Class B HONGKAI PAN Tie for 3rd
Class C NEIL THOMAS STRUGNELL Tie for 1st
Class E QIANG CHANG Clear 1st
Round 1
I am playing White against a 1963 player, and with Na4 (I missed that I could play Bb3 if Qc2), I have a great game, but I played Ne2 and in mutual time trouble threw it all away.
Round 2
I am Black. Here I should have played Kf7 and I think I am slightly better, I played Qa2 missing ef, but even after that I should have been able to hold the draw, but my opponent had a lot of extra time and that proved decisive. Round 3
I am Black. White had just played Rxd6, and with Rxd6 I would win in a few moves, but I played the lemon Ba6+???? Round 5 (forced bye in round 4)
I am playing White here, but could not come up with a good plan and the game ended in a draw. Although I had a very poor final score, I am pretty happy with my play. I was not outplayed in any of the games, more like I outplayed myself. The first round loss was a tough pill to swallow, and had I won that I am sure that I would have finished strong. I made the trip with 5 others and we had a great time in Chicago although only one of us managed an even score.
Ivan,
ReplyDeleteThe following points come to my mind:
Round1:
- Lack of seeing the whole board (after noticing the fork Qc2 you didn't "see" the Bishop, because it was too far away; had it been closer, maybe on d5 you may have noticed Bb3)
Round2: As usual: not paying attention to your opponents' options
Round3:
- Lack of 'Blundercheck'-routine before making a move
- 'Playing-Nicely/Beauty Price'-attitude: the first move to consider is taking back the Rook with your rook. After this the evaluation is: you win easily. Then make a Blundercheck: no counterplay/threats for your opponent. So that is when you should have stopped calculating and making your move. There is no better then winning!!! (You remember the famous joke by a Russian Grandmaster: "Question: When you can sack your opponents' queen or instead mate him in 5 moves, what should you do? - Answer: Take the queen, because there could be a hole in the 5-move mate line...")
Round5:
- Simple Plan: why not advancing your kingside pawns and creating holes/weaknesses around the black king? Black has no counterplay.
BRUZ
Thanks BRUZ, your comments are spot on.
ReplyDeleteI have a good record in local events that are being played right now
Live rating
What is your rating? Do you play OTB?
Ivan
1943 performance can not be a good record if you want to get to 2000.
ReplyDeleteWhat's your performance rating?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link. I just added you to the blogroll at www.thesiciliandefense.com
ReplyDeleteDown to 1826, how are you ever getting to 2000?
ReplyDeleteIvan,
ReplyDeleteI admire that you have a chess blog, you make me want to create one as well. Although with all the negative anonymous posters, I don't know if I would allow comments. It's good that you don't let it get to you.
Nothing motivates me more than someone telling me I can't make it. So for me I don't mind the negative stuff at all. It just make me work harder.
ReplyDeleteWow. That round 3 looks hard to swallow. I as well have an occasional problem with playing too carelessly when the game is "won".
ReplyDeleteSomeone mentioned about some GM that mentioned it's worth losing a few minutes if you can get your equilibrium by walking across the tournament room and coming back with a fresh mind. (Of course, if you're in time trouble, this isn't quite possible...)