From: Odd Vidar Bakkejord IFI UIO NO> Date: 23 oct 1997 Subject: The Sweden-Norway games (Why Norway actually won) Our dearest Dr. Martin Danerud proudly reports victory for the Swedish Team! In due ethical scope I confirm that the Swedish team humbly won to the Norwegian Viking battle troopers... We sent in our people with a lot of high spirits, and we met some top level Swedish chess Masters (IM's) and so forth. Our Norwegian team had some top quality amateur professionals. Due to the lack of practical tournament and matching experiences we lost. BUT! Many of the games we lost we actually won! How do I explain that? Well we often had the upper hand in most games, and the Swedes only survived preying on our lack of experience, and their international routine. The Swedes had players of top chess strength and Go strength, and even had been in high numbers in The last European Championship. Of my 4 games, I actually won 3, even against Danerud, his attack was pushed back of my defensive forces fighting real tenacious and logically pushing off the Swedish Master with all respect to his high grading. That my technical result was 0-4, was an accident of the force majeure category, its the hard way of life in which we develope and envelope! out skills, strenghts and duties. As a Viking one does'nt give up fighting at all, and even when you loose, you never admit it, still trying to knock down your opponent, while yourself is on the bottom of the road spitting and spurting out sacrificial bloodsheds so the Swedes should just watch themselves for boasting too much of this victory, because we will aim at every future chance to make the Swedes lokk better on the Norwegian Victory Charts! Also we enjoyed the downtown life of Gothenburg very much, with all the blond female Gold Generals of beauty and delight. We may say we conquered the town, and what is a few training games compared to that? We came, we fought and we paid our prize! Odd Vidar Bakkejord, President of the Norwegian Shogi