding is tightly packed and the win only moves me up one position to 13th. The final round of the day finds me paired up with Rich Domovic from Chicago. Rich is one of the well known tournament participants and I’ve seen him at the Chicago Open and ASLOK but have never played him. Everyone speaks will of him and I’m really looking forward to this game. He placed 17th out of 56 this year at Chicago with a 4-3 record so he clearly has the playing chops for a great game. We pick Morning Traffic. My Germans have to cross a set of bridges and cross a board to capture 3 buildings or 4 buildings if I lose my 4 tanks. The French have a fairly robust force of 9 1st line infantry squads led by a 9-1 and 8-0 with an infantry gun, MMG, ATR and a couple of LMG’s. Supporting them are 5 FT tanks of various models. This scenario just didn’t click in for me. While I got across the bridge on the first turn I took a lot of casualties. A cmg shot from a FT-17 shattered a whole stack of mine right off the top. Later the 75mm armed FT-17 critical hits my one smoke generating MkIVC. Meanwhile I contribute by doing a “Jeff DeYoung” and throw enough Fate MC’s to eliminate the equivalent of three of my 13 squads. I finally get enough troops across a grain field and attack the buildings – but without the smoke from the Mk IV I can’t suppress the 9-1 lead mmg until the very end of the game and after 6 turns of chipping away at my troops – I only have a few ½ squads at the end and not near enough to push him out of the buildings. Enjoyed the game – but a bit frustrated as nothing was really working for me. Rich goes on to a 3-2 record and a 9th place finish. I’m even at 2-2. After the game Rich brings down some Rum and Coke and we have a drink while David Goldman is looking at a scenario called Road Kill. He has it set up and believes that it’s almost impossible for the US to win. Doug Kirk comes by and thinks just the opposite – and he’s played it before and explains why. Interesting discussion which will come into play for me tomorrow.
Sunday July 29 – Final Round
Round Five
Sunday morning finds my loss sending me back to 18th. This will be the day that determines if I leave with a winning record or not. I’m paired up with Shawn Ettleman (Columbia, MO). Shawn placed 3rd last year so this will be a tough game. We pick Road Kill from the East Side Gamers pack. As we roll for sides I recall the discussions from last night about how this is tough for the Germans. Shawn has also played this before and won as the US – but I still wanted to play it as it looked fun and we could finish it at a decent time for me to get home. I end up with the Germans off the dice roll. Hmmm…not really what I wanted as I think this will be a steep climb. This scenario features a weak German force defending a town against a superior US force of elite and 1st line infantry with a lot of armor. The US wins by essentially destroying all the Germans and the village. I play a fairly up-front defense thinking that his relatively low morale may give my 2, 4, & 6 point down 2 shots a decent chance of slowing him up (he only has 6 turns to defeat me). I get some help from a hot AA gun on a hill outside of the village that ends up destroying two halftracks (including his M3 (MMG)) and the accompanying 2 squads. A companion mortar does nothing – missing its first shot and then the crew breaking on a cheesy 1 +2 shot. A duo of PzAII manage to only hit once out of about 8 shots – and that was against a lonely ½ squad before their taken out by a Bazooka shot and a BFF M8 HMG HEAT shot. My Marder does play tag with his M24 manned by a 10-2 AL and escapes that to kill the other M24 on an intensive fire shot – but he too will fall eventually to the 10-2. Meanwhile I’m focusing on breaking, pinning, and slowing up the US infantry while desperately trying to keep my infantry away from the massive US firepower the 6-6-6’s and 6-6-7’s can put out. I lose 2-3 squads as I withdraw but still have about 7 left by turn 4 (although my lone MMG broke and then eliminated itself early on).
During our turn three I glance around to the game behind me. It is Bob Bendis and Doug Bennett playing for the championship – they also have selected Road Kill. They are a turn behind us, but Bob’s Americans are already where Shawn’s forces are currently. Noting that I’m feeling a bit better as apparently my delay tactics are working better then Doug’s. By turn 5 I have no armor left and Shawn has flooded the town with his remaining armor and troops. I’m just about ready to concede as this looks like it can only be won by me rolling snakes and Shawn rolling box-cars a bunch of times; but I still have units where I need them to be. By the end of turn 6 he has whittled me down to about 5 locations which he has basically surround and, in many places has me in vehicle by-pass freeze/CC. By the end of his turn 6 Advance Phase I’m left with only 4 low odds chances of winning: 1) a 7-0 leader and 447 squad is in a victory building in CC with a 9-1 ldr, 667 squad and in-motion halftrack, 2) a broken conscript half squad in a steeple location that would have to self rally with a snake-eyes and then survive defensive fire, 3) a 9-1 leader, 447lmg squad that is encircled in the upper level of a two-story single hex house, and finally 4) the crew of a MMG that started outside the village who is one move away from a victory building – but would have to run through a least two US half-squad shots at him in open ground.
Meanwhile, Bob Bendis has handily defeated Doug Bennett’s Germans on turn 5.
By now a small crowd has gathered around our game since we were playing the same one as the champion match and my defending Germans are still in play.
USA CC Phase. I’m struck by an inspiration. Looking at the board I realize that if I can withdraw form the one melee I’m in – I can withdraw into a location he can’t shoot at and then advance into a VC location after his defensive fire for a win regardless of the other three options. I declare the squad to withdraw from the melee with the 7-0 leader as covering unit. I won’t get to attack Shawn’s units with the squad – but that doesn’t matter if the withdrawal is successful. With my covering unit (the sacrificial 7-0 leader) he needs a 7 or less to eliminate my squad as it withdraws (an 8 will only half-squad it and the half-squad would still win for me).
I really haven’t had a great roll all weekend. No critical hits or leader creations and only 1 hero in 5 games. Shawn has rolled low enough and often enough in this game so many times that my sniper was active enough to totally eliminate his sniper! I’m hoping all my luck has been saved up for this moment.
He rolls an 11. I withdraw into an adjacent location that no one has LOS to (his melee units are still in melee with the leader and can’t shoot out) and he resigns. I’m stunned as I thought this game was lost two turns ago and none of my last 4 options seemed very viable. Teaches the lesson to never give up in this game. I end with a victory and a great game from a very skilled opponent. Shawn will place 16th with a 2-3 record while I’ll end the weekend 3-2 and place a respectable 11th.
Last Thoughts
Well, the unexpected win in round five really capped off a great weekend over all. Doug and I actually shared the same number of tourney points (with 36 each), but his win over me gave him the 10th spot and me the 11th. Regardless, I feel I did stronger in this tourney then in Chicago and placing in the upper 40% reflects that. All my opponents were first rate gentlemen and a joy to game against. The trip down to St. Louis, while uneventful, is a long travel and Jeff and I discussed what the feasibility of doing this year after year is. Maybe catching Amtrack down or even flying down would be more viable. It is right on the end range of how far I want to drive for events like this. Regardless, I was much happier with my level of play here then in Chicago as my wins were solid played games and my losses were against the two gentlemen who placed in the 9th and 10th spots ahead of me.
Earlier in the year, Mark DeVries talked me into going down to Missouri with him in order to attend the St. Louis Tournament. Not having anything else scheduled that weekend and said I’d go. Unfortunately things didn’t work out for Mark and he couldn’t go down – but Jeff DeYoung could so Jeff and I drove down on Friday to spend the weekend playing ASL.
This was my first time down for this tourney and found out that it’s quite a drive down there. About 9 hours with breaks. Fortunately Jeff is a great passenger and, although long, the drive really wasn’t too bad. Getting into St. Louis was another issue. We tried coming in from the East but there was too much over-stacking on the bridge hex and we bounced out and took a bypass around the north side of the city to sneak in from the west. We made it there about 30 minutes before the official start time of 5:00pm due to the time change between Michigan and Missouri.
The St. Louis tourney is very similar to the Chicago Open (see my previous blog) with the only exceptions being that it is a 5 round tournament and the first round is not structured; you find your own opponent as soon as you get there. This actually works well since it means that some of the players can get there early and pair up instead of waiting for their opponent to show up. I think Jim Burris (the TD) does seed everyone for the tournament software – but that initial seeding doesn’t affect the 1st round pairings.
Friday July 27 – The beginning
Jeff and I check in the pretty decent hotel and pick up the tournament scenario pack/rules and T-shirt. Love the shirt. It has the St. Louis ASL club logo on the front – but the real catch is the back. A single panel drawing copied from Bill Mauldin’s book Up-Front. My Dad gave me an original printing of the book decades ago and I’ve always loved it.
Right after I check in I run into Doug Kirk (St. Louis, MO). He’s looking for a game and we’ve never played so I’m game. Doug placed 2nd last year and two years prior to that and has also done well at the Chicago Open so I’m looking forward to a strong game. We pick CH149 Final Embrace. Rolling for sides I get the British (who have to attack against a strong German force anchored by two Panthers) and Doug is the Germans. In a nutshell, Doug was able to stop me cold. Nothing I tried really worked (although I did get a Panther with a bounding fire shot with APDS) and everything he tried did work. That included a HIP flamethrower/838 ambush that I walked into leaving me minus a 9-2 and company deleted from my plans on turn two. The general consensus on the floor (there were 5+ playings of it) seemed to be that this was a tough one for the British and I agree. Regardless, I really enjoyed the game and Doug was a classy opponent. Doug will go on to earn a 3-2 record and place right ahead of me in 10th. End of round one and I’m 0–1.
Saturday April 14 – Success at last
Round Two
Saturday morning finds me seeded 18th out of 29 and matched up against … (drum-roll) Jeff DeYoung (Grand Rapids, MI). Yes, we drove 9 hours to play each other!! He also had lost his first round (against Bob Bendis who will go undefeated to win the Tourney) and the pairings matched us up. Well, this is actually a good thing. We’ve never played each other even though we’ve known each other for years and I’ve even been to his house to play ASL – just not against him. We’re both looking forward to the game and get a bit of a laugh out of it. We sit down and select HP31 Operation Eisbar, roll for sides (I get the Brits) and start to play. This scenario finds an elite German infantry force attempting to push through some British light infantry (elites) reinforced by two AA guns and a heavy mortar. The brits also get a ‘rat-patrol’ style reinforcement in the shape of a 2-4-8 half squad and 9-1 leader on an aamg armed jeep. He either has to exit 10EVP or destroy all the AA/MTR ordnance. I set up an AA gun and Mortar on a 2nd level hill and run the last AA gun toward the back in a reverse slope position. On my first WP shot with the Mortar it box-cars out. A turn later it will be eliminated on the repair attempt but that is about the only thing that goes wrong for me. Jeff manages to turn several of my MC’s on him into damage as he rolls several 12’s on the MC’s and my mortar crew stoutly defends the end of a gully with their pistols breaking his lead assault group when a good IFT roll and bad MC rolls for Jeff leave the stack broken and shattered. While Jeff makes a great recovery and (after realizing the exit VC is not reasonable) makes a strong push over the hill and towards the last AA gun. A fortunate rally of a DM broken half-squad that adds a hero to my OoB suddenly anchors a crumbling center and Jeff falls just a hex short of taking out the AA gun. My first win of the tourney and a great game with a fellow Michigander. Jeff will go on to end with a 2 – 3 record and place 20th. End of round two and I’m 1–1.
Round Three
With my win in round two I move up 4 places in the seeding to 14th. This round finds me paired with another local and fellow 1-1 record holder Dale Holmstrom (St. Louis, MO). I played Dale’s brother (Bob) last year in Chicago and lost to him, but have never played Dale and don’t really know anything about his playing style. We pick FrF16 Last Orders and dice for sides. I’ll get the defending Germans in this rather small scenario with variable victory conditions. This scenario favors the Russians and the tourney list has it recommended being played with the German balance of adding a Psk to the OoB. Dale will command 3 T-34/85’s, a SU-85, and 5 elite squads with a FT and LMG led by a 8-1. I’m defending with two PzJg Tigers and a captured T-35 ‘land-battleship”. The T-35 isn’t much worth against the T-35/SU-85 – but with a plethora of MG’s and a 75mm howitzer can keep the Russian infantry off of the Pz Jg Tigers. A card draw gives me the VC of killing 28CVP. I’m not real thrilled about that because that means I have to take out all the T-34’s and the SU-85 (and their crews) or almost all the infantry and three of the tanks. Dale enters with the lead T-34’s and finds out that the PzJg Tiger can’t be penetrated from the front when I move toward him and zero in on the lead T-34. Soon the Tiger and a fortunate PF hit from a conscript squad have taken out the 3 T-34’s – although the Tiger will be taken out in close combat. That leaves the SU-85. I run the T-35 into the SU-85’s hex to prevent him from firing out (without this the SU-85 would have a side shot on the PzJg Tiger as I cross a bridge) and then roll up two hexes away with the 2nd JgPz Tiger and finish off the SU. Game over as none of the crews survived the elimination of the tanks. Good game but I had good fortune with To Hit’s and the maneuver game. Dale will go on to a 2-3 record and place 21st. I’m now 2-1.
Round Four
The middle of the seeding is tightly packed and the win only moves me up one position to 13th. The final round of the day finds me paired up with Rich Domovic from Chicago. Rich is one of the well known tournament participants and I’ve seen him at the Chicago Open and ASLOK but have never played him. Everyone speaks will of him and I’m really looking forward to this game. He placed 17th out of 56 this year at Chicago with a 4-3 record so he clearly has the playing chops for a great game. We pick Morning Traffic. My Germans have to cross a set of bridges and cross a board to capture 3 buildings or 4 buildings if I lose my 4 tanks. The French have a fairly robust force of 9 1st line infantry squads led by a 9-1 and 8-0 with an infantry gun, MMG, ATR and a couple of LMG’s. Supporting them are 5 FT tanks of various models. This scenario just didn’t click in for me. While I got across the bridge on the first turn I took a lot of casualties. A cmg shot from a FT-17 shattered a whole stack of mine right off the top. Later the 75mm armed FT-17 critical hits my one smoke generating MkIVC. Meanwhile I contribute by doing a “Jeff DeYoung” and throw enough Fate MC’s to eliminate the equivalent of three of my 13 squads. I finally get enough troops across a grain field and attack the buildings – but without the smoke from the Mk IV I can’t suppress the 9-1 lead mmg until the very end of the game and after 6 turns of chipping away at my troops – I only have a few ½ squads at the end and not near enough to push him out of the buildings. Enjoyed the game – but a bit frustrated as nothing was really working for me. Rich goes on to a 3-2 record and a 9th place finish. I’m even at 2-2. After the game Rich brings down some Rum and Coke and we have a drink while David Goldman is looking at a scenario called Road Kill. He has it set up and believes that it’s almost impossible for the US to win. Doug Kirk comes by and thinks just the opposite – and he’s played it before and explains why. Interesting discussion which will come into play for me tomorrow.
Sunday July 29 – Final Round
Round Five
Sunday morning finds my loss sending me back to 18th. This will be the day that determines if I leave with a winning record or not. I’m paired up with Shawn Ettleman (Columbia, MO). Shawn placed 3rd last year so this will be a tough game. We pick Road Kill from the East Side Gamers pack. As we roll for sides I recall the discussions from last night about how this is tough for the Germans. Shawn has also played this before and won as the US – but I still wanted to play it as it looked fun and we could finish it at a decent time for me to get home. I end up with the Germans off the dice roll. Hmmm…not really what I wanted as I think this will be a steep climb. This scenario features a weak German force defending a town against a superior US force of elite and 1st line infantry with a lot of armor. The US wins by essentially destroying all the Germans and the village. I play a fairly up-front defense thinking that his relatively low morale may give my 2, 4, & 6 point down 2 shots a decent chance of slowing him up (he only has 6 turns to defeat me). I get some help from a hot AA gun on a hill outside of the village that ends up destroying two halftracks (including his M3 (MMG)) and the accompanying 2 squads. A companion mortar does nothing – missing its first shot and then the crew breaking on a cheesy 1 +2 shot. A duo of PzAII manage to only hit once out of about 8 shots – and that was against a lonely ½ squad before their taken out by a Bazooka shot and a BFF M8 HMG HEAT shot. My Marder does play tag with his M24 manned by a 10-2 AL and escapes that to kill the other M24 on an intensive fire shot – but he too will fall eventually to the 10-2. Meanwhile I’m focusing on breaking, pinning, and slowing up the US infantry while desperately trying to keep my infantry away from the massive US firepower the 6-6-6’s and 6-6-7’s can put out. I lose 2-3 squads as I withdraw but still have about 7 left by turn 4 (although my lone MMG broke and then eliminated itself early on).
During our turn three I glance around to the game behind me. It is Bob Bendis and Doug Bennett playing for the championship – they also have selected Road Kill. They are a turn behind us, but Bob’s Americans are already where Shawn’s forces are currently. Noting that I’m feeling a bit better as apparently my delay tactics are working better then Doug’s. By turn 5 I have no armor left and Shawn has flooded the town with his remaining armor and troops. I’m just about ready to concede as this looks like it can only be won by me rolling snakes and Shawn rolling box-cars a bunch of times; but I still have units where I need them to be. By the end of turn 6 he has whittled me down to about 5 locations which he has basically surround and, in many places has me in vehicle by-pass freeze/CC. By the end of his turn 6 Advance Phase I’m left with only 4 low odds chances of winning: 1) a 7-0 leader and 447 squad is in a victory building in CC with a 9-1 ldr, 667 squad and in-motion halftrack, 2) a broken conscript half squad in a steeple location that would have to self rally with a snake-eyes and then survive defensive fire, 3) a 9-1 leader, 447lmg squad that is encircled in the upper level of a two-story single hex house, and finally 4) the crew of a MMG that started outside the village who is one move away from a victory building – but would have to run through a least two US half-squad shots at him in open ground.
Meanwhile, Bob Bendis has handily defeated Doug Bennett’s Germans on turn 5.
By now a small crowd has gathered around our game since we were playing the same one as the champion match and my defending Germans are still in play.
USA CC Phase. I’m struck by an inspiration. Looking at the board I realize that if I can withdraw form the one melee I’m in – I can withdraw into a location he can’t shoot at and then advance into a VC location after his defensive fire for a win regardless of the other three options. I declare the squad to withdraw from the melee with the 7-0 leader as covering unit. I won’t get to attack Shawn’s units with the squad – but that doesn’t matter if the withdrawal is successful. With my covering unit (the sacrificial 7-0 leader) he needs a 7 or less to eliminate my squad as it withdraws (an 8 will only half-squad it and the half-squad would still win for me).
I really haven’t had a great roll all weekend. No critical hits or leader creations and only 1 hero in 5 games. Shawn has rolled low enough and often enough in this game so many times that my sniper was active enough to totally eliminate his sniper! I’m hoping all my luck has been saved up for this moment.
He rolls an 11. I withdraw into an adjacent location that no one has LOS to (his melee units are still in melee with the leader and can’t shoot out) and he resigns. I’m stunned as I thought this game was lost two turns ago and none of my last 4 options seemed very viable. Teaches the lesson to never give up in this game. I end with a victory and a great game from a very skilled opponent. Shawn will place 16th with a 2-3 record while I’ll end the weekend 3-2 and place a respectable 11th.
Last Thoughts
Well, the unexpected win in round five really capped off a great weekend over all. Doug and I actually shared the same number of tourney points (with 36 each), but his win over me gave him the 10th spot and me the 11th. Regardless, I feel I did stronger in this tourney then in Chicago and placing in the upper 40% reflects that. All my opponents were first rate gentlemen and a joy to game against. The trip down to St. Louis, while uneventful, is a long travel and Jeff and I discussed what the feasibility of doing this year after year is. Maybe catching Amtrack down or even flying down would be more viable. It is right on the end range of how far I want to drive for events like this. Regardless, I was much happier with my level of play here then in Chicago as my wins were solid played games and my losses were against the two gentlemen who placed in the 9th and 10th spots ahead of me.
posted by asler @ 8:17 PM
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