Michael Abron's quest to play rated chess in all 50 states

I met Michael Abron from the east coast in Sussex, Wisconsin. He plans to play rated tournaments in all 50 states. He has 20 to go.

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*2/19/2018 Update from Michael
I am completing my quest to play in all 50 States by beginning to play in the 20 States that needed to complete the task. 

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*7/26/2018 Update
45 States completed; only 5 left:

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*3/07/2019 Update : Only Alaska to go!

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*10/12/2019 Alaska done!!

Michael  in action (2006 Sussex, Wisconsin.)

1. 2019-10-12 Alaska NATIONAL CHESS DAY 1 (AK)
2. 2019-03-17 South Dakota 2019 JACKRABBIT OPEN AND RESER (SD)
3. 2018-11-10 Wyoming 2018 NEW WYOMING OPEN (WY)
4. 2018-09-16 Montana 2018 BIG SKY COUNTRY (MT)
5. 2018-09-03 Hawaii 2018 HAWAII STATE OPEN (HI)
6. 2018-07-22 Nebraska 2018 CORNHUSKER (NE)
7. 2018-07-14 North Dakota MIKE ABRON INVITATIONAL (ND)
8. 2018-07-07 Arkansas SEVEN MORE STATES (AR)
9. 2018-06-25 Mississippi MICHAEL'S TOUR (MS)
10. 2018-06-24 Louisiana 2018 US SENIOR OPEN (LA)
11. 2018-05-20 New Mexico MINI SENIOR (NM)
12. 2018-05-20 Arizona UNITY WEEKLY MAY 20TH, 2018 (AZ)
13. 2018-05-12 Utah GAME-IN-SIXTY CHAMPIONSHIP (UT)
14. 2018-05-05 California 18TH CHARLES POWELL MEMORIAL (CA)
15. 2018-04-29 Washington CLARK HARMON MEMORIAL (WA)
16. 2018-04-22 Oregon APRIL 2018 PCC SUNDAY QUADS (OR)
17. 2018-04-15 Idaho  2018 IDAHO OPEN (ID)
18. 2018-03-04 Colorado 2018 COLORADO SPRINGS OPEN (CO)
19. 2018-02-24 New Hampshire 5TH QUEEN CITY TORNADO (NH)
20. 2018-02-20 Maine SACOVALLEY QUASI QUICK QUADS (ME)
21. 2006-07-29 Wisconsin  SCORCHING 15 (WI)
22. 2006-07-23 Kansas KANSAS OPEN (KS) 
23. 2006-07-16 Oklahoma OKLA OPEN 2006 JERRY SPANN MEM (OK)
24. 2006-06-27 Rhode Island CRANSTON-WARWICK JUNE MONTHLY (RI)
25. 2006-06-25 Michigan 2006 MICH BOTTOM-HALF CHAMPION (MI)   
26. 2006-06-10 Indiana JUNE OPEN (IN)
27. 2006-05-28 West Virginia UNITED STATES AMATEUR SOUTH (WV)
28. 2006-04-23 Kentucky 2ND LOUISVILLE OPEN!? (KY)
29. 2006-02-19 Iowa HAWKEYE MIND CHALLENGE XIII (IA)
30. 2005-06-12 Nevada 2005 NATIONAL OPEN (NV)
31. 2004-02-22 Texas SOUTHEAST AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP (TX)
32. 2003-08-10 Vermont 13TH VERMONT RESORT OPEN! (VT)
33. 2003-06-15 New Jersey 2003 SOUTH JERSEY OPEN (NJ)
34. 2002-11-29 Massachusetts 2002 NORTHEAST CHESS FALL GETA (MA)
35. 2002-11-29 Delaware DELAWARE STATE QUICK CHAMP (DE)
36. 2000-09-04 New York 122ND NYS CHAMPIONSHIP! (NY)
37. 2000-08-13 Minnesota 101ST ANNUAL US OPEN - 2000 (MN)
38. 2000-06-16 Virginia BOOZ ALLEN 2ND CLUB CHAMPIONSH (VA)
39. 2000-06-09 Maryland FMCA EVERY FRI KNIGHT QUICK (MD)
40. 2000-04-23 Connecticut 2ND ANNUAL FOXWOODS OPEN (CT)
41. 1999-06-20 Ohio 1999 COLUMBUS OPEN (OH)
42. 1999-06-13 South Carolina SOUTH CAROLINA OPEN (SC)
43. 1999-05-31 Illinois 8TH ANNUAL CHICAGO OPEN (IL) 
44. 1999-03-28 Florida 7TH ORLANDO OPEN! (FL)
45. 1998-12-29 District of Columbia 25TH EASTERN OPEN (DC) 
46. 1998-10-25 North Carolina NC OPEN (NC)
47. 1998-11-29 Missouri US CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS (MO)
48. 1996-03-17 Alabama 1996 SPACE CITY OPEN (AL) 
49. 1994-07-04 Pennsylvania 22ND ANNUAL WORLD OPEN (PA)
50. 1991-12-08 Georgia 21ST ANNUAL ATLANTA OPEN (GA)
51. 1991-12-08 Tennessee SOUTHEASTERN AMATEUR TEAM CHAM (TN)

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1. Alabama United States Amateur South 19 (AL)
2. Alaska
3. Arizona UNITY WEEKLY MAY 20TH, 2018 (AZ)
4. Arkansas SEVEN MORE STATES (AR)
5. California 18TH CHARLES POWELL MEMORIAL (CA)
6. Colorado 2018 COLORADO SPRINGS OPEN
7. Connecticut FOXWOODS OPEN (CT)
8. Delaware 4TH SATURDAY QUAD # 31 (DE)
9. Florida 8TH SOUTHERN OPEN (FL)
10. Georgia 2006 EMORY GRAND PRIX (GA)
11. Hawaii 2018 HAWAII STATE OPEN (HI)
12. Idaho 2018 IDAHO OPEN (ID)
13. Illinois CHICAGO OPEN (IL)
14. Indiana JUNE OPEN (IN)
15. Iowa HAWKEYE MIND CHALLENGE XIII (IA)
16. Kansas KANSAS OPEN (KS)
17. Kentucky 2ND LOUISVILLE OPEN!? (KY)
18. Louisiana 2018 US SENIOR OPEN (LA)
19. Maine SACOVALLEY QUASI QUICK QUADS (ME)
20. Maryland MAYWEEKEND2006 (MD)
21. Massachusetts 2002 NORTHEAST CHESS FALL GETA (MA)
22. Michigan 2006 MICH BOTTOM-HALF CHAMPION (MI)
23. Minnesota FIRST ANNUAL HB GLOBAL CHESS C (MN)
24. Mississippi MICHAEL'S TOUR (MS)
25. Missouri US CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS (MO)
26. Montana 2018 BIG SKY COUNTRY (MT)
27. Nebraska 2018 CORNHUSKER (NE)
28. Nevada 2005 NATIONAL OPEN (NV)
29. New Hampshire 5TH QUEEN CITY TORNADO (NH)
30. New Jersey 2003 SOUTH JERSEY OPEN (NJ)
31. New Mexico MINI SENIOR (NM)
32. New York NY AUGUST UNDER 1800! (NY)
33. North Carolina LAND OF THE SKY XVII (NC)
34. North Dakota MIKE ABRON INVITATIONAL (ND)
35. Ohio 61ST OHIO CHESS CONGRESS (OH)
36. Oklahoma OKLA OPEN 2006 JERRY SPANN MEM (OK)
37. Oregon APRIL 2018 PCC SUNDAY QUADS (OR)
38. Pennsylvania 2006 GREATER PHILADELPHIA OPEN (PA)
39. Rhode Island CRANSTON-WARWICK JUNE MONTHLY (RI)
40. South Carolina GRU-BELL OCTOBER 2000 (SC)
41. South Dakota 2019 JACKRABBIT OPEN AND RESER (SD)
42. Tennessee 10TH VULCAN MATERIALS FUN-FEST (TN)
43. Texas DCC WED 7.19.06 (TX)
44. Utah GAME-IN-SIXTY CHAMPIONSHIP (UT)
45. Vermont 13TH VERMONT RESORT OPEN! (VT)
46. Virginia BOOZ ALLEN 2ND CLUB CHAMPIONSH (VA)
47. Washington CLARK HARMON MEMORIAL (WA)
48. West Virginia UNITED STATES AMATEUR SOUTH (WV)
49. Wisconsin SCORCHING 15 (WI)
50. Wyoming 2018 NEW WYOMING OPEN (WY)
51. District of Columbia DC)US CHESS CENTER LADDER (DC)

1. 
   

Green Bay Open July 22-23

Results

There were 79 entries. The top seeds were:

1) 2302 BETANELI, ALEXANDER
2) 2121 SANTARIUS, ERIK F
3) 2113 VAJA, ASHISH

The winner was SANTARIUS, ERIK F who beat BETANELI, ALEXANDER in the last round to finish with a perfect score.

Another great performance by 9 year old LUO, BRIAN J who finished clear second with 4.5 points. He is now rated 2025.

My Results
1) Draw Me vs FEDUNOV, DANIL (1728)
2) Win MC CLANAHAN, BRYCE (1233) vs Me
3) Win Me vs BORMAN, KELLY L (2003)
4) Draw ELGER, WILLIAM A (1964) vs Me
5) Loss HOFFMAN, GUY G (1922) vs Me
In this game I was offered a draw in a clearly equal position, but since 3.5 points was not enough for any prize money, I decided to play on and ended up getting a knight trapped!

Score: 2-1=2
Rating: 1800-1813

July 15-16 Minneapolis Chess Castle

This is a seven round G/60 with 15 sec. delay
Results

1) Loss to a 2118
2) Win against a 1250
3) Win against 850
4) Loss to a 2102
5) Loss to a 1996
6) Win 1822
7) Draw 1640

Score : 3-3=1
Rating : 1801-1800

Some pictures taken at the Chess Castle

Hales Corners SWCC Club Championship

This is a 6 round Swiss with 1 game a week G/100

The top seeds are:
1) Jon Breider 2144
2) Raymond Hayes 2100
3) Allen Becker 2039

My Results

1. Win Me vs SCHULTZ, MARVIN A (1500) - July 13th
2. Loss ROYCHOUDHURY, SOUVIK (1969) vs Me - July 24th
3. Win vs DEMLER, JOHN A (1466) - July 27th
4. Loss CARDENAS, DAVID R (1905) - Aug 15 - 2006
5. Win vs FIXEL, MICHAEL R (1642)
6. Loss Me vs IRELAND, JOHNATHAN (1786)

Waukesha CC Team Championship (Jul 5 - Sep 20)

This is a 6 person double round robin(10 games) with one game a week tournament, time control G/90.

I did not get off to a good start. Lost the first game to a 1707. There are 9 more games to go so I have planty of chances to come back. I need to score 6/10, (make that 6/9) in order not to lose rating points.

Round 2 ( I need to make-up Round 1)

[Event "Waukesha CC G/90"]
[Site "Waukesh CC"]
[Date "2006.07.12"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Me"]
[Black "Hetzel, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "1707"]
[BlackElo "1800"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2006.06.11"]
1. d4 d5 2. Bg5 h6 3. Bh4 Nd7 4. e3 Ngf6 5. Nd2 e5 6. Ngf3 (6. dxe5 Nxe5 7.
Ngf3 Ng6 8. Bg3) 6... exd4 7. exd4 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 Nf8 11.
Ne5 Ne6 12. c3 c5 13. Bxf6 (13. dxc5 Nxc5 14. Bb5 Bd7 (14... Ncd7) (14... Nfd7
15. Bxe7 Rxe7 16. Bxd7 Nxd7 17. Ndf3 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 Bg4 19. Rxe7 Qxe7 20. h3
Bxf3 21. Qxf3) 15. Nxd7 Nfxd7 16. Bg3 (16. Rxe7 Rxe7 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nf3 Nf6
19. Qd4 Ne6 20. Qd2 Rd8 21. Rd1 Ne4 22. Qc2) 16... a6 17. Bf1) 13... Bxf6 14.
Qh5 (14. Bb5 Re7) 14... Bxe5 15. dxe5 (15. Qxe5 cxd4 16. cxd4 Bd7) 15... Nf4
16. Qf3 Qg5 17. g3 Nh3+ 18. Kg2 Qxd2 19. Re2 Qg5 20. Kh1 Bg4 21. Qg2 Bxe2 22.
Bxe2 Qd2 23. f4 Qe3 24. Rf1 d4 25. Bb5 Red8 26. Qxh3 dxc3 27. bxc3 Rd2 28. Bd7
Qe4+ 29. Kg1 Rd8 30. e6 fxe6 31. Bxe6+ Kf8 32. c4 Rxa2 33. Bd5 Qd4+ 34. Kh1 b6
35. Qf5+ Qf6 36. Qh7 Re2 37. Qd3 Rde8 38. Qh7 R8e3 39. Qg8+ Ke7 40. Qa8 a5 41.
Qb7+ Kf8 42. Qc8+ Re8 43. Qd7 Re1 44. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 45. Kg2 g5 0-1

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Mistake 1
In a d4 opening if Black can play e5 comfortably, or play d5 in a e4 game, he has equalized. I forgot this in this game. I should have played Ngf3 instead of Nd2. Black did not take full advantage of this.

This is the critical moment of the game. This move determined the future of the game.

Candidate moves

dc This is the move I wanted to play and analyzed dc, Nc5, Bb5 when I may win the two Bishops and saddle Black with an isolated pawn.

I also looked at 13. Bxf6 first, then playing dxc and B b5.

I chose the above two moves as candidates and tried to see who the resulting position might favor. I thought that the first option was the best.

Mistake 2
But then I did some thing that I knew I shouldn't do. I looked at a few candidate moves, analyzed them, and then suddenly saw something else which looks good, and played it without much analysis.

13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Qh5 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Nf4

I didn't see the Nf4 move (I am worse now). After this second mistake, I was disappointed in myself and could not concentrate. I then proceeded to drop a piece. My focus level during the game was not good. Sometimes I feel completely focused and have a sense of being one with the game. Reminds me of what a 2200 hundred player was telling me about a recent game he had won. He said his opponent was playing well, but suddenlystarted playing as though he was a random move generator. I felt I was doing this in this game at various times.

Results - This tournament is turning out very badly for me. When it is rated in late September I will lose any gains I may have made. I have to win 5/6 in order not to lose any rating points!

1. To be played ALKER, ARLEN P (1820) vs Me
2. Loss Me vs HETZEL, JOSEPH H (1707) - July 13th
3. Loss Me vs VELIKANOV, ALEXANDER (1781) - July 20th
4. Win FIXEL, MICHAEL R (1642) vs Me - July 26th
5. Loss Me vs PUCHNER, JOHN (1733)
6. To be played Me vs ALKER, ARLEN P
7. Win HETZEL, JOSEPH H vs Me - Aug 16
8. To be played - VELIKANOV, ALEXANDER vs Me
9. Aug 30 - Me vs FIXEL, MICHAEL R
10. Sep - 6 PUCHNER, JOHN D vs Me

Round 1 make up Sep - 13 WALKER, ARLEN P (1820) vs Me

Round 6 make up Sep - 20 Me vs WALKER, ARLEN P

July 9, 3rd Coast Challenge

A very strong field showed up.
Results


(1) AngeloYoung 2460 (R) (2) Mehmed Pasalic 2408 (L)

(3) Anthony Cozzie 2399 (L) (4) Alexander Betaneli 2302 (R)

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Story of the tournament

9 year old Brian Luo has performance rating of 2430! He finished with 3-1 which included wins over Jon Burgess 2233 and Steven Szpisjak 2200. He now has a rating of 2011, which makes him the top rated 9 year old in the nation.

Brian Luo in action in the last round against Mehmed Pasalic

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My Results

Round 1: Loss to Steven Tennant 2209, Round 2: Win against a 1274, Round 3 loss to a 1965, Round 4 win against a 1684. I gained 1 rating point!

Allen Becker and Tom Fogec, fellow Southwest Chess Club members.

Result: 2-2=0
Rating: 1800-1801

July 1-2, Western Open

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The turn out was small, 26 in the open section and 21 in the reserve.
Results

Open Section
The top 3 seeds are:
Stanilislav Smetankin(right) 2490
Angelo Young 2460

And new comer to the Milwaukee area Ruslan Ahundov(right) 2431

Open Section was a four way tie between Stanislav Smetankin, Angelo Young, Ruslan Ahundor and expert Glen Rene Ancheta. (below)

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Reserve Section
Favorite to win the reserve section Alexander Velokanov (2-0) so far. He is #3 in the nation among 8 year olds. He could not prevail in round 3. He lost to the top seed Thomas Edelen (1778)

David Segunski(Right) wins the Reserve Section with 4.5/5

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Round 1
I lost to Joseph Richrds (2029).

I had White in the following position, but did not find the Queen trap. All I had to do was play 19. Rfb1 and the black Queen is trapped after Qxc3, Ra3.

(14)Me (1800) - Richards,J (2029) [D03]Western Open (1), 01.07.2006
1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 Nf6 3.Nd2 g6 4.e3 Bg7 5.Ngf3 0-0 6.Bd3 c5 7.c3 Nc6 8.0-0 Qb6 9.Rb1 e5 10.dxc5 Qxc5 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Bxe4 Be6 14.Ra1 f5 15.Be3 Qb5 16.Bd3 Qxb2 17.Ng5 Bxa2 18.Qa4 Bd5 19.Bc4 [ 19.Rfb1 b5 20.Bxb5 Qxc3 21.Rc1] 19...Rfd8 20.Bxd5+ Rxd5 21.Qc4 Qb5 22.Qa2 Na5 23.Rab1 Qc6 24.Rfd1 Rad8 25.Rxd5 Qxd5 26.Qxd5+ Rxd5 27.Bxa7 e4 28.f3 exf3 29.Nxf3 Bxc3 30.Bb6 Nc4 31.Bf2 b5 32.g3 b4 33.Rc1 Nd2 34.Nxd2 Rxd2 35.Kf1 Kf7 36.Kg1 0-1

Round 2

I lost the 2nd round to Anthony Parker (1934) Couldn't put game 1 out of my mind. It was a Qd6 Scandinavian.

(15) Parker,A (1934) - Me (1800) [B01]Western Open (2),
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 a6 6.Bd3 b5 7.Ne2 Bb7 8.Ng3 e6 9.0-0 Be7 10.Re1 0-0 11.c3 Nbd7 12.Ne5 Rad8 13.a4 Qb6 [ 13...Nxe5 14.Rxe5 b4; 13...c5 14.Nxd7 Qxd7 15.axb5 axb5 16.Ra5 cxd4 17.Bxb5 Qc7 18.Ra7 Qb6 19.Qa4 Bc5 20.Ra5 dxc3] 14.a5 Qa7 15.Bg5 c5 16.Nh5 Nxe5 17.Rxe5 Nd5 18.Qg4 [ 18.Bxe7 Nxe7 19.Qg4] 18...f5 19.Qg3 Bxg5 20.Qxg5 Bc8 21.dxc5 Qc7 22.Rae1 1-0

Round 3

I managed a draw against Richard Wagner (1900) after being lost most of the game. This is the final position. I could not find anything other than the knight checks.

Round 4

Finally a win against Virgilio Forro (1723)

Round 5

Lost to Patrick McElwee (1982)

Here is some information that may help you. In this game we were both in time trouble with about 20 moves to make in 2 minutes. At this stage I was up a knight. I was trying to flag him. What I should have done is let the time run out since my opponent was not keeping score. He could not claim a win on time. Instead I tried to blitz and ended up in a lost position. At this point both clocks were down, so I claimend a draw, but it was disallowed since I did not have a way of proving it. (we were still in the firts time contol)

The reason I don't feel too bad about the incident was the fact that I was lost most of the game. I would have felt much worse if I was not.

That loss cost me money and rating points, bummer.

Score: 1-3=1

Rating: 1800-1800

Old Annotated Game

I found one of my games from a year ago that was annotated by NM Pete Karagianis

Brett Helm (1534) vs Me (1764) 2005.05.14

Game Annotation

Ashish reminded me how important it is to analyze your own games.

I selected this game to annotate although it was G/30. because it was against a Master and I enjoy playing the endgame. I also like to look at the relationship between Bishops and Knights.

Ashish also adviced me not to use Fritz to analye. I am going to have a hard time doing that. Playing a game of chess is like taking a multiple choice test every time it is your move. After a game I find it very hard not to "check" my answers using Fritz. I used to rely on Fritz only for analysis, but I now force myself to do my own analysis and then use Fritz.

Alex Betaneli (2302) vs Me (1800)

Comments/Advice welcome.

Comments on Comments

Thanks for the comments.

Be up front with yourself about your real goal. Is it really/only to reach 2000? Then why play 21 games at the US Open? Wouldn't you learn and improve more by playing just a few focused games, and spending the saved time and energy in analysis and study? (Your own analysis, NOT Fritz.)

Yes I agree. So my new US Open schedule looks like:

I am only playing 4 extra games on the 13th, since the tournament on July 5-6 is a separate event. This way I should be able to watch the end of the main event since the G/45 event should end by 5:30

Do you have a teacher - a master or better?

I am working on getting one.

Are you studying endings? Do you know by heart ALL the basic positions in Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual? Now there's a good way to get to 2000.

Yes I am, I started with Rook and pawn endings, I am also working on the Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual.

Last but not least - why time trouble so often? How are you addressing that?

Two out of the first three events on my shedule were G/30. I don't have any more fast time control events scheduled except for the G/45 US Championship event, so I should not get into time trouble that often.

June 24, 2006 Joliet, IL

US G/30 with 5 sec. delay
6 Rounds


The turn out for the main event was very disappointing, only 40 players showed up. (Only 26 from IL.) The US G/15 the next day had only 20 players! The playing site and organization was very good, but more thought has to be put into the prize distribution. For instance there were no overall prizes, the prizes were based on class. There were 3 master prizes, but there was only 1 master. So he was guaranteed the biggest prize even if he scored zero points.

The star of the event was Audrius Macenis , who had 5/5 going into the last round after beating master Alexander Betaneli in round 4. Although he lost the last round he now has a provisional rating of 2119.

I started well with 3/4 . The third round loss was to the top seed. I had black in the following position. Fritz says that I have a slight edge, but I was not able to hold.

I lost the last 2 rounds to two 1700 hundred players, so I am back on my floor again.

I ran into several Iowa friends, Mike Parsons, Dan Vasto, Eric Fischer and the Anzis family.

Result: 3-3=0

Rating: 1805-1800

June 17, 2006 Bloomington, IL

June Open
G/70 5 sec. Delay 4 Rounds


The 43 player field was was well directed by Dennis Bourgerie. The playing site was excellent. Below are a couple of pictures from the tournament.

I won the first round against 1482 player. In the 2nd round I was playing white against an expert and took a draw in the following position because I was short on time. Fritz says I have the edge.(White to play)

I was paired against another expert in round 3 and had the following postion. I am black.

I played the useless Bg3 and ended up losing later in a time scramble, Fritz likes Nf4 with th idea of going to d3. An out post without pawn support!

I won the last round against a 1250 player after dropping a knight in the first few moves! I really have to learn not to pay any attention to the players rating. After losing the knight I was completely lost but played on, I then won the exchange and had a rook for two knights. I still didn't have any winning chances since my rook could not get behind the pawns. I then won a knight and it was my turn to be completely winning. I then lost my rook to a knight fork! I was lost again. But I managed to queen a pawn and win. I played the last 15 moves or so with 12 sec. left. If not for time delay I would have lost on time.

It was a 3 way tie for first with Jon Burgess , William Brock & Anthony Cozzie (Who has a provisional rating of 2400!) finishing with 3.5/4.

Result : 2-1=1

Rating: 1800-1805

US OPEN - How I plan to play 21 Games

June 9, 2006 - Dallas, TX

Dallas Chass Club
G/30 with 5 sec delay.
4 Round Swiss.

Round 1
I lost to Darwin Yang, the highest rated 9 year old in the country. I thought that I had the advantage in that game, but could not find the right moves in time trouble and lost.

I am playing white here and should have played g5 with advantage according to Fritz. I played gxf which is not bad.

Round 2
I have a major issue with regaining my composure after a bad result. The first round loss affected me in the next 2 games. I could only manage a draw against a 1600 player.

I have black here and didn't even think about capturing with the pawn. I took with the rook and let the pressure off the 7th.

Round 3
I lost to a 2000 rated player. I didn't play round four.

I am black again and played Ne7, but according to Fritz I should have played axb.

DCC FRIDAY SWISS 6.9.06 (TX)

Game Replay


Result: 0-2=1

Rating: 1800-1800

So my quest got off to a rocky start.

Tentative Schedule

Getting to 2000 (USCF)

Greetings. I set this Blog to chart my progress. (Or lack there of). My goal is to get my rating to 2000 by the February 2007 rating supplement. That would include games completed by December 2006

Thanks to a decent(tied for 3rd) performance in the under 1800 section of the FIRST ANNUAL HB GLOBAL CHESS C (MN), I have a 1800 floor. (My Report)

In the summer of 2005, I got my rating upto 1880, but since then I have had many a bad result, and if not for my floor I would probably be rated 1600 right now.

I also plan to get in good physical condition and relearn how to play the violin. They should both have a positive effect on my goal.

I plan to play a lot and study. Mainly tactics and end games. I also plan to analyse my games a lot more. (before I analyse using Fritz)

Future Plans

September-

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October-

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November-

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December-

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January -

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February -

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March -

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April -

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May

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June -

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July -

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August -

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Last 10 Rated games

Performance rating last 10 games = 1793
WIN 1665 Milwaukee, WI 03-09-2008
LOSS 2050 Milwaukee, WI 03-09-2008
WIN 1686 Milwaukee, WI 03-08-2008
LOSS 2454 Milwaukee, WI 03-08-2008
WIN 1310 Milwaukee, WI 03-08-2008
WIN 1397 Waukesha, WI 03-05-2008
WIN 824 Waukesha, WI 02-27-2008
WIN 1491 Madison, WI 02-24-2008
WIN 1289 Madison, WI 02-24-2008
LOSS 1524 Madison, WI 02-23-2008

7-3=0

50 States + DC

1. Alabama
2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado 2009 PIKES PEAK OPEN (CO)
7. Connecticut
8. Delaware
9. Florida
10. Georgia
11. Hawaii MILILANI CHESS...ARY QUICKCHES (HI)
12. Idaho
13. Illinois 16TH MIDWEST CLASS CHAMPIONSHI (IL)
14. Indiana IN STATE CLASS CHAMPS (IN)
15. Iowa MID-AMERICA OPEN (IA)
16. Kansas KANSAS RESERVE (KS)
17. Kentucky 2ND LOUISVILLE OPEN!? (KY)
18. Louisiana US G/30 (LA)
19. Maine
20. Maryland
21. Massachusetts TORNADO 61 (MA)
22. Michigan MICHIGAN M/X & CLASS CHAMPIONS (MI)
23. Minnesota FIRST ANNUAL HB GLOBAL CHESS C (MN)
24. Mississippi
25. Missouri MISSOURI CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS (MO)
26. Montana
27. Nebraska NEBRASKA ST. ACTION CHAMP (NE)
28. Nevada NEVADA OPEN (NV)
29. New Hampshire
30. New Jersey
31. New Mexico
32. New York 10 GRAND PRIX POINTS TONIGHT! (NY)
33. North Carolina
34. North Dakota
35. Ohio KINGS ISLAND OPEN (OH)
36. Oklahoma 2ND JERRY HANKEN WINTER FIDE OPEN
37. Oregon
38. Pennsylvania 31ST ANNUAL WORLD OPEN!!! (PA)
39. Rhode Island
40. South Carolina
41. South Dakota 2006 GOVERNOR'S CUP (SD)
42. Tennessee Supernationals 2009 Parents' & Friends(TN)
43. Texas TEXAS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP (TX)
44. Utah
45. Vermont
46. Virginia
47. Washington
48. West Virginia
49. Wisconsin GREG KNUTSON MEMORIAL (WI)
50. Wyoming
51. District of Columbia

Performance Rating

San Antonio......01/23/2011..0-1=3..4.......1902..1911..+09..1990
Stillwater, OK...01/23/2011..3-2=1..6.......1915..1902..-13..1793
Dallas...........01/23/2011..2-3=0..5.......1910..1915..+05..1960
Austin...........01/09/2011..1-2=1..4.......1901..1910..+09..2003
San Antonio......11/28/2010..1-1=2..4.......1897..1901..+04..1930

BBQ III..........11/06/2010..3-1=0..4.......1909..1897..-12..1700
BBQ II...........10/09/2010..3-0=0..3.......1889..1909..+20..2272
US CLASS.........10/03/2010..2-2=1..5.......1886..1889..+03..1908

76TH SWO.........09/06/2010..5-1=1..7.......1800..1886..+86..2083

Current rating = 1911 (Record 20-13=9)

Chessbase Javascript Output

This will create 3 files. You then save these somewhere(e.g. Geocities) and provide a link to the htm file. It will also create a directory called gif with all the gif files. You will also have to copy these gif files to a gif directory in the same place where you place the other three files. (The gif directory creation is a one time thing).

Root River

Photobucket Album

About

I started this Blog 10! years ago.

My goal was to blog my progress to an expert rating.

I reached a peak of 1962, and gave up when I hit my floor of 1800 a few months ago.

I just play for fun now.

Catfish 2004

Road Warrior

by Pete Karagianis

This issue’s installment of Road Warrior is brought to you in similar fashion to a Star Wars episode – from a long time ago in a land far, far away.

I was talked into playing into a tournament called the “Catfish Days” by my friend and fellow tournament enthusiast, Ivan, this past summer. At first I had not been too keen on heading up to Minnesota for what appeared, in both name and location, to be more of a backwoods chess hoedown rather than a serious tournament.

“But look, man, you can even send entries in to Farmer James!” Ivan said. I suppose this was some kind of argument in favor of me going, but I did not see how it helped his case.

For the inquisitive among you, Minnesota is that state to the north of Iowa that the Vikings play in. For Chicagoans, think “Canada.” It has a lot of lakes, a couple airports, and one or two cities.

“And they also have a cookout after the first round if you’re hungry! Free food and chess, you can’t pass that up.” Ivan could see I was unimpressed. “They’ve even got the Catfish Days festival, it’s like a tradition. How many people can say they’ve played in the Catfish Days?” He put his arms on his hips and stood as if he’d made a profound point.

“Do you even know what that festival is?”

“No, but I’m sure it has something to do with Catfish.”

“You don’t say.”

“Maybe they go fishing or something in between rounds.”

Franklin, MN, the site of the Catfish Days, was not even a dot on the map. To get there, one must travel (coming up I-35 from Iowa) seventy miles of back-road, small-town highway on US-14, MN-4, and Route 68. The drive itself is actually quite scenic, after you get off the interstate, if you can avoid the typical summer construction and, while en route, do not become hopelessly lost in a maze of detours and dirt roads.

How had I been talked into this tournament - a small, chess “reunion” held, seemingly, in the middle of nowhere? The convincing had not come at the hands of Ivan’s varied arguments concerning nostalgia, experience, or even catfish. What had ultimately changed my mind was a couple sheets of paper Ivan handed me Wednesday, two nights before the tournament.

“Here are the cross tables from the past few years,” he said, “have a look.”

I took the papers. Usually, when I consider playing in tournaments, the first things I look at are the prize fund ratios and the possibility of competition. Particularly in the Midwest, it is difficult to find either of the two aforementioned commodities in large quantities, especially since the former always tends to affect the latter. However, the information Ivan procured struck me and spoke for itself.

The past two annual Catfish Days tournaments had featured a plethora of experts and masters, as well as a guaranteed prize fund, supported not by entry fee, which was a paltry twenty dollars (twenty-five at the door) but by outside sources. Here, I thought, was a man who knows how to organize.

And he goes by the name of Farmer James.

Father of the town’s pageant winner, amiable, picture-friendly, twelve-year organizer of the Catfish Days reunion, and finder of outside, financial support for chess, a sport that is not exactly at its height of popularity, Farmer James gets International Masters, FIDE Masters, National Masters, and various other strong players to travel to the middle of nowhere and fight it out on small, seven-year old sized tables (which my knees banged into quite a bit) in a non-air conditioned elementary school library the size of a small apartment.

I had a blast.

For the past year I had been lobbying in the state I go to school, Iowa, for precisely this type of thing, and now I had found it in a town two-thirds the size of my high school graduating class. In Illinois, the problem is often the same. One is stuck (one might say) between a rock and a hard place – either a very high entry fee with lots of prizes and lots of competition, or a more modest entry fee with equally proportionate prizes and turnout. Recently, organizers in the Chicago area (and elsewhere) have been turning to sponsorship – trying to find outside funding for their efforts. Unfortunately, chess is not college football and this undertaking is not the simplest route available.

At first I was surprised that the Catfish Days tournament could promise so much, but after appending the weekend in Franklin, the answers slowly presented themselves.

I didn’t need to ask Farmer James how he had done it, how he had gotten the support he needed, how he drew the strong class of players year after year, how he could give so many awards to long-time returnees (You get a clock for ten years and a wooden carving for five years straight of playing in the Catfish Tournament). All I had to do to get let in on his “secret” was receive one handshake and a smile.

Here was an organizer, excuse me, a farmer, (for I don’t believe he would appreciate any other title) who realized the importance of respecting the players, of thanking them for coming, of giving them a reason to come not just for chess, but for what chess was meant for: to have a great time.

I remember crowding around the top board (located between the Encyclopedia Brown series and the Hardy Boys collection) during the tournament, watching IM Viktor Adler play, surrounded by chess players from all walks of life, each leaning in to watch quietly, respectfully the master. But my eyes were not on the board or the squares or the pieces, for the moment anyway. I looked instead at the clock trophy in the background reserved for the ten-year Catfish veterans thinking “Nine more years.”

I smirked, because I knew that I would be back. Oh yes, I would.

 You can bet the farm on that.

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