The buzz of expectancy could be felt at Hall 8’s MPC as Othello players gathered and prepared to do battle on the boards.
The different halls were separated into 2 groups, A and B. Hall 4 was drawn into group A which boasted the likes of Hall 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12. Each hall were to have 5 games of othello against another hall and the best of the 5 games would be declared the victor. Finish top 2 and proceed into the semi-finals. In total, a brain-sapping 35 games of othello had to be played by each team.
The Ohmers (led by Lam Ai Jia, consisted of Lam Shao Ming, Wee Kai Fa, Ngoh Chun Rong, Wei Qiang, Kelvin Lim and Long Jiren) were off to a bright start, winning Hall 2, three games to two.
In our second match, we were outmuscled (or outbrained) by Hall 6, five games to none.
Lunchbreak proved to be a timely respite as we responded with victories over Halls 5 (three games to two) and 8 (four games to one).
Hall 9 crushed our hopes of adding on to the streak, beating us five games to none.
We fought back and overcame Hall 12, beating them three games to two.
By then, the Ohmers were already out of the contention of qualifying, as Halls 6 and 9 had confirmed their places in the semi-finals. Still, we were determined to finish the group in the best possible position so we had to win our next fixture, Hall 7. They were in the same position as us, also requiring a victory to finish the group as third.
Drama was abound as our first four players finished their games, tying the score at 2-2. It was down to Shao Ming to help Hall 4 finish third. A bizarre turn of events saw the last game ending in a draw. We were tied with Hall 7 at third place, with 2 wins, 2 losses and a draw in that fixture. Fate smiled upon us when the judges decided to award the game to us, as we had recorded a victory in the first game over Hall 7, thanks to Kai Fa, in no small part.
Ohmers finished the group third, heads held high. Well done, Ohmers!
- Derek
