Eliminated

The other day I played my 3rd game in the tournament. At first I was very happy, because I was going to play against my subordinate who actually had never won against anyone. However, he apparently had been doing some studying over the weekend, as he very methodically defeated me. At first I tried my "assassin" strategy to end the game quickly. However, he caught on just before my final move and diverted it. So then I switched to taking control of the center of the board. Which I succeed in doing for a short while. However he was able to force my pieces into retreat, and the next thing I knew he had taken over the center of the board and I was in full defensive mode. Defensive mode is fine as long as you're able to exploit the holes in your opponent's offense. However he somehow had found a way to advance while protecting his pieces. I was able to pick off a knight, a rook and a couple of ponds, but that was all. In the end he was able to corner my king into a check mate. One of the few games I have played where the game lasted awhile, yet hardly any pieces were taken, and the king was check mate.

So, unfortunately while I was able to find a victory in the first game that allowed me to play in the tournament, my success was short lived. Though I will report that both players that defeated me went on to play to the final four. This helped take away the bitterness of my losses.