Seldom has this phrase felt more comfortable in my mind than when I reflect on how my Danish Team, Brönshöj Skakförening, won the Danish Elite Division (Xtra-con ligaen) last weekend. In the end it came down to a half point difference between us and the runner up, but it was not clear who would win until the last moment.
Before the last round we were half a point behind Skanderborg, the team we were to play and who beat us in a similar situation last year. We had to score 4½-3½ and we did. So how come we won? Due to a detail here and a detail there? Luck? Because of outstanding personal performances? Well, partly yes on all three counts, but most of all because we could rely on one another. In my case that meant that I did not play for a win with Black against Mads Andersen like a complete idiot (like I did last year), but rather kept the game going, trying to figure how the other games went. After an early draw on board 5, we were the first team to get a whole point:
A little later I accepted a repetition of moves seeing that my team seemed to be doing well all over the line. After four hours we were leading 3-2 with hopes of getting 1½ out of the last games. To be continued…