1973 Greater Philadelphia Invitational Championship (part 6 of 7)

With the possible exception of Round 1 and a little bit of Round 2, all of the previous games were fairly unbalanced and all, without exception, were decisive.

This changed in Round 6 when I got a nice opening advantage against Joe Weber, and could not convert a nice bind. This was a double shame since it was my final white, and I probably needed a win in at least one of the final two games to clinch first. At one point (move 25) I had a chance to win a pawn, but thought Joe could make something of the resultant pin. So did he. If I remember correctly, after the game we analyzed and discovered that we both were incorrect. No matter our findings, 40 years later Houdini 3 says "Take the pawn!" Instead, a series of second best moves on my part led to the dissipation of the advantage and friend Joe was able to hold on for a draw. All in all, a much quieter game than the previous five - not nearly as exciting for the spectators (if we had any)...

So my score was 4.5-1.5 entering the last round. I remember that I had a half point lead so, to ensure outright victory, I needed a win in the final game, with black, against big Boris Baczynskyj. A draw still clinched at least the title of co-champion. However, you've got to give me credit - as you'll find in Part 7, I chose a strategy that would much more likely result in a decisive result. No one would be able to accuse me of playing this one safe !

Previous installments (Part 1 of 7) - (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5)