2007 Catfish Days etc.

I think I have addressed my confidence issues, these are the last ten results. (That last loss could have easily been a win, details below)

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2007 Catfish Days Results

Organizer : James Kanne

Unique locally handcrafted trophies

I talked about previous Catfish Tournaments here.

Going into the last round, a win would have guaranteed a tie for second place, and my 1987 rated opponent handed me the game on a platter:(Looks like a position from Chess Tactics Server)

here Bb5 wins , but I just missed it (possible reasons; time trouble, didn't think my opponent would make such a mistake(I did see the move right after I took my hand off the Bishop on b3))

A few moves later I didn't see a move that lost the game (It's hard to believe that White has no defence here).

Game replay

GBO 2007

My Games

Final results

It's nice to see a fellow adult A player have a great tournement. Mike Neitman went 5-0 to tie for first with Erik Santarius. In the 2nd round Mike beat the top seed Alex Betaneli.

Mike Neitman's rating jump : 1827 -->1940!

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I finished 2-1=1

For a description of playing conditions etc click here. (Greg's Chess Progress)

This and that..............

It was confirmed today by the organizer that there will NOT be a 2007 Governor's Cup in Sioux Falls SD. That's a shame since it was a one of my favorite events from last year.

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Dennis Monokroussos had some comments for me on his blog (scroll down to Getting to 2000?)

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When I started my plan to get to 2000 was to play many rated games, then get a coach and work on my weaknesses, and also study tactics/end games. That's what I did(I only got about 5 lessons). I did start making progress (measured by rating going upto 1885) . But about 4 months ago things started going wrong when I kept losing lots of games and my rating went back down to my floor of 1800.

I plan to do the same thing again. Most of the stronger players say I play far too much. I plan to spend Aug and Sep working with a coach.

Western Open, Milwaukee WI, July 7-8

Tournament Results

Although my result (0-3=2) was horrible, I learned a lot and had a good time. In the first round I was paired against expert RENE GLEN ANCHETA who tied for first last year.

In this game I had the following position.

All I have to do is take the knight(37 Nxd6) and then Play 38.Q f5 or 38.Q e2.

I decided to play 37 Qe2 first, I am still better but not after the horrible blunder 38.Ne2?? (after 37...Nde4) Black now wins with 38...Qb2 ouch!

Your mental state playes a big part in your results. I was feeling pretty bad after this loss. In the next round I was paird against a 1900 player and had the following position. I am up a piece AND threatening mate but with 15 seconds left (vs about 2min) settled for a draw. I didn't see that f7 was a safe square. Earlier I made a mental note not to go to g3 as it allowes a queen check on e8. For some reason I though that f7 was a bad square too.

After these two set backs I couldn't get back in mental shape for the next round and lost pretty routinely. In the fourth round after being a pawn down for a long while, manageed to draw against a 1844 player. I remembered most of what I had learned about defending a rook end game a pawn down. At this stage I probably should have withdrawn , but I did play the last round against a 1888 player and hung a piece very early in the game.

I know that if I had beaten the expert in the first round, it would have boosted my confidence for the rest of the rounds. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

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I heard that there might not be a Governor's Cup in South Dakota this your, due to hotel issues.

This and that..............

Here is a tournament I highly recommend: CATFISH DAYS CHESS TOURNAMENT in Franklin, MN

I have played there twice and had a great time. Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to go this year. (I am playing in two other w-end tournaments this month and it's a 6.5 hr. drive)

Here is a link to an article by Pete Karagianis on the 2004 version

Here is a page I put together for the 2005 version

2005 cross table

2006 cross table

CATFISH DAYS CHESS TOURNAMENT
2007July 27 & 28, Friday and Saturday. Franklin MN.

Stay at the Casino and have fun.The much praised, longest running out-state tournament.

5-SS RDS: 1-5:30-9;1-5 TL: Game/90 + 15 sec. PZ: 1st $300, 2nd $180, 3rd $110 and Class prizes. 5 Trophies: Open, u2100, u1850, u1600 & u1350. EF: early registration A and above $23; B and below $20; at the door $30. The famous Potluck supper is at 5:00 Friday. Send registrations to James Kanne, 66104 Co. Road 5, Franklin MN 55333. ( #507.557.8334)

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I was following the USCF forums and saw a thread about an organizer who organizes chess tournaments with names that resemble actual events(e.g. 2007 ACA 150th Anniversary US Open) in order to fool players. He has managed to post his tournament on the Wisconsin Chess Website. I have been trying to contact the webmaster, but have had no luck.

Check out the prizes for this event: $6000-3000-2000-1000-600-400-300-200 in Round Table Pizza $20 gift certificates

UPDATE : Link has been removed from Wisconsin Chess Website

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I made a $2o wager with Tony from Tony's Chess and Softball Blog.
Who ever has the higher rating in the Dec 2008 rating supplement wins.

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Every Thursday at 8:00 pm central time there is a free lecture by NM Dennis Monokroussos.

Dennis Monokroussos' Radio ChessBase lectures begin on Thursdays at 9 p.m. EDT, which translates to 01:00h GMT, 02:00 Paris/Berlin, 11:00h Sydney (on Friday). Other time zones can be found at the bottom of this page. You can use Fritz or any Fritz-compatible program (Shredder, Junior, Tiger, Hiarcs) to follow the lectures, or download a free trial client.

This is the Dennis Monokroussos site.