The turn out was very dissapointing, only about 60 players showed up. The prizes were based on a ridiculously high number of 180!
Complete Results
My goals for this tournament were, to get my rating to 1900 (from 1872) and to be one of the prize winners.
I managed to tie for 3rd-4th which was worth $62.50 (the entry fee was $65). I went 3-1 (plus one bye), and gained 3 points to end up at 1875
There are many things that keep me from getting to 2000. One that I have worked on is not to get discouraged when I am not doing so well, instead I try extra hard to put as many obstacles as possible in front of my opponent. Another is to get over confident when I am doing well, I still need to work on that.
Round 1 Bye
Round 2 Mehmed Covic (1800) vs Me Loss
It was the first time that I played 5...h5, 6...h4 in this variation of the Caro-Kann. I was in bad shape after playing 9...Nbd7 (e6 was correct) , and White could have won with 19.c4 but I managed to hang in there and win the exchange and get to a winning position, I then got my rook "trapped" (after 54 Bd4) and had to sac a pawn to get it out. The funny thing was the rook was not trapped as with 55...c5 and 56...b4 I was winning easily, but after the White king guards the bishop the situation is less in my favor. I then managed to get in to severe time trouble and lost what was a drawn endgame.
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Round 3 Me vs Jan Suplat (1676) Win
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Round 4 Me vs Nicola Dos Santos (1668) Win
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Round 5 Boris Deriy (1607) vs Me Win
This game was about tactics, imaginary and real.
Imaginary Tactics - played
When I played 15...Bxg3 I thought I would be picking up the bishop on b2 next move, but right after I played it I saw that White has 16.Rf2. But I played the 2 moves 15..Bxg3 and 16...Qb6 + with such authority that it fooled my oponent and he just played 16. kh2
Real Tactics - unplayed
I had 14...Bxg3 and if White plays 15.fxg I pick up the rook with 16...Qd4+, but White has the surprising 15.Bb2 when Black is only slightly better after he playes 16...Bh4 and then 17...Bf6 (after White plays 16.Bxg7 17. Bxh8) . I don't think a human player would find 15. Bb2, it is pretty rare to just attack a pawn when your opponent just took your knight.
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I think a portion of the entries are doanted to their "educational foundation" supposedly but prizes based on 180 is nuts, they will get nowhere near that amount in Northbrook. They need to rethink their prize structure as this occured before in their tournaments.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ivan for updating this stuff, Kings Island, Northbrook etc... its the only place to find info on the local tournaments!
IL Class in Joliet IL first weekend of decemeber. Its a great venue to play chess at!!
I am planning on going to Joliet.I am trying to get some other players to go with me. I think I have at least one other person.
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