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4th August 2006
The horror, the horror!
Oh dear. I have just accidentaly seen some words of praise about this magnificent website among searchforbobby1's fingernotes on ICC, and while he is obviously being ironic, it nevertheless made me grip the keyboard and laboriously grind through today's entry, so that Magnum's virtual home doesn't look so completely consigned to oblivion.
Well, not that you're going to see any breakthrough here, nor revamping, and not even a great deal of gossip. And I gave up on updating the line-up section, the link will now direct you to the teamchess webpage instead, so you may just as well forget clicking there. So much for improvements, hm.
As to the bizzare game of chess, our little webpage somehow managed to skip T30, not entirely without a reason, because none of our teams won, although in one or two sections my teammates were very close. Not in my section though, where we duly collapsed at the group stage, with some baffling losses on my board. Now it's T31 and my T30 losses somehow ceased to baffle me so much, as having lost four games in a row only now have I come to understand the true meaning of "bad game". Needless to say we're out of playoffs. However, by some stroke of luck, MI in u1600 and MIu1300A didn't have me on the team and so managed to advance to playoffs. They have a good chance of going further, because they still don't have me playing for them. So we'll see what happens.
Ah, and if you are confused what "the horror" has to do with this entry, I hereby assure you there is no secret plot agenda about it. Just bear it bravely while for next time I promise to write the title only after I've written the text.
4th January 2006
T29
I have a couple lazy hours at the onset of 2006, so a few words on how T29 is developing. Round 2 is nearly over so the first cards are already on the table, and thus:
The top section, apparently bent on putting an end to Magnum's reign of terror, seems indeed to be putting them under some pressure, with 2:2 in the first round and 1.5:1.5 in the second, the match to be decided tomorrow on board 4.
Magnum U2000 is facing disaster after 2 heavy losses, which left us trailing behind and awkwardly holding the red lantern at the end of the stack. So before round 3, Jose (the captain) promptly panicked and reassembled the roster almost completely to still have a shot at playoffs (now he wants me to win all the remaining games, which - considering I missed a free rook in the last one - may be tricky).It's not looking great either in U1800 section, with only half a match point after two matches, but both were very close and it's hard to make predictions there yet.
On the bright side, in the U1600 section Magnum seems unstoppable, having devastated the opponents 4:0 in the first round and leading 2:0 in the second. To boot, the other Magnum in that section, MI U1600 - T28 champions, share 1st place with 1.5 match points in another group.
As for the two MIs in U1300, life is hard there too, but not for the Magnum with that difficult latin nickname, who lead the pack with the impressive 7/8 game points. The MI U1300A crashed hard into Chess Crashers in the first round, but fought back in the second with a 3:1 win.
8th December 2005
Double trophy for Magnum in T28
Sorry for not keeping the news up to date, but better very late than too late. So, the last tournament ended with another title for MI U2200, who couldn't resist and won the league again. I'm not aware of the team considering giving odds to the competition in 29, so the outcome of T29 in that section seems already decided. Oh well. The kibitzers and wisperers who are into suspense and excitement shouldn't lose heart though, as there are a few lower sections left with the winners yet to be determined. But back to the T28 for the last time: after MI U2200 quickly clinched the title in just 6 rounds of play, MI U1600 followed suit, and please note that they had to defeat more crown-hungry opponents on the way to the top. Which they did, brilliantly overpowering the opposition in the quarterfinal and the final match, to finally bask in the well deserved glory. Not for long though, as T29 is already curiously peeking from above the horizon, and the heavy wheel of league chess is about to start rolling again, bound on grinding down hopes and ambitions, etc..
On a more down-to-earth note, as the keeper of this page belongs to the category of somewhat lazy keepers, no update will probably happen in at least a month, so I'm taking this opportunity to wish you lots of good stuff in the incoming new year.
25th September 2005
T28
So, MI U2200 won the title again and MI U2000 missed it narrowly, but all that is history now, as T28 has started rolling and new laurels await. At this very moment round 2 is in full swing, and Quoyle's just uncorked such a powerful piece sac against MSStateBulldog as to get the opponent disconnected. I've unfortunately had to miss out on most of the fray lately, so if you happen to have any bloodcurdling reports on MI games, please send them in for me to post.
15th August 2005
Yes, MI U2200 wins again
The indomitable MI U2200 has just secured the second championship title in a row, albeit not without a fight. With one game to go, MI U2200 leads 3:0 against Young&Old A Team. Easy as it may look the opposition has proved tough and a tiebreak match was needed - the first four games in the final all ended in a draw, the last one being a cause of some apprehension, but hattrick eventually managed to set up a fortress in a knight ending down a pawn. In the tiebreak Magnum lashed out ruthlessly on all lower boards (for a sample see phoenix10q72's queen sac; or hattrick's queen sac for that matter) taking all excitement away from Quoyle in his last incoming game. Click here to check out the games in the tiebreak match (click on the result to view the respective game).
MI U2000 has also made it to the final and the score before the last game is 1.5:1.5. All eyes are now on CraigCKlein.
Both remaining games in U2200 and U2000 sections are to be played 15th August.
July 2005
Lo and behold!
The website is up and running at last. As the author has practically had no previous experience with html tags and other such mystic symbols, your feedback on the layout, content etc. will be especially appreciated.
T27 under way
All members are hereby requested to win their T26 games. Brilliant sacrifices preferred, but not obligatory. Panache should suffice.
back in May 2005
Magnum Ignotum Wins the League!
Again!
T27 witnesses double trophy for Magnum Ignotum in the U1800 section and the most prestigious U2200 section! Ha!
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