The DVM U12 in Naumburg
(rh) A lot has happened in the last few weeks. The DVM U12 took place in Naumburg and I was able to be there for the first time and experience the competitive atmosphere. On Friday, however, I was still in Munich. Children were gathered at the neighbourhood meeting point, and the children’s radio Moosach, in the person of the actor Sven Hussock, was our guest too. Here is the link to the result - podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6OCnKFn8Fv4AuB2QNnXP9n
Thanks to the live broadcast on the German Chess Youth’s website, we were able to watch the games. Lukas had unexpectedly lost against Simon Koberstein from the other Bavarian team from Postbauer-Heng. Vroni and David won their games. Moritz’s position was on a knife’s edge; we were almost there live, the moves were transmitted with a quarter of an hour’s delay. He had given up the exchange for the initiative and passed pawns. In the key position he did not find the direct winning move; instead he lost a decisive tempo and thus the game. The start was therefore somewhat unsuccessful. In the second round against Werder Bremen things did not go smoothly for Lukas and Vroni, they lost. We set off on Friday morning with Maxim and his mother and followed the games. When we arrived, Vroni and Moritz were still sitting in the already almost empty hall. Vroni resigned only before our eyes, Moritz was a pawn up in a complicated position but could not convert this advantage. So the team took its first defeat. In the third round in the afternoon, Maxim was able to play against Erftstadt on board 4. His nervousness was visible from the spectator stands, his gestures in the opening phase betrayed that something was amiss. Even from afar one could see that the queen was probably lost through a discovered attack. The game seemed surely lost. The opponent did not make it easy for him and gave back his advantage piece by piece. Hope arose, but the queen was on hand with several double attacks and decided the game for the opposing team. Vroni and David took the points, Lukas fought on the first board in a worse position and his opponent offered a draw. Without thinking he accepted it. The team managed, with great difficulty, its first win. Whom would we meet tomorrow? It was Fritzdorf. Maxim delivered a brilliant game with an exchange sacrifice for passed pawns. David and Vroni won, Lukas had not yet arrived in the tournament and lost again.
So the botched start was slowly forgotten; the next match would be decisive. Staßfurt was our next opponent. On the first two boards they were staffed with the Haubold brothers, whom we had got to know on lichess at various tournaments. We reckoned we had chances if one of our top boards took at least half a point. It was not our tournament, because we managed this with Lukas, but Vroni unfortunately faltered. Maxim delivered his second win in his third game. So the leading places had moved into unreachable distance. I had tipped Oberschöneweide as the next opponent, and so it came to pass. At last year’s U10 DVM in Magdeburg we were able to beat them 3-1. This time they took revenge and dealt us our heaviest defeat in the tournament with the same result. Vroni shone in her game and brought in the first and last point, but not so the boys. We learned this already on the journey home, since Moritz played for Maxim. We would of course have liked to see a placing among the top 10, but with 11th place we were satisfied too, since this DVM was merely the dress rehearsal for our own between Christmas and New Year.