Tomorrow: June Calvin Chess, Game in 45.
Round 1, opponent 1810: I played an opening I just started playing recently, and it worked well again. I got a good position, my opponent missed a tactic, and I won a ton of material. (He resigned). A nice win.
Round 2, opponent 1638: I played an opening that leads into good endgames, and my opponent offered an early queen trade. I won a pawn by force, which was enough to win, since my opponent was in time trouble. Decent win.
Round 3, opponent 2029: My opponent played an opening I don't know so well (I need to study it), and I messed up and lost a piece. Bad loss.
Summary: 2.0/3, tied for 1st in the tournament. I beat the people below, and lost to the person above, so okay tournament.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
2017 Michigan Amateur
Michigan Amateur, 6/3/17, 5 round swiss, 110 minutes a side.
There's two sections, U2000 and U800, no open section. I'm rated 1830, and am 8th highest rated in my section.
Round 1, opponent ~1450: my opponent played an opening I haven't seen in a long time, but I took my time and played it decently, and got some pressure. I spent 17 minutes deciding whether to make a dangerous move to take a pawn. I did, hung on, got through a little bit of danger, and got to a decent position. My opponent then miscalculated and traded down to kings and pawns in an endgame that was actually won for me instead of a draw. I used my extra pawn to eventually promote to a queen. Relatively smooth win.
So, last two games both went down to the last half hour, so I didn't have time to write about them. I'll go into more detail when I have time. Both wins, the second against the highest rated player in the tournament! (Only a bit higher than me). 3.0/3 for day 1.
Round 2, opponent 1658: my opponent was a young girl, which is unfortunately rather unusual, and she looked very distracted during our game. She gave up a pawn in the opening to a relatively simple tactic. I played only a decent middlegame, and got into some trouble, but I managed to pull through, using the most time I've probably ever used on an opening and middlegame. I then used my superior endgame skill to get a winning endgame. I did however make a mistake to go from an easily winning endgame to a little more difficult to win endgame, but it was still a won position for me, so my opponent resigned. Good, but slow and tense win.
Round 3, opponent ~1950: As previously mentioned, this was the highest rated player in the section. My opponent played a relatively conservative opening, so I pushed hard positionally. I got to what I thought was a good position, about to trade down in to a potentially pawn up endgame... and then made a dumb mistake to drop a pawn and get a difficult position. But my opponent made a bad trade, giving me the bishop pair, (albeit in a closed position) and I managed to get the pawn back. My opponent then sacrificed the exchange, but I don't think it worked out how they thought it would, and I then played a nice tactic in the endgame to win. Not a great start, but a good finish to win.
Day 1 summary: My first two games were relatively boring; win a pawn in the opening but under some pressure, equalize the position by the endgame, then use my extra pawn to win (although in the second game, I got a pretty good position as well). For whatever reason, younger people seem to be good in the middlegame, but bad in the endgame. (I'm the opposite). Game 3, my opponent and I both thought I was on the ropes, but we both underestimated my position, and I was able to come back swinging and pick up a great win.
Last thing: the oven started beeping last night, so I haven't slept well. It's going to be a rough day.
The tournament just finished. Two long games today. I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to drive back before I go into details. So I'll post in about an hour and a half.
Round 4, opponent 1937: I played an opening I've only just started playing, but have liked. This game was no exception. I thought I was going to win a pawn, but miscalculated, and had to hold off. I played some nifty tactics to get my opponent into a bad position, won a pawn in the endgame, and managed to pull out a win via promotion, in part due to my opponent getting into time trouble. A solid win.
Round 5, opponent 1900. This was the game for all the marbles. My opponent and I were the only ones to get through the tournament winning our first four games, so this was the championship match. My opponent made an early mistake, which I almost didn't see. I took advantage, and got his king stuck in the center... and then promptly got a piece stuck (a bad mistake, I could have easily avoided it). It would take four moves to extricate it, and it was going to get captured in two moves, not even close to being able to escape. I spent huge amounts of time, over 50 minutes of my 1 hour and 50 minutes. I was done, not winning the tournament... I made a few threats, trying to get something going, which my opponent easily swatted away. I was tired, and ready to be done with the tournament. BUT then! My opponent made a mistake, and I was able to extricate my poor bishop. The position was down to just the rooks, queen, and a ton of pawns. His queen got near my king; but I was able to fork some pawns in exchange. So I won a pawn, giving myself two passed pawns on the edge! We traded queens. Unfortunately, his position was better; my rooks were stuck behind my passed pawns, which is terrible (you want them in front). My opponent made another mistake, and I managed to trade off one of our rooks, and somehow my 2 passed pawns for two of his pawns on the other side of the board, giving me passed pawns there, and importantly, with my rook in front! I manged to push them; my opponent burned lots of time, but found no way to stop them, and resigned. A game I probably should have lost early one, but my opponent let me back into the game, and I took advantage. A roller-coaster win.
Day 2 summary: A well played game, and a shaky-at-first-but-later-much-better game. Both great games.
Summary: 5.0/5, winning the tournament. I'll gain 50-100 rating points. The best tournament performance I've ever had. I came in tied for 8th in rating, and beat the players rated 1st, 2nd, and 4th. This a huge deal, because it gives me hope that my chess career can recover from college. I was rated about 100 points higher when I came into college. Not too much, but a decent amount. I played chess throughout college, and would normally expect my rating to increase. But I never really got a proper restful break for nearly all of college (my family's vacations are exhausting; I usually feel more tired after than I did before). So this result after a couple restful weeks is a breath of fresh air. Any thoughts I had of ending my chess playing have been put to rest, for now. Woo! And now for a happy picture:
My rating change came in: exactly +100
Interesting fact: There was another undefeated player, but they chose to take a half-point bye (so they didn't play) during one of the rounds, so they ended up 4.5/5. We never played
(obviously, otherwise we couldn't both be undefeated)
There's two sections, U2000 and U800, no open section. I'm rated 1830, and am 8th highest rated in my section.
Round 1, opponent ~1450: my opponent played an opening I haven't seen in a long time, but I took my time and played it decently, and got some pressure. I spent 17 minutes deciding whether to make a dangerous move to take a pawn. I did, hung on, got through a little bit of danger, and got to a decent position. My opponent then miscalculated and traded down to kings and pawns in an endgame that was actually won for me instead of a draw. I used my extra pawn to eventually promote to a queen. Relatively smooth win.
So, last two games both went down to the last half hour, so I didn't have time to write about them. I'll go into more detail when I have time. Both wins, the second against the highest rated player in the tournament! (Only a bit higher than me). 3.0/3 for day 1.
Round 2, opponent 1658: my opponent was a young girl, which is unfortunately rather unusual, and she looked very distracted during our game. She gave up a pawn in the opening to a relatively simple tactic. I played only a decent middlegame, and got into some trouble, but I managed to pull through, using the most time I've probably ever used on an opening and middlegame. I then used my superior endgame skill to get a winning endgame. I did however make a mistake to go from an easily winning endgame to a little more difficult to win endgame, but it was still a won position for me, so my opponent resigned. Good, but slow and tense win.
Round 3, opponent ~1950: As previously mentioned, this was the highest rated player in the section. My opponent played a relatively conservative opening, so I pushed hard positionally. I got to what I thought was a good position, about to trade down in to a potentially pawn up endgame... and then made a dumb mistake to drop a pawn and get a difficult position. But my opponent made a bad trade, giving me the bishop pair, (albeit in a closed position) and I managed to get the pawn back. My opponent then sacrificed the exchange, but I don't think it worked out how they thought it would, and I then played a nice tactic in the endgame to win. Not a great start, but a good finish to win.
Day 1 summary: My first two games were relatively boring; win a pawn in the opening but under some pressure, equalize the position by the endgame, then use my extra pawn to win (although in the second game, I got a pretty good position as well). For whatever reason, younger people seem to be good in the middlegame, but bad in the endgame. (I'm the opposite). Game 3, my opponent and I both thought I was on the ropes, but we both underestimated my position, and I was able to come back swinging and pick up a great win.
Last thing: the oven started beeping last night, so I haven't slept well. It's going to be a rough day.
The tournament just finished. Two long games today. I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to drive back before I go into details. So I'll post in about an hour and a half.
Round 4, opponent 1937: I played an opening I've only just started playing, but have liked. This game was no exception. I thought I was going to win a pawn, but miscalculated, and had to hold off. I played some nifty tactics to get my opponent into a bad position, won a pawn in the endgame, and managed to pull out a win via promotion, in part due to my opponent getting into time trouble. A solid win.
Round 5, opponent 1900. This was the game for all the marbles. My opponent and I were the only ones to get through the tournament winning our first four games, so this was the championship match. My opponent made an early mistake, which I almost didn't see. I took advantage, and got his king stuck in the center... and then promptly got a piece stuck (a bad mistake, I could have easily avoided it). It would take four moves to extricate it, and it was going to get captured in two moves, not even close to being able to escape. I spent huge amounts of time, over 50 minutes of my 1 hour and 50 minutes. I was done, not winning the tournament... I made a few threats, trying to get something going, which my opponent easily swatted away. I was tired, and ready to be done with the tournament. BUT then! My opponent made a mistake, and I was able to extricate my poor bishop. The position was down to just the rooks, queen, and a ton of pawns. His queen got near my king; but I was able to fork some pawns in exchange. So I won a pawn, giving myself two passed pawns on the edge! We traded queens. Unfortunately, his position was better; my rooks were stuck behind my passed pawns, which is terrible (you want them in front). My opponent made another mistake, and I managed to trade off one of our rooks, and somehow my 2 passed pawns for two of his pawns on the other side of the board, giving me passed pawns there, and importantly, with my rook in front! I manged to push them; my opponent burned lots of time, but found no way to stop them, and resigned. A game I probably should have lost early one, but my opponent let me back into the game, and I took advantage. A roller-coaster win.
Day 2 summary: A well played game, and a shaky-at-first-but-later-much-better game. Both great games.
Summary: 5.0/5, winning the tournament. I'll gain 50-100 rating points. The best tournament performance I've ever had. I came in tied for 8th in rating, and beat the players rated 1st, 2nd, and 4th. This a huge deal, because it gives me hope that my chess career can recover from college. I was rated about 100 points higher when I came into college. Not too much, but a decent amount. I played chess throughout college, and would normally expect my rating to increase. But I never really got a proper restful break for nearly all of college (my family's vacations are exhausting; I usually feel more tired after than I did before). So this result after a couple restful weeks is a breath of fresh air. Any thoughts I had of ending my chess playing have been put to rest, for now. Woo! And now for a happy picture:
My rating change came in: exactly +100
Interesting fact: There was another undefeated player, but they chose to take a half-point bye (so they didn't play) during one of the rounds, so they ended up 4.5/5. We never played
(obviously, otherwise we couldn't both be undefeated)
May 2017 Calvin Chess
Round 1: opponent 1179: My opponent got a good middlegame attack, but in managed to get a good center counterattack, draw his King out, and checkmate it. Decent win.
This is the May Calvin tournament, btw.
Round 2: opponent 2021: I played an opening I've almost never played before. I liked it, made a sacrifice based on feel, and wasn't quite able to break through with my attack. Good competitive loss.
Round 3: opponent unrated: My opponent was actually rated 700, but their last rated game was from 2001, so not really applicable. I accepted a pawn sacrifice early on, and the pressure was on me all game. But I responded well, keeping my development on par with theirs, and building a time advantage. Eventually, in the endgame, under time pressure, I managed to win a piece, and finally got rid of my opponent's pressure on me. I won soon after. Tense win.
Summary: 2.0/3. I played decent. I beat who I should have, although the first game was shakier than it should have been. Acceptable tournament.
This is the May Calvin tournament, btw.
Round 2: opponent 2021: I played an opening I've almost never played before. I liked it, made a sacrifice based on feel, and wasn't quite able to break through with my attack. Good competitive loss.
Round 3: opponent unrated: My opponent was actually rated 700, but their last rated game was from 2001, so not really applicable. I accepted a pawn sacrifice early on, and the pressure was on me all game. But I responded well, keeping my development on par with theirs, and building a time advantage. Eventually, in the endgame, under time pressure, I managed to win a piece, and finally got rid of my opponent's pressure on me. I won soon after. Tense win.
Summary: 2.0/3. I played decent. I beat who I should have, although the first game was shakier than it should have been. Acceptable tournament.
February 2017 Calvin Chess
February Calvin Chess, Swiss 3 rounds, Game in 45 minutes, 5 second delay
Basically same people as last time, except there's a 2140 player. Hopefully I can give him a run.
Game 1: opponent 1348: I played a terrible middlegame, was down a pawn with a destroyed pawn structure, but my opponent blundered in the endgame, and I ground out a win. Ugly, ugly win.
Game 2: opponent 2140: So, the big game. My opponent had earlier said he had been suffering from the flu the past 5 weeks, but had been feeling better, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We went into a tame line of the opening I know best, so the opening went fine. I made a small mistake in the middlegame, but it didn't end up costing me. My opponent then gave me the option of trading my queen for two of their rooks. I thought to myself "if this was a more important game, I'd probably play more cautiously, but hey, this is 45 minutes a side (pretty short) at Calvin, so let's go for it and have an interesting game." I possibly would have played it in a more serious game, but I also would have had more time to think. So I went for it, and it soon became clear that my position after the trade was much better than either my opponent or I expected. But it was still tricky as this trade is very difficult for the side who has two rooks. I won a pawn, then a piece for two pawns, so I had two rooks and a bishop vs a pawn which was a sizable advantage, but it was hard to manage my time, and for a while, I couldn't break truth my opponent's defenses. Finally, with less than 5 minutes on my clock, I did, but my opponent moved in to try to cut my king off for mate. However, I was able to use this to threaten mate, and I got a favorable trade for his queen, and was able to get the win. Very tense and difficult game, but a success.
Game 3: opponent 1532: Finally played a good opening for once. My opponent sacrificed a pawn in the opening, and I took my time, figured out what I needed to do, and got into a great middlegame. And then promptly hung a piece to a simple tactic. I resigned immediately. Ugh. My rating will barely break even this tournament, even with last round's win.
In summary, I won a game playing terribly against a much worse player, I won a game playing really during against a much better player, and then started playing great but threw it all away against a much worse player. 2.0/3, rating will probably not change.
Basically same people as last time, except there's a 2140 player. Hopefully I can give him a run.
Game 1: opponent 1348: I played a terrible middlegame, was down a pawn with a destroyed pawn structure, but my opponent blundered in the endgame, and I ground out a win. Ugly, ugly win.
Game 2: opponent 2140: So, the big game. My opponent had earlier said he had been suffering from the flu the past 5 weeks, but had been feeling better, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We went into a tame line of the opening I know best, so the opening went fine. I made a small mistake in the middlegame, but it didn't end up costing me. My opponent then gave me the option of trading my queen for two of their rooks. I thought to myself "if this was a more important game, I'd probably play more cautiously, but hey, this is 45 minutes a side (pretty short) at Calvin, so let's go for it and have an interesting game." I possibly would have played it in a more serious game, but I also would have had more time to think. So I went for it, and it soon became clear that my position after the trade was much better than either my opponent or I expected. But it was still tricky as this trade is very difficult for the side who has two rooks. I won a pawn, then a piece for two pawns, so I had two rooks and a bishop vs a pawn which was a sizable advantage, but it was hard to manage my time, and for a while, I couldn't break truth my opponent's defenses. Finally, with less than 5 minutes on my clock, I did, but my opponent moved in to try to cut my king off for mate. However, I was able to use this to threaten mate, and I got a favorable trade for his queen, and was able to get the win. Very tense and difficult game, but a success.
Game 3: opponent 1532: Finally played a good opening for once. My opponent sacrificed a pawn in the opening, and I took my time, figured out what I needed to do, and got into a great middlegame. And then promptly hung a piece to a simple tactic. I resigned immediately. Ugh. My rating will barely break even this tournament, even with last round's win.
In summary, I won a game playing terribly against a much worse player, I won a game playing really during against a much better player, and then started playing great but threw it all away against a much worse player. 2.0/3, rating will probably not change.
January 2017 Calvin Chess
Calvin Chess, Swiss 3 rounds, Game in 45 minutes, 5 second delay
Just for reference, my rating is ~1850. I probably lose 75% of my games to a 2050, and win 75% against a 1650.
Game 1, opponent rating 1348: I played a decent opening, could've been better, but not too bad. I had a good middlegame, but wasn't able to convert it into anything, going into the endgame, I spent way too long trying to see if a move was good, and played it. It was mediocre, and then I missed a good move. We went into a king and pawn endgame, and my opponent just went for the wrong pawn structure under time pressure, and turned his win info a loss . Basically, I won when I didn't deserve to. (We probably deserved a draw) Not a great game.
Game 2, opponent rating ~1550: I played a bad opening plan, and a bad middlegame plan, but my opponent spent a ton of time to get a very slightly better game. Then, with 30 seconds on his clock, and 30 minutes on mine, I spent about 5 minutes on a move, only to throw my rook away. I noticed just as I took my hand off the piece. Such an awful, awful move. I soon threw my other rook away, and my opponent converted the point. Basically, I played bad, but somehow ended up on a decent position on the board and a great position on the clock, and threw the game away. So bad. Loss.
I'm in the basement by myself, couldn't stand to be around people for a while.
The third and final round is starting soon, so I'll go back and play it out.
Game 3, opponent 1302: I played an okay opening, with a decent middlegame, getting a decent advantage. My opponent played a bad Queen move, had to sacrifice a knight for a pawn to get out, and then immediately dropped a rook and resigned. Basically, I played okayish, probably a bit below average, but for an 1845, it's enough to beat a 1302.
In summary: I played 3 much lower rated players: I played a bad game but my opponent played worse, so I still won, I played an absolutely awful game that my opponent tried to gift me that I just threw away and list, and then finally a half way decent game which is a win against the opposition I'm playing. In total, 2.0/3. A relatively bad tournament, but it was still okay. Lesson learned: while not fearing the opponent's opening is good, I still need to respect their opening, and give it a decent amount of in-game study.
Net rating change: -20
Just for reference, my rating is ~1850. I probably lose 75% of my games to a 2050, and win 75% against a 1650.
Game 1, opponent rating 1348: I played a decent opening, could've been better, but not too bad. I had a good middlegame, but wasn't able to convert it into anything, going into the endgame, I spent way too long trying to see if a move was good, and played it. It was mediocre, and then I missed a good move. We went into a king and pawn endgame, and my opponent just went for the wrong pawn structure under time pressure, and turned his win info a loss . Basically, I won when I didn't deserve to. (We probably deserved a draw) Not a great game.
Game 2, opponent rating ~1550: I played a bad opening plan, and a bad middlegame plan, but my opponent spent a ton of time to get a very slightly better game. Then, with 30 seconds on his clock, and 30 minutes on mine, I spent about 5 minutes on a move, only to throw my rook away. I noticed just as I took my hand off the piece. Such an awful, awful move. I soon threw my other rook away, and my opponent converted the point. Basically, I played bad, but somehow ended up on a decent position on the board and a great position on the clock, and threw the game away. So bad. Loss.
I'm in the basement by myself, couldn't stand to be around people for a while.
The third and final round is starting soon, so I'll go back and play it out.
Game 3, opponent 1302: I played an okay opening, with a decent middlegame, getting a decent advantage. My opponent played a bad Queen move, had to sacrifice a knight for a pawn to get out, and then immediately dropped a rook and resigned. Basically, I played okayish, probably a bit below average, but for an 1845, it's enough to beat a 1302.
In summary: I played 3 much lower rated players: I played a bad game but my opponent played worse, so I still won, I played an absolutely awful game that my opponent tried to gift me that I just threw away and list, and then finally a half way decent game which is a win against the opposition I'm playing. In total, 2.0/3. A relatively bad tournament, but it was still okay. Lesson learned: while not fearing the opponent's opening is good, I still need to respect their opening, and give it a decent amount of in-game study.
Net rating change: -20
Postings from Facebook Messenger Group
Well, I fell off the wagon of posting my games, obviously. I've still been playing chess, but it's been more difficult to find time. However, I have created a facebook group to keep people posted, with brief summaries, but I figure it's better to have control over it myself, so I'll now start posting those to this blog.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
2012 Michigan Bottom Half Class Championships
(This was a draft a made a long time ago, I figure I may as well finally post it)
This past weekend, I played at Michigan Bottom Half Class Championship tournament, in the U1900 section. I did rather poorly the first day, losing both official games I played, and winning against a 772 when I had a bye. The second day I did a little better. I won a game I should have lost and made a neat sacrifice to draw a game I should have lost.
There were six players in my section, so it should have been round robin. However, due to one player taking a half-point bye the first round, and a pairing mistake, I got a bye, and never played my section's winner. I ended up with first U1800 because the U1800 player ahead of me was the section winner. I won 75$, which isn't actually that much, since the entry fee is $40.
In Round 1, I had a bye. So, the TD paired me up with from another section who had a bye, Robert White, for a rated, non-tournament game. He was 772 on the tournament sheet, but his provisional rating was 1129 after the tournament. I opened well, and he hung a piece for a pawn. He had a better position, so we were equal for much of the middlegame. He finally made a mistake, to trade off some material, and allow me to use my extra piece, but made a few mistakes to get him right back in the game. However, right after I did this, he hung the exchange, putting me up a rook for a pawn in the endgame, and after making a few more moves, he resigned.
This past weekend, I played at Michigan Bottom Half Class Championship tournament, in the U1900 section. I did rather poorly the first day, losing both official games I played, and winning against a 772 when I had a bye. The second day I did a little better. I won a game I should have lost and made a neat sacrifice to draw a game I should have lost.
There were six players in my section, so it should have been round robin. However, due to one player taking a half-point bye the first round, and a pairing mistake, I got a bye, and never played my section's winner. I ended up with first U1800 because the U1800 player ahead of me was the section winner. I won 75$, which isn't actually that much, since the entry fee is $40.
In Round 1, I had a bye. So, the TD paired me up with from another section who had a bye, Robert White, for a rated, non-tournament game. He was 772 on the tournament sheet, but his provisional rating was 1129 after the tournament. I opened well, and he hung a piece for a pawn. He had a better position, so we were equal for much of the middlegame. He finally made a mistake, to trade off some material, and allow me to use my extra piece, but made a few mistakes to get him right back in the game. However, right after I did this, he hung the exchange, putting me up a rook for a pawn in the endgame, and after making a few more moves, he resigned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)