Ok so over the weekend I played in one of the monthly local tournaments and I scored a 2.5 out of 4. I have been scoring 2.0 for the past 6 months. So while I did a little better than normal, certainly nothing to get giddy about, I am approaching giddyness. Not quite giddy but approaching giddy.
My first game was against the board 1 for the high school team. He’s rated 1855 and has improved from 1400 a year ago. He’s been studying hard and it shows he’s become quite the monster. I’ve recently been trotting out the Reti (1.Nf3) as something to use against lower rated opponents (yes there are still players out there lower rated than me) and I’ve scored +2 -0 =0 so far. Now I know this kid is booked up, and I really didn’t feel like playing an open Sicilian against him, so I figured what the hell and away we went.
Round 1 game is here.
Brief comments are.
14) I should have captured with the pawn instead. My opponent didn’t have to capture the Knight he could have moved his N to d5 when I really don’t have a good response to that.
1 
Nf5 is more aggressive.
22) Bxf6 This was a lot of damn work just to create a weakness on the K-side. I guess that’s what its like when you play strong opposition.
23) Probably Nh4 with the idea of putting my N on f5.
27) e5?? I saw the tactic against f2 like 3 moves earlier. For some reason I just stopped calculating variations at this point and I blow the game. The position unravels quickly and I do what I should do against a player rated 1855…I lose.
Overall not too bad, I put my Reti to the test against a strong opponent and I can honestly say it held up well.
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Round 2 was against another of the H.S. kids he too has improved in the last year. He’s up from the low 1300’s to a current rating of 1578.
Round 2 is here.
7)…d5 looks good
8)…d5 still looks good
9)…hmmm…d5 is still probably pretty good here.
12)…d5 is good here
13)…d5 is still good
Well for you kids keeping track at home d5 is a useful move in the Alekhine’s defense when black has decided on capturing with the e pawn. As I play it exclusively against 1.e4 you think I would just know shit like this and play the move.
From move 23 on out it’s a bit hairy. I underestimate white’s chances with the b pawn, but overall I rate the position as about equal if not -/=.
24) He should have played c5.
33)…Rg5 Behold the power of the two bishops. This “quiet” situation quickly blows up and he was completely caught off guard with my next move.
34)…Qxh3 I haven’t done a detailed analysis yet, but I don’t believe there is any defense. I don’t think he saw that his K would have no escape route.
Round 3 was a bit of a scary game as I had A LOT of problems with development.
The game is here.
2) Nc3 Ok so junior here isn’t eating the mushrooms, he instead is heading towards a Vienna game. If I wanted to take a nap I would have stayed my ass at home.
2)…d6 but you see wang is clever I will transpose into a Pirc, or so the kid thinks.
4)…e5! Now my nefarious plan is unveiled I have transposed instead into an improved Hanham variation of the Philidor Defense!
7)…c5?! After he made his 7th move it occurred to me I hadn’t looked any further than move 6 in my Philidor book. Seeing as I have never actually had a cause to play this OTB I haven’t really had to study it. So now I make a Pirc freeing move with my e pawn all the way up at e5. I doubt this is book and now I’m getting a serious case of the AH SHITS! See how clever I am, even I know not what I am doing…
8)…Nxe5 Once again I think capturing with the pawn is better.
9) Nx5 luckily for me this kid was really obliging. This is one of like 3 moves that he makes (or doesn’t make) that facilitate my ultimate victory.
12)…Qxd6 I don’t see anything better. Now I’m pretty well screwed my light squared bishop will have a hard time coming into the game and my Q-side is going to be under a lot of pressure. SHIT!
15)…h5 give the bishop some breathing room.
19)Rg3? Was he not accommodating? What sucks about this for him is that his position which I have as +/= turns to crap really fast.
24)…Rb7 I know that in the resulting endgame I’m going to want the R here anyway.
28)…b5? Old habits die hard I had to give him one more opportunity to get back into the game.
29)Ra8? What did I say about him???
33)…b4 Not really good. Our resident H.S. Coach and my part time game reviewer/coach put it simply to me. The advantage that I have on that side of the board is only one, his bad pawn structure. On the other side I have his bad structure and two extra pawns. I should be playing there instead.
The rest is pretty simple although I will probably look over the endgame again to make sure I get the concepts down.
Round 4 was me with the white pieces. I played the Reti again, and once again against another 1592 rated H.S. kid. I drop a pawn early, becuase I was trying to be cute, when I should have been playing sound chess. He then blundered a N to me and we got into a B+N+N+3P vs. B+N+5P endgame. I think it was a win but damned if I could figure it out. I will probably spend a good 2 hours going over this one. At move 50 I offered a draw, which he accepted. It felt kind of shitty, but I was tired, and I really couldn’t find a way to victory. Besides I figured it was better than possibly dropping the game. I also figured a draw against someone 150 points higher rated than you is OK, even if you have the white pieces.
Here’s a recap.
Overall 2.5 (+2 -1 =1)
My performance was 1748
I gained 87 rating points.
I came in third. Behind the kid from round 1 (he scored 4.0) and the kid I drew with (he finished with 3.0) I now have a rather large trophy with what looks like the Burger King King on it, and he’s holding a scepter, kinda strange…Not to mention the King always kinda creeps me out with that oversized head of his…
I played well against people in the top of the C class and I played well against a class A player. Not bad for a Patzer who has done no studying in the past three weeks! The difference this tournament was that since I knew I hadn’t studied I resolved to focus better than I had ever done before. I was the most focused on my games than I have ever been in the past. I didn’t walk around and I didn’t look around at the other games either. I just played my game. This might also explain the throbbing headache I developed by the middle of my 3rd game.
Next tournament is in 4 weeks, I will implement my new study plan tomorrow. I’ll let everyone know how it’s going with weekly updates. I will also be starting on part 2 of my epic, “Be the next You”, soon.
Until later kids have a good week, and good chess to you all.
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