Sorry it's been so long. I've played in a few Spencer St. tournaments with varying degrees of success since then, but no reports. But this past weekend I played in the 2018 Bottom Half Class, and it was quite interesting. This was all written for Messenger afterwards, not during the tournament, so there is little editing.
2018 Bottom-Half Class:
It's called that because the class sections are usually broken down 2000, 1800, 1600, etc. But this tournament goes 1900, 1700, 1500, etc. There's also usually an open section, and a lot of people from lower sections play up into the open. I'm rated 1885 right now, so I could easily have played up, but my chess hasn't been great as of late, and with all that's been going on with moving, I'm not in too shape. So I played in the 1900 section.
Round 1, opponent rated 1800:
Before I really get started, I should point out this tournament was 115 minutes (1 hour 55 minutes) per side, with a 5 second delay per move, which equates out to about 4 hours per game.
In round 1, I played an opening I don't play much but are coming around to, called the "Catalan". It was slow going, both of us thinking for a long time. I got a decent amount of space and pressure, but was unable to convert it into a serious advantage. My opponent offered a draw on move 19; with less than 15 minutes on my clock (barely enough time for me to draw the game, let alone win), I accepted. I felt good about this game, but alas, only achieved a draw.
0.5/1; there were 4 draws in the first round, and only 3 decisive games, so while I was in the middle of the pack, I was still in striking distance from the top.
Round 2, opponent rated 1601:
My opponent was a younger girl, playing up into a higher sections. A lot of kids do this, as they can tend to play to their opposition, and they play very strong, anyways. As they are quickly improving, their ratings lag behind their strength.
We played an opening I've played many times, so I was very comfortable. She couldn't really remember how to play it, spent a lot of time thinking, and ended up losing a pawn. She had a really interesting move she could have made in response, to maybe get the pawn back or get a good king attack, but she missed it. Later in the middlegame I played a tactic to ruin her pawn structure and trade into a winning endgame, which I easily and quickly won. A solid win, but merely taking advantage of an opponent who couldn't quite figure out her plans.
1.5/2, I was tied for 3rd place at this point, with only 2 players a half-point above.
Round 3, opponent rated about 1880 (2nd highest in the section, after me):
This was a tough game. The was my third and final game on Saturday, starting at about 7:00. Everyone is tired at this point. I played a new opening I've been developing, that doesn't get played much. So I'm pretty much on my own. I managed to succeed in the opening's main point, which is to change an opening I struggle with (the King's Indian Defense or KID) into one that I like a little better (the Pirc), and usually throws the opponent well off their game. I couldn't quite remember how to proceed, but thankfully, neither did my opponent. We set up tension in the center early on, but didn't resolve it for a long time. We traded off both bishops, but just moved pawns, knights, queens, and rooks (and the kings a couple times) for 26 moves (per person!). On move 27 I finally opened the position, and honestly, it might have been a little too early! I missed a tactic that foiled the plan I was going to go with, so opening things up wasn't as advantageous as I had hoped. I had to abandon my plan and come up with a new one. I almost got my rook trapped. My opponent took advantage, and got my queen stuck on the queenside, where my opponent had an advantage. But for one move, they let my queen influence the kingside, not enough for an advantage, but enough to keep me in the game. My opponent pushed and pushed; I had to think for a bit to blunder into checkmate, and lost an exchange. But I started an odd counterattack with just two knights and a rook. I wasn't able to get checkmate, but it was enough to get my exchange back. We both started to get low on time, my opponent made a mistake, missing my mating net with a pawn, a knight, and a rook (which is very rare), and I managed to mate. (To be fair, I probably had a winning advantage even without checkmate). We ended both with less than 5 minutes on our clock at about 11:00, and stayed to analyze the game for a bit. They were turning the lights out as I left!
A long, exhausting game, that started quiet and then suddenly got a bit too exciting. But I managed to pull out the win.
2.5/3, in clear second place, with a game with the leader waiting in the morning.
Round 4, opponent rated 1873 and 1st place in the tournament so far:
This opponent was a bit younger, not as young as the girl earlier, probably in high school. He played a very unorthodox opening, one that I've played against only a few times before. I took my time, and in post-mortem, determined I played it pretty decently. I got minorly bound up, but eventually disentangled myself and traded into an endgame. My opponent offered a draw, as it was an even endgame, but I declined, as the position was still complex, I in fact had a slight advantage, I really enjoy endgames, and I had 45 minutes on my clock, plenty of time to try to tease something out of the position. My opponent defended well, and the position became double-edged, with both of us having chances. I did have a chance I missed that could have given me a serious advantage, and potentially led to a win. I think my opponent got an advantage, but they then opted to play defensively, and with 15 minutes on my clock and no win in sight, I offered a draw and my opponent accepted. I'm not great when low on time, so this was actually a bit of a relief.
An interesting but even game, leading to the expected result, a draw.
3/4, now tied for second, 0.5 behind first. Winning by myself was now impossible, but a share of first was still well within reach. One last game to go.
Round 5, opponent rated 1804:
We played an opening I wasn't quite sure how to deal with, and managed to turn it into an opening I'm familiar with. I was excited for that. And then I made a mistake that I frequent make in this opening, and got my position all bound up. We went into the endgame quickly. I was struggling, and made a dubious pawn sacrifice to try and get back into the game... and my opponent grabbed the wrong piece, letting me get back in the game without losing the pawn. A few moves later, my opponent gave up a pawn, thinking on intuition that they could promote another pawn, but I managed to stop their pawn. I then played a very passive plan to try and go up a second pawn, my opponent got their pieces active, and we drew. I discovered right before the draw, that I had accidentally set my opponent's delay to 15 second instead of 5, giving them an extra 520 seconds over our 52 moves, a little under 9 minutes. My opponent ended with about 15 minutes on their clock, so that might not have mattered, but ugh, that was annoying to find out.
An odd game, starting good, then going bad, benefiting from a mistaken piece touch (if you touch a piece intentionally, you have to move it; even tho my opponent didn't mean to grab the piece, he still grabbed a piece on purpose. If you just brush a piece on accident, you don't have to move it), and being hurt by setting my clock wrong. But a draw all the same.
3.5/5, tied for second with the girl I beat in the second round. 1st place in U1900 carries a $150 prize, 2nd is $100, and best under 1800 in the U1900 section carries is a $75 prize. The girl was way under 1800, so we split the 2nd place and U1900 prize, giving each of us $87.50. The player I drew with in Round 4 went on to finish with 4.5/5, winning the section.
A good friend of mine, who just graduated high school, won the open section, winning all five games. He was quite a bit higher rated than the next player in the section, so anything other than 5/5 would have been a disappointment. It was bittersweet, as it's the last time we'll see each other for a while.
I'm relatively happy with how the tournament went. I was the highest rated in the section, and have been rated even higher in the past, so I'm a bit disappointed not winning my section. On the other hand, I think I grew a lot in my game management, being content in even positions. In the past I've had a tendency to try to force things, but I imagine I win 1 out of 5 games that go that way, draw 1, but lose 3. Part of this is that I struggle when under time pressure, and trying to force a game like I do can take quite a bit of time. On that level, taking the draw when that's all that's what's on the board, is an improvement. And I got $87.50 ($32.50 over my entry fee). So that's not too bad either.
I'll miss going to my Michigan tournaments. I imagine it'll be at least 3 more summers until I play in another one. I really don't how much time/energy I'll have in grad school to study chess, or even play in tournaments at all. But if I do, I'll let you all know.
Also, I'd just like to point out, I did go undefeated. So that's always fun.
I miscalculated. It would be $42.50 after my every fee.
Sorry for not posting during the tourney. I didn't have a lot of time between rounds as I went over every game and had to eat a meal between each round.
And that's it! Great tournament.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Spencer St. February Rapid
Spencer St. February Rapid, G/15:
I played 3 players, all well below my rating. My first game, I gave up a couple pawns in the middle game to a tactic, but managed to get them back with some opposing mistakes. In the endgame, my opponent touched the wrong piece (and so then had to move it), allowing me to win another pawn, which I eventually used to get a queen and get a checkmate with about 5 seconds left on my clock. Second game, I played a good opening, and while my opponent had some pressure, he made a mistake, and let me out in a bad way, giving me a pawn, bishop, and knight for a rook, which was a good trade for me, and I converted that advantage in the endgame. Final game, I played a good opening, and just crushed my opponent positionally, until I won a piece in the endgame, and then promoted a pawn to a queen and won.
3.0/3, winning $12, $9 more than the entry fee! I played okayish, but everyone was well below my rating.
I played 3 players, all well below my rating. My first game, I gave up a couple pawns in the middle game to a tactic, but managed to get them back with some opposing mistakes. In the endgame, my opponent touched the wrong piece (and so then had to move it), allowing me to win another pawn, which I eventually used to get a queen and get a checkmate with about 5 seconds left on my clock. Second game, I played a good opening, and while my opponent had some pressure, he made a mistake, and let me out in a bad way, giving me a pawn, bishop, and knight for a rook, which was a good trade for me, and I converted that advantage in the endgame. Final game, I played a good opening, and just crushed my opponent positionally, until I won a piece in the endgame, and then promoted a pawn to a queen and won.
3.0/3, winning $12, $9 more than the entry fee! I played okayish, but everyone was well below my rating.
United States Amateur Team North 2018
United States Amateur Team North:
his is a team tournament, so me and three chess friends are playing against other teams of 4. Each match between teams is 4 individual games, and the team who wins more games gets the win.
My friends are rated about 2350, 1400, and 1300 (I'm about 1900). Our team average is 1758. The highest team average in the tournament is 2199 (the limit is 2200). My team is gunning for the best under 1900 prize. My team's name is... Reese's Pieces! Most of the teams have funny names; one is even named literally "insert team name here".
Round 1, opposing team average rating 2085:
Our top rated player was the only player on our team rated above his opponent, so it was tough going. All of the games went pretty long. My game was interesting, and I think I played well, but towards the end I don't know if I was winning or losing; I blundered in time trouble and lost. My team's board 4 (lowest rated) pulled a huge upset and won his game, but unfortunately my team's top board lost, even being higher rated, as did our board 3, so we got 1/4 and lost the match. If our top board had won like he should have, we would have tired. A loss was not unexpected, but we had a big chance.
0.0/1, an early expected loss, with a big upset.
Round 2, opposing team average rating ~1350:
So, my team was higher rated in every game this match, but that didn't mean our games would easy wins. In my game, I played awful in the opening and hung an important pawn. It was terrible going, and I struggled to not outright lose. I was unable to recover the pawn, and my opponent eventually brought the game to an endgame. And that's when I saw it: a terrible swindle, a plan that was probably really bad if my opponent saw it, but if he didn't... and the best part was, I didn't have to reveal my plan to my opponent until it was too late for him. And he fell for it. I won a game that I really should have lost; my drawing chances had been pretty slim. My team's board 3 player sacrificed a couple pawns for a massive attack that looked shaky to me, but demolished his opponent, and claimed after the game that his opponent was completely lost even before the attack really got going. On board 1, my team's top player won a pawn, gaining a passed pawn (no other pawns could stop it) in the middlegame and just rode the game out to a modest win. Board 4 was an up and down game, my teammate in the lead, but gaining an advantage, then losing it, and so on, until they got to a probably drawn, but still better for my teammate, who successfully executed a trap of his own to win the game. So we swept the match, getting our first win.
1.0/2, an expected team sweep, where I played awful and should have at least drawn, but managed to win. But a sweep nonetheless. Middle of the pack.
Round 3, opposing team average rating ~980:
So, I was pretty happy to see this for round 3; hopefully I'd have an easy stress-free game, and get to relax a bit before going to sleep. My game and the board 3 game went this way. We were done in about half an hour. (easy wins) On board 1, my teammate had a better position early on, and was winning, not too long after, but his opponent played very defensively and dragged the game on a long time. To be clear, he definitely had a reason to play on, as my teammate could have made a mistake to draw or lose the game. But the game probably went on an hour and a half after I was done. Board 4 was a long, even game, neither side gaining an advantage; it was still even when the Board 1 game finished. Unfortunately, my teammate blundered, losing a queen for a rook, and after a lot of aimless moving, his opponent figured out how to beat him. A disappointing loss for my teammate, especially after his big win in round 1.
All in all, a decent match win (I did get to relax), but a disappointing loss for our board 4.
2.0/3, in good position to win something, but probably with a match against a better team next round.
Round 4, opposing team average rating 1966:
It was a tough team, but I knew we could still win the match. My opening was going well, until I hung a piece to a simple tactic. My position was unrecoverable, and I resigned a few moves later. Our board 4 fell under a big attack and lost, our board 3 lost a pawn in the middle game, and after some bad trades, ending up letting his opponent dominate his position, and lost. Our board 1 managed to win a couple pawns, and convert that into a win. So we lost the match, but at least got one individual game win.
2.0/4, in position to maybe win something on tiebreaks.
Round 5, opposing team rating around 1600ish (it was weird):
First of all, this was the first tournament for the other team's board 4, meaning they were unrated, and didn't factor into their team's average rating. Secondly, their board 3 had to leave, and they got someone to fill in who was ostensibly better; they were higher rated at least, and so moved up to board 2, playing me. It was an old man, who was very excited to be playing me. He hadn't played in several years. Our game was relatively short, he gave up a piece to a moderately simple tactic, and I won soon after. He apologized for not giving me a better game, but I don't mind. Our board 1 slowly ground out another game, our board 4 played some nifty tactics to pick up the win, and our board 3 "officially played [his] worst game ever" and lost. But still we got the match win, without any big surprises.
3.0/5, we'll probably go to tiebreaks to see if we get anything, but decided not to wait around to find out.
It was a fun tournament, but I got 1 good game of chess (first round), 1 very shaky but hard fought game (round 2), and 3 super short games. My round 4 game was super disappointing, but I'm really happy with my round 1 game. Decent tournament, but I need to work on my tactics and openings
his is a team tournament, so me and three chess friends are playing against other teams of 4. Each match between teams is 4 individual games, and the team who wins more games gets the win.
My friends are rated about 2350, 1400, and 1300 (I'm about 1900). Our team average is 1758. The highest team average in the tournament is 2199 (the limit is 2200). My team is gunning for the best under 1900 prize. My team's name is... Reese's Pieces! Most of the teams have funny names; one is even named literally "insert team name here".
Round 1, opposing team average rating 2085:
Our top rated player was the only player on our team rated above his opponent, so it was tough going. All of the games went pretty long. My game was interesting, and I think I played well, but towards the end I don't know if I was winning or losing; I blundered in time trouble and lost. My team's board 4 (lowest rated) pulled a huge upset and won his game, but unfortunately my team's top board lost, even being higher rated, as did our board 3, so we got 1/4 and lost the match. If our top board had won like he should have, we would have tired. A loss was not unexpected, but we had a big chance.
0.0/1, an early expected loss, with a big upset.
Round 2, opposing team average rating ~1350:
So, my team was higher rated in every game this match, but that didn't mean our games would easy wins. In my game, I played awful in the opening and hung an important pawn. It was terrible going, and I struggled to not outright lose. I was unable to recover the pawn, and my opponent eventually brought the game to an endgame. And that's when I saw it: a terrible swindle, a plan that was probably really bad if my opponent saw it, but if he didn't... and the best part was, I didn't have to reveal my plan to my opponent until it was too late for him. And he fell for it. I won a game that I really should have lost; my drawing chances had been pretty slim. My team's board 3 player sacrificed a couple pawns for a massive attack that looked shaky to me, but demolished his opponent, and claimed after the game that his opponent was completely lost even before the attack really got going. On board 1, my team's top player won a pawn, gaining a passed pawn (no other pawns could stop it) in the middlegame and just rode the game out to a modest win. Board 4 was an up and down game, my teammate in the lead, but gaining an advantage, then losing it, and so on, until they got to a probably drawn, but still better for my teammate, who successfully executed a trap of his own to win the game. So we swept the match, getting our first win.
1.0/2, an expected team sweep, where I played awful and should have at least drawn, but managed to win. But a sweep nonetheless. Middle of the pack.
Round 3, opposing team average rating ~980:
So, I was pretty happy to see this for round 3; hopefully I'd have an easy stress-free game, and get to relax a bit before going to sleep. My game and the board 3 game went this way. We were done in about half an hour. (easy wins) On board 1, my teammate had a better position early on, and was winning, not too long after, but his opponent played very defensively and dragged the game on a long time. To be clear, he definitely had a reason to play on, as my teammate could have made a mistake to draw or lose the game. But the game probably went on an hour and a half after I was done. Board 4 was a long, even game, neither side gaining an advantage; it was still even when the Board 1 game finished. Unfortunately, my teammate blundered, losing a queen for a rook, and after a lot of aimless moving, his opponent figured out how to beat him. A disappointing loss for my teammate, especially after his big win in round 1.
All in all, a decent match win (I did get to relax), but a disappointing loss for our board 4.
2.0/3, in good position to win something, but probably with a match against a better team next round.
Round 4, opposing team average rating 1966:
It was a tough team, but I knew we could still win the match. My opening was going well, until I hung a piece to a simple tactic. My position was unrecoverable, and I resigned a few moves later. Our board 4 fell under a big attack and lost, our board 3 lost a pawn in the middle game, and after some bad trades, ending up letting his opponent dominate his position, and lost. Our board 1 managed to win a couple pawns, and convert that into a win. So we lost the match, but at least got one individual game win.
2.0/4, in position to maybe win something on tiebreaks.
Round 5, opposing team rating around 1600ish (it was weird):
First of all, this was the first tournament for the other team's board 4, meaning they were unrated, and didn't factor into their team's average rating. Secondly, their board 3 had to leave, and they got someone to fill in who was ostensibly better; they were higher rated at least, and so moved up to board 2, playing me. It was an old man, who was very excited to be playing me. He hadn't played in several years. Our game was relatively short, he gave up a piece to a moderately simple tactic, and I won soon after. He apologized for not giving me a better game, but I don't mind. Our board 1 slowly ground out another game, our board 4 played some nifty tactics to pick up the win, and our board 3 "officially played [his] worst game ever" and lost. But still we got the match win, without any big surprises.
3.0/5, we'll probably go to tiebreaks to see if we get anything, but decided not to wait around to find out.
It was a fun tournament, but I got 1 good game of chess (first round), 1 very shaky but hard fought game (round 2), and 3 super short games. My round 4 game was super disappointing, but I'm really happy with my round 1 game. Decent tournament, but I need to work on my tactics and openings
Michigan Master/Expert 2018
Michigan Master/Expert.5 rounds, 115 minutes per side.
Round 1, opponent 1830: I played a decent opening, and gave up a bishop for a knight to give my opponent a weak pawn. I attacked the pawn, and while my opponent was able to defend, he had to give back the bishop for a knight and castle queen side, where I had some good pawn pressure. My opponent eventually sacrificed a pawn to keep my pawn king in the center of the board. I had a better position, but was still nervous, until my opponent promptly dropped a knight, and resigned soon after.
Good win. 1.0/1
I'm a bit busy, so info about the rest of the tournament will have to come later. JAN 19TH, 4:10PM Isaac
Round 2, opponent 1806:
My opponent blitzed through the opening, as did I. Unfortunately, my opponent knew the opening, while I did not. I lost a pawn for nothing. I was completely lost in my thinking; I couldn't find anything productive to do. I just kept making moves, pressing, and making small plans with little point. My position was very uncomfortable, usually a sign that something bad is about to happen. This continued into the endgame, where I was still a pawn down. I was still uncomfortable, but thought I had a chance at a draw still. And then out of nowhere, my opponent made a horrendous move and hung a piece. I was still uncomfortable, even after getting the pawn back and being up a full piece. My opponent soon resigned, which came as a relief to me, as even though I had a winning position, I had yet to figure out how to win it.
Weird win. 2.0/2
Round 3, opponent 1914:
There were two other people with two points after 2 rounds, but both of them took a 0.5 point bye in round 3. Maybe I should have.
My opponent played an opening I was unfamiliar with, and I played it okay-ish, until I miscalculated, and let my opponent get my pieces discombobulated. And then I saw an interesting move. I could sacrifice my bishop for 3 pawns. My position was looking dismal otherwise, and I want to play interesting chess, so I went for it. It was quite sharp, both of us playing well. Well, that is, until I miscalculated again. I had a good king attack going, but I underestimated my opponent's king attack of his own, and had to give up two pawns. So I was down a pawn to a piece, and my opponent had over double my time remaining. I did manage to trade queens to end the threat on my king. But being in an endgame down a piece for a pawn is almost always losing. Thankfully, my opponent misplayed it, and ended up trading one of his pieces for two of my pawns, and then had to trade another piece for my promoting pawn. Both of us were now low on time, but the position was drawn, and we played it out to a draw.
Long, complicated, mistakes on both sides, draw. 2.5/3, but still tied for first.
(the reason it might have been a good idea to take the half-point bye was that it was the last round of Saturday, and I was tired and probably would have slept better/longer if I had taken the bye)
Round 4, opponent 1934:
First game on Sunday. This was the highest rated player in the section, so I needed to play well. I got the opening I wanted, but then got greedy and made a bad move. My opponent actually made a mistake in response, but I missed it and was just in a worse position. I played on, and my opponent didn't play the position the best, so I was looking good, until I missed a tactic in light time pressure and blundered the exchange (rook for knight), and my opponent's passed pawn became a lot more powerful. I struggled on, but was unable to come back, and lost.
A frustrating loss. 2.5/4, now tied for second.
Round 5, final game, opponent 1840:
I played an interesting move in the opening, which was probably bad, but my opponent misplayed it and I got a great position. I slowly built up, and my opponent accidentally gave me a pawn, which I took, and then poorly traded into an endgame (there was a much better way for me to trade down). I was still a bit ahead, but didn't play it well, got into a drawn position, refused an offered draw, and pushed until I was in a lost position and resigned.
A very bad loss, 2.5/5 middle of the pack.
The tournament started out okay, game 2 was bad, but overall I played pretty decent the first day. Day 2 was worse, game 4 playing a bad opening move when I was happy with my opening and then blundering to a relatively obvious tactic, and game 5 playing a great position to a draw, and playing the draw into a loss.
I need to work on my tactics, and my openings.
Round 1, opponent 1830: I played a decent opening, and gave up a bishop for a knight to give my opponent a weak pawn. I attacked the pawn, and while my opponent was able to defend, he had to give back the bishop for a knight and castle queen side, where I had some good pawn pressure. My opponent eventually sacrificed a pawn to keep my pawn king in the center of the board. I had a better position, but was still nervous, until my opponent promptly dropped a knight, and resigned soon after.
Good win. 1.0/1
I'm a bit busy, so info about the rest of the tournament will have to come later. JAN 19TH, 4:10PM Isaac
Round 2, opponent 1806:
My opponent blitzed through the opening, as did I. Unfortunately, my opponent knew the opening, while I did not. I lost a pawn for nothing. I was completely lost in my thinking; I couldn't find anything productive to do. I just kept making moves, pressing, and making small plans with little point. My position was very uncomfortable, usually a sign that something bad is about to happen. This continued into the endgame, where I was still a pawn down. I was still uncomfortable, but thought I had a chance at a draw still. And then out of nowhere, my opponent made a horrendous move and hung a piece. I was still uncomfortable, even after getting the pawn back and being up a full piece. My opponent soon resigned, which came as a relief to me, as even though I had a winning position, I had yet to figure out how to win it.
Weird win. 2.0/2
Round 3, opponent 1914:
There were two other people with two points after 2 rounds, but both of them took a 0.5 point bye in round 3. Maybe I should have.
My opponent played an opening I was unfamiliar with, and I played it okay-ish, until I miscalculated, and let my opponent get my pieces discombobulated. And then I saw an interesting move. I could sacrifice my bishop for 3 pawns. My position was looking dismal otherwise, and I want to play interesting chess, so I went for it. It was quite sharp, both of us playing well. Well, that is, until I miscalculated again. I had a good king attack going, but I underestimated my opponent's king attack of his own, and had to give up two pawns. So I was down a pawn to a piece, and my opponent had over double my time remaining. I did manage to trade queens to end the threat on my king. But being in an endgame down a piece for a pawn is almost always losing. Thankfully, my opponent misplayed it, and ended up trading one of his pieces for two of my pawns, and then had to trade another piece for my promoting pawn. Both of us were now low on time, but the position was drawn, and we played it out to a draw.
Long, complicated, mistakes on both sides, draw. 2.5/3, but still tied for first.
(the reason it might have been a good idea to take the half-point bye was that it was the last round of Saturday, and I was tired and probably would have slept better/longer if I had taken the bye)
Round 4, opponent 1934:
First game on Sunday. This was the highest rated player in the section, so I needed to play well. I got the opening I wanted, but then got greedy and made a bad move. My opponent actually made a mistake in response, but I missed it and was just in a worse position. I played on, and my opponent didn't play the position the best, so I was looking good, until I missed a tactic in light time pressure and blundered the exchange (rook for knight), and my opponent's passed pawn became a lot more powerful. I struggled on, but was unable to come back, and lost.
A frustrating loss. 2.5/4, now tied for second.
Round 5, final game, opponent 1840:
I played an interesting move in the opening, which was probably bad, but my opponent misplayed it and I got a great position. I slowly built up, and my opponent accidentally gave me a pawn, which I took, and then poorly traded into an endgame (there was a much better way for me to trade down). I was still a bit ahead, but didn't play it well, got into a drawn position, refused an offered draw, and pushed until I was in a lost position and resigned.
A very bad loss, 2.5/5 middle of the pack.
The tournament started out okay, game 2 was bad, but overall I played pretty decent the first day. Day 2 was worse, game 4 playing a bad opening move when I was happy with my opening and then blundering to a relatively obvious tactic, and game 5 playing a great position to a draw, and playing the draw into a loss.
I need to work on my tactics, and my openings.
Spencer St. weekly Swiss January
Spencer St. Week-by-week Swiss, four rounds, Game in 55.
This tournament is played over the course of a month, one game per Tuesday night.
Round 1, opponent 1699: I started out good, getting an advantage out of the opening, but then instead of taking a lead, I blundered, giving the game to my opponent. I almost resigned on the spot. In the endgame, my opponent, being the generous man he was, decided to give the win back (through a horrendous piece hang) and we were back to a drawn position. My opponent then decided he wanted nothing to do with points in the game, and traded down to kings and pawns for a won endgame for me. A bad win.
I did not at all deserve to win this game after my first blunder, but my opponent made even worse blunders.
1.0/1, leading the pack in a tournament in which I am the highest rated player.
Round 2 next Tuesday
Due to the TD's wife giving birth, round 2 was delayed a week.
Spencer St. tournament weekly swiss round 2:
I got a decent opening, allowed a bad trade to put me in a slightly worse position, and then blundered a pawn. My opponent did me a favor, and blundered an exchange, and gave me a way out of my poor positioning... which I missed, and blundered the exchange back and a bunch of pawns. My opponent was able to use the extra pawns to win.
1.0/2, middle of the pack.
Spencer St. tournament weekly swiss round 3:
I played a decent opening, had a good position, and played a tactic where my opponent had to retreat their queen, allowing me to win a pawn. My opponent missed this, so I won a queen. My opponent took a long time losing, but it wasn't too difficult for me.
2.0/3, 3rd place in the tourney.
Spencer St. weekly swiss tournament round 4: I got a decent opening, my opponent lost an exchange for couple pawns, which I managed to win back in the endgame. I converted the rook and pawn vs. knight and pawn endgame for the win.
3.0/4, 2nd place in the tournament. Overall a pretty bad tournament. As the highest rated player there by far, anything other than going undefeated is a disappointment. I should have lost game one, and did lose game 2. I lost 11 rating points.
This tournament is played over the course of a month, one game per Tuesday night.
Round 1, opponent 1699: I started out good, getting an advantage out of the opening, but then instead of taking a lead, I blundered, giving the game to my opponent. I almost resigned on the spot. In the endgame, my opponent, being the generous man he was, decided to give the win back (through a horrendous piece hang) and we were back to a drawn position. My opponent then decided he wanted nothing to do with points in the game, and traded down to kings and pawns for a won endgame for me. A bad win.
I did not at all deserve to win this game after my first blunder, but my opponent made even worse blunders.
1.0/1, leading the pack in a tournament in which I am the highest rated player.
Round 2 next Tuesday
Due to the TD's wife giving birth, round 2 was delayed a week.
Spencer St. tournament weekly swiss round 2:
I got a decent opening, allowed a bad trade to put me in a slightly worse position, and then blundered a pawn. My opponent did me a favor, and blundered an exchange, and gave me a way out of my poor positioning... which I missed, and blundered the exchange back and a bunch of pawns. My opponent was able to use the extra pawns to win.
1.0/2, middle of the pack.
Spencer St. tournament weekly swiss round 3:
I played a decent opening, had a good position, and played a tactic where my opponent had to retreat their queen, allowing me to win a pawn. My opponent missed this, so I won a queen. My opponent took a long time losing, but it wasn't too difficult for me.
2.0/3, 3rd place in the tourney.
Spencer St. weekly swiss tournament round 4: I got a decent opening, my opponent lost an exchange for couple pawns, which I managed to win back in the endgame. I converted the rook and pawn vs. knight and pawn endgame for the win.
3.0/4, 2nd place in the tournament. Overall a pretty bad tournament. As the highest rated player there by far, anything other than going undefeated is a disappointment. I should have lost game one, and did lose game 2. I lost 11 rating points.
More postings from Facebook Messenger Group
Time another group. I really should keep this updated more regularly.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
2017 Michigan Open
Michigan Open: 2 hours a side with 30 minutes added after 40 moves.
3.5 days, Friday evening to Monday morning.
Well, all of Monday, actually.
Round 1 (last night at 7:00), opponent 1540: The second lowest player in the open section playing today. (way way below me) It was a girl probably 9 or 10. She played a decent opening, but used a lot of time, and I slowly got a positional advantage, eventually sacrificing a pawn for gaining the bishop pair, trapping the king in the center, and trapping a rook in the corner (three major positional advantages). My opponent kept spending lots of time, and was down to 5 minutes on about the 25th moves; needing 15 more moves to get the extra 30 added. They couldn't make it. They soon lost an exchange and were down a full rook by move 40 (so the game was basically over). 1 for 1 I think I played well; I managed time will, gaining over an hour advantage at one point, but used it sensibly, and was down to about 11 minutes by the 40th move. My opening was good, my middlegame was good, and my endgame. My biggest mistake was making a "threat" and overlooking the obvious defending move. (Which didn't hurt me too much) Solid game which I should have won and did. 1.0/1
Next round at 10am today.
Round 2, opponent 2107:
My opponent was probably around 12-14. We played a normal opening, but I played a line I've been interested, trading queens early, and I think I surprised him. A few moves after we traded queens my opponent missed a tactic. Younger kids have no poker face, and he was squirming and fidgeted. He offered a draw. I was able to get a positional concession, and eventually won a pawn. I used a considerably greater amount of time than my opponent. The position was very tricky, and we traded pawns in a complex fashion, until it was two pawns, king, rook, and bishop for me, and one pawn, king, rook, and bishop, with the bishops being of the same color, so a generally very not drawish endgame, but a difficult one to win. My opponent offered another draw here (their third of the game, actually), but I declined, and was able to sacrifice one pawn to get the other in promoting position, forcing them to trade their rook for it, and with 11 minutes left on my clock I was able to win. Probably one of my best jobs of clock management, I played well in all aspects of the game, and won against a higher rated opponent. Excellent win.
2.0/2
I have the speed tournament in a few minutes, and then round 3 at 7.
Me opponent was an adult finally, probably a few years older than me. I was really tired, especially after the speed tournament (whoops, I'll get to that next), and it showed in my game. I started out poorly, accidentally playing opening I do very poorly with. I played some unorthodox stuff to get my opponent out of what they knew, and as I learned after the game, was successful. However, my position became relative poor, until one point when I played a very dangerous move. My opponent thought for 40 minutes, and still couldn't figure it out... and then I wimped out and didn't play the sacrifice that would make an interesting game. My opponent almost immediately played a great tactic, and won an exchange and soon the game. I didn't use too much time due to how tired I was, but I would have been relatively happy with the game had I been fully awake. But now, I'm very excited to get to sleep.
2.0/3 still very much in the hunt for a trophy.
Speed tournament results will come in the morning.
Just to confirm, I am still alive, just been very busy. Round 6 starts soon, so I g2g
So, the speed tournament. Each round was 2 games against your opponent, so each player got to be white and black. So 5 rounds and 10 games. Round 1, I played a player rated just under 1000 (way, way below me), and I trounced them twice. Round 2 I faced the highest rated player in the tournament, almost won the first game, and lost the second in about 30 seconds. So two losses. Third round, I played someone around 1600, won the first game on an illegal move (in blitz, an illegal move is a loss) but hung a rook late in the second and lost. Fourth round, I played a lower rated player and won both. Last round was another lower rated player, and I won one, but made an illegal move and lost the second. So 6.0/10, probably a bit worse than I should have been, but I was super tired, so I'm glad I was able play somewhat decently.
Round 4, opponent 2121:
My opponent played an opening that I'm not super familiar with, and I ended up getting passive, and almost pulled myself out, but missed a very complicated tactic, and in trying to survive it, I used most of my time. My opponent and I were both very low on time, and I just don't play well low on time, blundered, and lost. Okay game; I really need to work on my openings.
2.0/4, falling behind.
Round 5, opponent 1681:
My opponent played yet another opening I wasn't familiar with, and I never really got anywhere. It was an unbalanced position, where I had a better pawn structure, and my opening had more active pieces. There was a time I could have traded into a more interesting endgame, but unfortunately, I didn't see it that way at the time, and I eventually accepted one of the many draws my opponent had been offering me. He was actually a little better at that point too, so I was happy with a draw. There goes my rating point gain. Not a great draw. I really need to work on my openings...
2.5/5. In the middle of the pack.
So, the tournament's done, so I'm driving back now. There's a huge thunderstorm coming, so I think I'll try to get through as much as I can, and then stop somewhere if I need to and give the rest of my results. And maybe take a nap. I'm super tired.
Still too sleepy. I'll do it in the morning.
Round 6, opponent 1526:
This round, I have story to tell: So, I woke up around 8:30, but lost track of time a bit, and was late leaving, so I got to the tournament at about 9:40, 10 minutes after the round had started. So I rush in, and find my board. Board 14 with black. So I go in to the tournament room, and move towards the side of the open section. I look at the board numbers on the table closest to me, and see 16 and 15, 15 being closer to me. So that must mean 14 is on another row. I look to the next row, see a board on the other end where white has made their first move, and black's clock is just ticking away. So I quickly go make a move, hit the clock and then go get a notation sheet. We play an interesting opening, but my position is a bit uncomfortable. But about half an hour later, the TD comes over and tells me, "you're on the wrong board". !!! As it turns out, boards 15 and 16 were switched, so the numbers for that row went 15, 16, 14, 13! The person who was supposed to be playing there was really really late, and hadn't shown up until then and informed the TD. We had to terminate the game, and I had to go over to my correct board and start a new game against my correct opponent, now down about 35 minutes. However, that game's opening went much better, and after we castled on opposite sides of the board (which leads to lots of attacking) I was able to infiltrate with my queen, and took so many pawns, my opponent outright resigned.
3.5/6 at this point, with a very good chance to get a place and money.
Weird situation, but I'm glad I was able to pull through for the win.
Round 7, opponent 2150:
Last game. My opponent played an unusual opening, but I was comfortable with it... until I missed a tactic, that is. I was able to complicate things, but things were better for my opponent, and he prevailed. Tough game. I need to be more careful about some opening things, and I also need to work on my move order in openings, yet again.
3.5/7, out of the race for money.
Summary: 3.5/7 is about half a point less than I was hoping for. I never played anyone with 175 points of my rating, which is very unusual, and quite disappointing. I probably only had 3 or 4 good games, because of that. To put it another way, I was the 26th highest rated player in the tournament, and I played no one from 11th-50th (I played people both higher and lower). Very exhausting, and I think next year I'll play in the 3-day section (if I am able to play). On the other hand, I gained some very valuable information on what I need to study, and that is openings. I'm good with the main ones now, but there are other ones that come up plenty that I really struggle with. Openings can be hard to learn just from playing, so I really need to set time aside specifically to get better at them.
An okay performance.
3.5 days, Friday evening to Monday morning.
Well, all of Monday, actually.
Round 1 (last night at 7:00), opponent 1540: The second lowest player in the open section playing today. (way way below me) It was a girl probably 9 or 10. She played a decent opening, but used a lot of time, and I slowly got a positional advantage, eventually sacrificing a pawn for gaining the bishop pair, trapping the king in the center, and trapping a rook in the corner (three major positional advantages). My opponent kept spending lots of time, and was down to 5 minutes on about the 25th moves; needing 15 more moves to get the extra 30 added. They couldn't make it. They soon lost an exchange and were down a full rook by move 40 (so the game was basically over). 1 for 1 I think I played well; I managed time will, gaining over an hour advantage at one point, but used it sensibly, and was down to about 11 minutes by the 40th move. My opening was good, my middlegame was good, and my endgame. My biggest mistake was making a "threat" and overlooking the obvious defending move. (Which didn't hurt me too much) Solid game which I should have won and did. 1.0/1
Next round at 10am today.
Round 2, opponent 2107:
My opponent was probably around 12-14. We played a normal opening, but I played a line I've been interested, trading queens early, and I think I surprised him. A few moves after we traded queens my opponent missed a tactic. Younger kids have no poker face, and he was squirming and fidgeted. He offered a draw. I was able to get a positional concession, and eventually won a pawn. I used a considerably greater amount of time than my opponent. The position was very tricky, and we traded pawns in a complex fashion, until it was two pawns, king, rook, and bishop for me, and one pawn, king, rook, and bishop, with the bishops being of the same color, so a generally very not drawish endgame, but a difficult one to win. My opponent offered another draw here (their third of the game, actually), but I declined, and was able to sacrifice one pawn to get the other in promoting position, forcing them to trade their rook for it, and with 11 minutes left on my clock I was able to win. Probably one of my best jobs of clock management, I played well in all aspects of the game, and won against a higher rated opponent. Excellent win.
2.0/2
I have the speed tournament in a few minutes, and then round 3 at 7.
Me opponent was an adult finally, probably a few years older than me. I was really tired, especially after the speed tournament (whoops, I'll get to that next), and it showed in my game. I started out poorly, accidentally playing opening I do very poorly with. I played some unorthodox stuff to get my opponent out of what they knew, and as I learned after the game, was successful. However, my position became relative poor, until one point when I played a very dangerous move. My opponent thought for 40 minutes, and still couldn't figure it out... and then I wimped out and didn't play the sacrifice that would make an interesting game. My opponent almost immediately played a great tactic, and won an exchange and soon the game. I didn't use too much time due to how tired I was, but I would have been relatively happy with the game had I been fully awake. But now, I'm very excited to get to sleep.
2.0/3 still very much in the hunt for a trophy.
Speed tournament results will come in the morning.
Just to confirm, I am still alive, just been very busy. Round 6 starts soon, so I g2g
So, the speed tournament. Each round was 2 games against your opponent, so each player got to be white and black. So 5 rounds and 10 games. Round 1, I played a player rated just under 1000 (way, way below me), and I trounced them twice. Round 2 I faced the highest rated player in the tournament, almost won the first game, and lost the second in about 30 seconds. So two losses. Third round, I played someone around 1600, won the first game on an illegal move (in blitz, an illegal move is a loss) but hung a rook late in the second and lost. Fourth round, I played a lower rated player and won both. Last round was another lower rated player, and I won one, but made an illegal move and lost the second. So 6.0/10, probably a bit worse than I should have been, but I was super tired, so I'm glad I was able play somewhat decently.
Round 4, opponent 2121:
My opponent played an opening that I'm not super familiar with, and I ended up getting passive, and almost pulled myself out, but missed a very complicated tactic, and in trying to survive it, I used most of my time. My opponent and I were both very low on time, and I just don't play well low on time, blundered, and lost. Okay game; I really need to work on my openings.
2.0/4, falling behind.
Round 5, opponent 1681:
My opponent played yet another opening I wasn't familiar with, and I never really got anywhere. It was an unbalanced position, where I had a better pawn structure, and my opening had more active pieces. There was a time I could have traded into a more interesting endgame, but unfortunately, I didn't see it that way at the time, and I eventually accepted one of the many draws my opponent had been offering me. He was actually a little better at that point too, so I was happy with a draw. There goes my rating point gain. Not a great draw. I really need to work on my openings...
2.5/5. In the middle of the pack.
So, the tournament's done, so I'm driving back now. There's a huge thunderstorm coming, so I think I'll try to get through as much as I can, and then stop somewhere if I need to and give the rest of my results. And maybe take a nap. I'm super tired.
Still too sleepy. I'll do it in the morning.
Round 6, opponent 1526:
This round, I have story to tell: So, I woke up around 8:30, but lost track of time a bit, and was late leaving, so I got to the tournament at about 9:40, 10 minutes after the round had started. So I rush in, and find my board. Board 14 with black. So I go in to the tournament room, and move towards the side of the open section. I look at the board numbers on the table closest to me, and see 16 and 15, 15 being closer to me. So that must mean 14 is on another row. I look to the next row, see a board on the other end where white has made their first move, and black's clock is just ticking away. So I quickly go make a move, hit the clock and then go get a notation sheet. We play an interesting opening, but my position is a bit uncomfortable. But about half an hour later, the TD comes over and tells me, "you're on the wrong board". !!! As it turns out, boards 15 and 16 were switched, so the numbers for that row went 15, 16, 14, 13! The person who was supposed to be playing there was really really late, and hadn't shown up until then and informed the TD. We had to terminate the game, and I had to go over to my correct board and start a new game against my correct opponent, now down about 35 minutes. However, that game's opening went much better, and after we castled on opposite sides of the board (which leads to lots of attacking) I was able to infiltrate with my queen, and took so many pawns, my opponent outright resigned.
3.5/6 at this point, with a very good chance to get a place and money.
Weird situation, but I'm glad I was able to pull through for the win.
Round 7, opponent 2150:
Last game. My opponent played an unusual opening, but I was comfortable with it... until I missed a tactic, that is. I was able to complicate things, but things were better for my opponent, and he prevailed. Tough game. I need to be more careful about some opening things, and I also need to work on my move order in openings, yet again.
3.5/7, out of the race for money.
Summary: 3.5/7 is about half a point less than I was hoping for. I never played anyone with 175 points of my rating, which is very unusual, and quite disappointing. I probably only had 3 or 4 good games, because of that. To put it another way, I was the 26th highest rated player in the tournament, and I played no one from 11th-50th (I played people both higher and lower). Very exhausting, and I think next year I'll play in the 3-day section (if I am able to play). On the other hand, I gained some very valuable information on what I need to study, and that is openings. I'm good with the main ones now, but there are other ones that come up plenty that I really struggle with. Openings can be hard to learn just from playing, so I really need to set time aside specifically to get better at them.
An okay performance.
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