Chicago Open - After

I had a great time meeting old friends from all over the US.

My performance was well below par. I had 5 draws! and a loss.

I have lost the confidence I had a few weeks ago. I have to work on getting it back.

Click here for games (opens new window)

Interesting positions from the games:

Game 1 - I am White with the move

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Game 2 - I am Black with the move

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Game 3 - I am Black with the move

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Game 4 - I am White with the move

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Game 5 - I am Black with the move

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Game 6 - I am White with the move

Click here for games (opens new window)

Chicago Open - Before

I will try to concentrate on the following issues during this tournament:

Not worry about rating points - actually since I am back on my floor there are no points to lose!

Overconfidence I - Although I try, I have a problem with not taking the game seriously if my opponent is low rated (more than 200 points less than me). It won't be an issue here since there won't be any low rated players.

Overconfidence II - Do not relax till the game is over. I have a pattern of getting good positions and then relaxing, usually drawing or losing winning positions.

Don't Panic - Chess is infinitely complex and there often are defensive resources available, when none seem to exist. I have lost many games when an unexpected move by me opponent sent me into panic mode. If I had searched a little bit more I would have found the correct defensive move.

Take a "time out" when necessary to completely re-evaluate a position. An example is when you are attacking, and the opponent plays a move (usually a sacrifice) that forces you to go on the defensive.

Impatience - Realize that there is plenty of time, double and triple check everything if time permits. Especially watch for offensive possibilities of defensive looking moves. For instance there is a line in the advance variation of the Caro-Kann where White plays c3, which looks like a defense move with the goal of strengthening the d4 square, but in fact c3 opens the path for the queen to get to a4 which attacks an unprotected bishop on g4 and double attacks the pinned knight on c6.

4 Round Quick event in Waukesha

Took part in a 4 round G/15 (13, with 5 sec. delay) event.
Managed to go 4-0

Results

74 points dropped in less than 30 days!

I was in a confident mood 30 days ago, I had a decent run of 14 games with no losses except to two masters and was 26 points away from reaching 1900.

That's when I decided to play in a G/80 event.

Since then I have gone 10-9=4

Which included losses to : 1400, three 1600s,two 1700s

Click here for losses.

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Loss 1
Time Control : G/80
Opponent : Romano, Robert
Rating : 1430
Event : Rockford, IL
Date : 4/14/2007

This loss was described here.

Comments : Over-confidence, miscalculating a K&P ending, time-trouble

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Loss 2
Time Control : G/80
Opponent : Johnson, Alex
Rating : 1703
Event : Rockford, IL
Date : 4/14/2007

(21) Wijetunge,I (1874) - Johnson ,A (1703) [A85]Rockford (2), 14.04.2007
1.d4 e6 2.c4 [ 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bf4 Nf6 4.e3 b6 5.Bd3 Bb7 6.Nbd2 Be7] 2...f5 3.Nf3 [ 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 ( 6...d5 7.b3) 7.Nc3 Qe8 ( 7...Ne4 8.Qd3 Nxc3 9.Qxc3 Bd7) ; 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.e3] 3...Nf6 4.Nc3 b6 5.g3 Bb7 6.Bg2 Bb4 7.0-0 0-0 8.Qb3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 [ 9.Qxc3 Ne4 10.Qd3 Nc6 11.a3 Qf6 12.b4 a5 13.b5 Ne7 14.a4 Ng6 15.Ba3 d6] 9...Nc6 10.a4 Ne4 11.Bb2 [ 11.a5 Nxa5 ( 11...Ba6 12.axb6 axb6 13.Ba3 Na5 14.Qc2 c5 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.Nd2 Nxd2 17.Qxd2 Nb3) 12.Rxa5 bxa5 13.Qxb7 Rb8 14.Qxa7 Nxc3 15.Re1 Ra8] 11...Na5 12.Qa2 Ba6 13.Ba3 Bxc4 14.Qb2 Re8 15.Ne5 Bd5 16.Qc1 Nb3 17.Qc2 Nxa1 18.Rxa1 d6 19.Nd3 Nf6 20.f3 Rc8 21.c4 Ba8 22.Rd1 Qe7 23.Bh3 g6 24.Qc3 Kf7 25.Qd2 c5 26.dxc5 dxc5 27.Ne5+ Kg7 28.Bc1 Rcd8 29.Qh6+ Kg8 30.Rxd8 Rxd8 31.Bg5 Qg7 32.Qh4 Rd4 33.g4 Nd7 34.Bh6 Qf6 35.Qxf6 Nxf6 36.Kf2 Nd7 37.Nxd7 Rxd7 38.Be3 0-1

Comments : Thinking about Loss 1, misplaying the opening

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Loss 3
Time Control : G/60
Opponent : Wagner, Richard
Rating : 18
Event : Hales Corners, WI
Date : Date : 4/22/2007

Comments : Threw away a completely winning game in time-trouble . Game was described here.

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Loss 4
Time Control : G/30
Opponent :Ireland, Jonathan
Rating : 1791
Event : Hales Corners, WI
Date : 4/26/2007

(16) Wijetunge,I (1829) - Ireland,J (1791)
1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 d5 3.e3 Nd7 4.Bd3 Ndf6 5.h3 Bd7 6.Nf3 c6 7.c4 Qa5+ 8.Nbd2 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Ne4 10.Bf4 [ 10.Qb3+-] 10...e6 11.0-0 Ngf6 12.Nb3 Qd8 13.Ne5 g6 14.f3 [ 14.Nxd7 Qxd7 15.f3 Nd6 16.Nc5] 14...Nd6 15.Be2 Bg7 16.Rc1 Nd5 17.Nc5 Bc8 18.Bd3 Nxf4 19.exf4 0-0 20.Qb3 Qb6 21.Qc2 Qd8 22.Rfe1 Nb5 23.Bxb5 Qxd4+ 24.Kh1 cxb5 25.g3 b6 26.Red1 [ 26.Nb3 Qb4 27.Qc6 Rb8 28.Qc7 Bb7] 26...Qxc5 *

Comments : Got a great position in the opening(missed 10.Qb3 above), then dropped a piece in an equal position.

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Loss 5
Time Control : G/60
Opponent : Mc Clanahan, Gavin
Rating : 1651
Event : RCC, Northbrook, IL
Date : 5/6/2007

Comments : Equal middle game, blundered in endgame, time-trouble . Game described here.

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Loss 6
Time Control : G/60
Opponent : Tennant, Steve
Rating : 2200
Event : RCC, Northbrook, IL
Date : 5/6/2007

Comments : I thought I had a equal opening, but miscalculated the power of the 2 knights on the queen side.

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Loss 7
Time Control : G/90
Opponent : Jensen, Alex
Rating : 1554
Event : Waukesha CC, WI
Date : 5/9/2007

(10) Wijetunge,I (1822) - Jensen,A (1544) [B13]Waukesha Championship (5), 09.05.2007[Wijetunge,I]
I normally play d4, but wanted to play against the Caro Kann, which happens to be my favorite defense to 1.e4 ( I knew my opponent plays the Caro) 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.c5 I didn't expect this, I thought 6..Bg4 would be the reply 6...e5 7.dxe5 Nxe5 8.Qd4 I should have played Bb5+ 8...Nc6 9.Bb5 Qe7+ 10.Be3 Be6 11.h3 I wanted to play Nf3, but didn't want Ng5 [ 11.Nf3 Ng4 12.b4 Nxe3 13.fxe3+/=] 11...a6 12.Ba4 g6 13.Nf3 Bg7 14.Ne5 Rc8 15.0-0 0-0 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Qh4 Qb7 18.Bd4 Ne8 19.Bb3 Qb4 20.Rad1 Bxd4 21.Qxd4 Qxd4 22.Rxd4 Nc7 23.Ra4 Ra8 24.Ne2 Nb5 25.Nd4 Nxd4 26.Rxd4 Rfb8 27.Rc1 Ra7 28.Rc2 Bf5 29.Rc3 Bd7 30.Ra4 a5 31.Rd4 Kg7 32.f3 Be8 33.Kf2 a4 34.Rxa4 Rxa4 35.Bxa4 Rxb2+ 36.Rc2 Rb4 37.Bb3 Bd7 38.g4 f5 39.Re2 Kf7 40.Kg3 f4+ 41.Kf2 Bc8 42.Re4 Rxe4 43.fxe4 Ke6 44.exd5+ cxd5 45.h4 h6 46.Kf3 g5 47.hxg5 hxg5 48.a4 Ba6 49.a5 Kd7 50.Ba4+ [ 50.Bxd5 The score sheet may be wrong, since I can't believe I missed this move] 50...Kc7 51.Kf2 With 4 sec to go on my clock and 29 min on my opponents, I realized that time-delay was not on. I requested a delay clock, and it was given with my time reduced by half. So now I have 2 sec + the 5 sec delay, but I lost on time. With best play this end game might be drawable? 51...Bc4 52.Kf3 Kb7 53.Be8 d4 54.Kf2 d3 55.Ke1 White lost on time 0-1

Comments : Over confidence, time trouble

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Loss 8
Time Control : G/90
Opponent : Walker, Arlen
Rating : 1827
Event : Waukesha CC, WI
Date : 5/9/2007

Missed the easy 12.f4 to put the game away

(5) Wijetunge,I (1822) - Walker,A (1827) 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.e3 Ne4 5.Bd3 f5 6.0-0 c6 7.Ne5 Nd7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Nxg6 Ndf6 10.Qh4 Rg8 11.Nxf8 Ng5 12.Qh6 [ 12.f4+-] 12...Ng4 13.Nxe6?? [ 13.Qh5++-] 13...Bxe6 14.Qxe6+ Nxe6 15.Bxf5 Qf6 16.Bxe6 Qxe6 17.c5 0-0-0 18.Nd2 Qg6 19.g3 Rdf8 20.b4 h5 21.h4 Nxf2 0-1

Comments : Over confidence

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Loss 9
Time Control : G/45
Opponent : May, J
Rating : 1650
Event : Parents/Friends event K-6 Nationals, Nashville, TN
Date : May 13,2007

(2) Wijetunge,I (1810) - May,J [D02]K-6 Parents/Friends (3), 12.05.2007[Wijetunge,I]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.e3 [ 3.c4] 3...Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 Nd7 6.Qb3 Qc7 7.Bd2 Ngf6 8.Rc1 Qb6 9.Be2 Bd6 10.c5 Qxb3 11.axb3 Bc7 12.b4 0-0 13.b5 e5 14.0-0 Ne4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Ra1 exd4 17.exd4 Rfe8 18.Be3 [ 18.Rfe1] 18...Nf6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Ra6 Re7 21.Nd2 Bf5 22.Rxc6 Rb8 23.b3 Ba5 24.Bd1? [ 24.Rd1 Bxd2 25.Bxd2 Rxb3 26.Bf3+/-] 24...Bd3 25.Rd6 [ 25.Re1-/+] 25...Bxf1 26.Kxf1 Rxe3 27.fxe3 Bxd2 28.Ke2 Bc1 29.b4 h6 30.c6 Rc8 31.b5 Ne4 32.Rd7 Nc3+ 33.Ke1 Nxb5 34.Ba4 0-1

Reason(s) : Over confidence, too passive.

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I won't be having any over-confidence or time-trouble issues at the Chicago Open. Although results like the above would have normally left me feeling pretty down, for some reason I have a good feeling about the Chicago Open.

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This is what I plan to do for rest of the year:
Play
Play in tournaments with time control slower than G/60
Play at most one w-end tournament a month.
Play about 19 G/100 games (one game a week tournaments) for the rest of the year.
Study
Tactics
Endgames
Openings
Study middle games/plans based on my openings
Annotate my own games
Other
Regular (5-6 times a week) exercise
Healthier eating
Drink more water

May 06 - 3rd Coast G/60 Open at the Renaissance Hotel

There were 32 participants. Results

FM Stamnov, FM Tennant, Brian Luo(2043 #1 Age 9) and Mc Clanahan, (1651 #26 Age 10) tied for first with 3.5/4.

I won the first two games, lost the 3rd to Tennant, and the 4th to Mc Clanahan.

In the following 4th round game, I missed, 29..Nxd6, 30.Qxa2 Kc8 with an equal game.
(5) Mc Clanahan,G (1651) - Wijetunge,I (1830) [B16]RKnights G/60 (4), 06.05.2007
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 [ 4...Nd7 5.Ng5 Ndf6 6.N1f3 h6 7.Nxf7 Kxf7 8.Ne5+ Ke8 9.Qd3 Qd5 10.Qg6+ Kd8 11.Nf7+ Kc7 12.Bf4+ Kb6 13.Qg3 e5 14.Nxe5 Nh5 15.Nd7+ Ka5 16.Bc7+ Kb4] 5.Nxf6+ gxf6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be2 Rg8 8.Bf4 e6 9.Qd2 Nd7 10.c3 Nb6 11.Bg3 Nd5 12.h3 Bh5 13.Qc2 Bg6 14.Bd3 Bd6 15.Bxg6 hxg6 16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.g3 0-0-0 18.0-0-0 Qc7 19.Nd2 Rh8 20.h4 Rh7 21.Ne4 Qe7 [ 21...f5 22.Ng5] 22.Qb3 Rdh8 23.c4 Nb6 24.Rhe1 Rh5 [ 24...g5 25.hxg5 fxg5] 25.c5 Nd5 26.Nd6+ Kb8 27.Qa4 Nc7 28.Rd3 Ne8 29.Ra3 a6 [ 29...Nxd6 30.Qxa7+ Kc8 31.cxd6 ( 31.Qa8+ Kd7) 31...Qxd6 32.Rb3 Qb8; 29...b5 30.cxb6 Nxd6 31.bxa7+ Ka8 32.Qxc6+ Nb7 33.Kb1] 30.Nxb7 1-0