This past weekend I played in the NC Class Championship. It was my first 'real' tournament that I have played in since competing in the Wisconsin Scholastic Championship back in 1997. I know, I'm getting old. This tournament also had the longest time control that I recall having ever played with a 30/90, SD 1. Yes, I had one game that went from 7:30 PM until 12:15AM and only to draw.
Over all, I think I did pretty well, at the end of the tournament I scored three points with two wins, two draws and a loss. But, I was way ahead in both draws before I decided to give it back. Over all, my favorite and best played game was in the fifth and last round. I entered this round with 2 points playing the second place player with three points. To finish in second place I needed a win while a draw would have put my opponent in a clear second place slot.
Half way through the game, things looked like they could have been a draw so my opponent offered one. Because I needed a win I had to decline and then to make counter play and to create some chances, I took his knight with my rook giving up the exchange but obtaining a strong attack. In the end he lost the game because he missed a complicated mating situation but even if he didn't miss that mate, I think he would still have been hard pressed to win.
Overall, I think I preformed well because of a few simple rules.
1) In the opening, just develop pieces to good squares and don't attack to early.
2) Play slowly and gain as much space as you can.
3) Once you get the initiative, attack attack attack.
Here is my fifth game. I still need to annotate it and I'm actually thinking of sending it into Chess Life.
Oh, so I took second place in the Class C division. I'm very happy with that.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. d3 Bg4 6. Nf3 e6 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Ne5 Bb4 10. Bd2 Nbd7 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. f4 Nb6 13. Bb3 Nfd7 14. Qf3 Qh4+ 15. Ke2 O-O 16. Be1 Qe7 17. h4 Nf6 18. h5 e5 19. f5 g5 20. h6 gxh6 21. Rxh6 Kg7 22. Rxf6 Qxf6 23. Ne4 Qh6 24. f6+ Kg8 25. Bxb4 Qh2+ 26. Ke3 Qf4+ 27. Qxf4 gxf4+ 28. Kf3 Rfd8 29. Rh1 a5 30. Be7 a4 31. Ng5 axb3 32. Rh7 bxa2 33. Rg7+ Kh8 34. Nxf7# 1-0
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
A Tough Win
Last Tuesday night was the last round of my club's weekend tournament (10 Rating Points Tonight!!! #10). I was tied for first place in my section and was really looking forward to playing the Class C player who I was tied with (Windy Gatlin). But, he didn't show up until after the round was paired and the first few moves were made. So, I was instead paired against the person in third place and half a point behind me (Copeland Blackwell).
Now, I should note that guy rated Copeland is ratted about 1194, was the person who I played in the last round of the prevouse club tournament. I was again half a point ahead of him and he managed to beat me taking the tournament and a bunch of my rating points. Here was that game and I had the black pieces:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. Nxe5 Bxf2+ 7. Rxf2 Nxe5 8. d4 Nc4 9. Bb3 b5 10. e5 Nd5 11. Qf3 O-O 12. Bxc4 bxc4 13. Qxd5 Rb8 14. Qxc4 Qe7 15. Qxc7 Qh4 16. Qxb8 Qxd4 17. Qd6 Qe4 18. Nc3 1-0
In the current tournament, I won the first round against Michael Hopkins (976) and the second round against Lee More (1218). I then had, what I believe was a strong draw against Derek Zhang (1627) and then lost my favorite game of the year against Mike Eberhardinger (1796). So, overall I have been doing well mainly due the draw and just playing well against the other players.
So, then I find round five. Having lost our last game, my history against Copeland prior to this match was 2 - 2 so this was to be our tie breaker. I started out very strong and Copeland made a mistake. I had, what might have been an amazing attack but I wasn't able to find a mating sequence so I decided to just play my four pawn advantage along with a more developed position. And then I started falling apart. I gave back my advantage and position and he had a winning position. And then, blunders began to strike him. He dropped a bishop for a pawn which resulting in a position that I thought was completely drawn. Then he made a bad King move, and I think I was in a winning position but then he dropped a rook which gave me an easy position to finish up in.
So, I moved from a clearly winning possiiotn, to a drawn position to a win. And won the tournament. So, what does one learn from this type of game? Well, I read a book a while ago, in fact I might have even made a blog post on it. It is called the "Art Of Learning" and it covers the concept of battling back from a losing possition. The idea of trying to reset your mind os you don't just let the emmotion of moving from a winning position to losing one and then just giving up. By staying in it and battling back, I was able to put Copeland into a possition where he could make a mistake. Where he could give me an opportunity. And in the end that is what happened.
I played well initially, then gave up everything but was lucky to have Copeland make a blunder or two. I guess that is the ture difference between 1200 and 1500, the number of blunders one makes in a game.
So, here is the game. I had the White pieces.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. d4 Nxe4 5. dxe5 Bc5 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Qd5+ Ke8 8. Qxe4 Qe7 9. Nc3 d6 10. Nd5 Qd7 11. exd6+ Kf8 12. dxc7 Ne7 13. Nxe7 Bxe7 14. Bf4 Qb5 15. O-O-O Bf5 16. Rd5 Qxb2+ 17. Kxb2 Bxe4 18. Rd2 h6 19. Re1 Bf5 20. Nh4 Bxh4 21. Bd6+ Kf7 22. Rd5 Bf6+ 23. c3 Be6 24. Rb5 b6 25. a4 Bd7 26. Rb4 Rhe8 27. Rbe4 Bxa4 28. Rxe8 Bxe8 29. Kb3 b5 30. c4 a5 31. cxb5 Bxb5 32. Bc5 Bd7 33. Rd1 Be6+ 34. Ka4 Bf5 35. Re1 Bd7+ 36. Ka3 a4 37. Rd1 Be6 38. g4 Bxg4 39. Rb1 Be5 40. Re1 Bxc7 41. Re7+ Kf6 42. Rxc7 Ra6 43. Bd4+ Kg6 44. Rxg7+ Kf5 45. Be3 Bd1 46. Rd7 Bf3 47. Rf7+ Kg4 48. h3+ Kh4 49. Rxf3 Rf6 50. Rxf6 Kxh3 51. Rg6 Kh4 52. f4 Kh3 53. f5 1-0
Tonight begins the North Carolina Class Championship. I'm going to be luckly enough to play in this event so hopefully I can do well against other people who are in my class. I don't often get to play in my class as there aren't that many people that I know of who are in my group so I think this will be good for me.
Have fun all....
Now, I should note that guy rated Copeland is ratted about 1194, was the person who I played in the last round of the prevouse club tournament. I was again half a point ahead of him and he managed to beat me taking the tournament and a bunch of my rating points. Here was that game and I had the black pieces:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. Nxe5 Bxf2+ 7. Rxf2 Nxe5 8. d4 Nc4 9. Bb3 b5 10. e5 Nd5 11. Qf3 O-O 12. Bxc4 bxc4 13. Qxd5 Rb8 14. Qxc4 Qe7 15. Qxc7 Qh4 16. Qxb8 Qxd4 17. Qd6 Qe4 18. Nc3 1-0
In the current tournament, I won the first round against Michael Hopkins (976) and the second round against Lee More (1218). I then had, what I believe was a strong draw against Derek Zhang (1627) and then lost my favorite game of the year against Mike Eberhardinger (1796). So, overall I have been doing well mainly due the draw and just playing well against the other players.
So, then I find round five. Having lost our last game, my history against Copeland prior to this match was 2 - 2 so this was to be our tie breaker. I started out very strong and Copeland made a mistake. I had, what might have been an amazing attack but I wasn't able to find a mating sequence so I decided to just play my four pawn advantage along with a more developed position. And then I started falling apart. I gave back my advantage and position and he had a winning position. And then, blunders began to strike him. He dropped a bishop for a pawn which resulting in a position that I thought was completely drawn. Then he made a bad King move, and I think I was in a winning position but then he dropped a rook which gave me an easy position to finish up in.
So, I moved from a clearly winning possiiotn, to a drawn position to a win. And won the tournament. So, what does one learn from this type of game? Well, I read a book a while ago, in fact I might have even made a blog post on it. It is called the "Art Of Learning" and it covers the concept of battling back from a losing possition. The idea of trying to reset your mind os you don't just let the emmotion of moving from a winning position to losing one and then just giving up. By staying in it and battling back, I was able to put Copeland into a possition where he could make a mistake. Where he could give me an opportunity. And in the end that is what happened.
I played well initially, then gave up everything but was lucky to have Copeland make a blunder or two. I guess that is the ture difference between 1200 and 1500, the number of blunders one makes in a game.
So, here is the game. I had the White pieces.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. d4 Nxe4 5. dxe5 Bc5 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Qd5+ Ke8 8. Qxe4 Qe7 9. Nc3 d6 10. Nd5 Qd7 11. exd6+ Kf8 12. dxc7 Ne7 13. Nxe7 Bxe7 14. Bf4 Qb5 15. O-O-O Bf5 16. Rd5 Qxb2+ 17. Kxb2 Bxe4 18. Rd2 h6 19. Re1 Bf5 20. Nh4 Bxh4 21. Bd6+ Kf7 22. Rd5 Bf6+ 23. c3 Be6 24. Rb5 b6 25. a4 Bd7 26. Rb4 Rhe8 27. Rbe4 Bxa4 28. Rxe8 Bxe8 29. Kb3 b5 30. c4 a5 31. cxb5 Bxb5 32. Bc5 Bd7 33. Rd1 Be6+ 34. Ka4 Bf5 35. Re1 Bd7+ 36. Ka3 a4 37. Rd1 Be6 38. g4 Bxg4 39. Rb1 Be5 40. Re1 Bxc7 41. Re7+ Kf6 42. Rxc7 Ra6 43. Bd4+ Kg6 44. Rxg7+ Kf5 45. Be3 Bd1 46. Rd7 Bf3 47. Rf7+ Kg4 48. h3+ Kh4 49. Rxf3 Rf6 50. Rxf6 Kxh3 51. Rg6 Kh4 52. f4 Kh3 53. f5 1-0
Tonight begins the North Carolina Class Championship. I'm going to be luckly enough to play in this event so hopefully I can do well against other people who are in my class. I don't often get to play in my class as there aren't that many people that I know of who are in my group so I think this will be good for me.
Have fun all....
Friday, September 4, 2009
My Exciting Game
Hey all,
Well Tuesday night saw another tough game for me. There was an odd man in the upper and lower section so I played up against an opponent almost three hundred rating points above me. That said, this is the same guy who blundered a queen to me a few weeks ago at a weekend tournament so as you might guess, he was watching very closely.
Over all, I think I played a decent game althougth I put myself in a bad situtation eairly where ended up sacing a knight for two pawns infront of his king. I then had a great initial attack where I thought I might have had a matting attack. It turns out that I should have just grabbed a rook and then tried to play from there. But I didn't. And that is my learning point that I'm working on, knowing when sac a piece.
Here is the game:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 h6 7. c3 Na5 8. Bc2 d6 9. d4 Bg4 10. Nbd2 Be7 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4 Nxg4 13. hxg4 Bxg4 14. Qe1 Qd7 15. Qe3 Bh3 16. Nh2 Bg5 17. Qe2 h5 18. Re1 Rh6 19. Kh1 Bf4 20. Rg1 Qe6 21. Ndf3 Rg6 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Rxg6 Qxg6 24. Rg1 Qh6 25. a4 Rb8 26. axb5 axb5 27. Bd3 Nc4 28. b3 Na3 29. Qa2 f6 30. Qxa3 g5 31. Qa7 Rc8 32. Bxb5+ Kd8 33. Ba6 g4 34. Bxc8 Kxc8 35. Qa8+ Kd7 36. Nd2 f3 37. Ndxf3 gxf3 38. Nxf3 Bg4 39. e5 Qf4 40. e6+ Ke7 41. Nh4 Qxf2 42. Ng6+ Kxe6 43. Qe8+ Kf5 44. Ne7+ Kg5 45. Qg6+ Kf4 46. Qxf6+ Ke3 47. Nd5+ Ke2 48. Qxf2+ Kxf2 49. Rxg4 hxg4 50. Nf4 1-0
I once again tried to review the game using Chess Master but that doesn't work for me. I don't understand why it plays certain moves and when it gets to the end of each variation I don't understand why those positions are better or worse. I guess I need to keep working on that. However, as you look through this game you will see how I was able to bring a lot of pieces to bear in the attack. Later in the game, I then dropped a knight and a few pawns but I still had an attack. Time go low and then I blundered the end where I should have been able to manage a draw. This game did go about 10 or 15 more moves but my opponent and I were under 2 minutes each so we didn't get them written down.
I guess I just need to keep working but next weekend is the North Carolina Class Championship, and I get to play in that. I'm really looking forward to a full weekend of chess. I hope I do well.
Well Tuesday night saw another tough game for me. There was an odd man in the upper and lower section so I played up against an opponent almost three hundred rating points above me. That said, this is the same guy who blundered a queen to me a few weeks ago at a weekend tournament so as you might guess, he was watching very closely.
Over all, I think I played a decent game althougth I put myself in a bad situtation eairly where ended up sacing a knight for two pawns infront of his king. I then had a great initial attack where I thought I might have had a matting attack. It turns out that I should have just grabbed a rook and then tried to play from there. But I didn't. And that is my learning point that I'm working on, knowing when sac a piece.
Here is the game:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 h6 7. c3 Na5 8. Bc2 d6 9. d4 Bg4 10. Nbd2 Be7 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4 Nxg4 13. hxg4 Bxg4 14. Qe1 Qd7 15. Qe3 Bh3 16. Nh2 Bg5 17. Qe2 h5 18. Re1 Rh6 19. Kh1 Bf4 20. Rg1 Qe6 21. Ndf3 Rg6 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Rxg6 Qxg6 24. Rg1 Qh6 25. a4 Rb8 26. axb5 axb5 27. Bd3 Nc4 28. b3 Na3 29. Qa2 f6 30. Qxa3 g5 31. Qa7 Rc8 32. Bxb5+ Kd8 33. Ba6 g4 34. Bxc8 Kxc8 35. Qa8+ Kd7 36. Nd2 f3 37. Ndxf3 gxf3 38. Nxf3 Bg4 39. e5 Qf4 40. e6+ Ke7 41. Nh4 Qxf2 42. Ng6+ Kxe6 43. Qe8+ Kf5 44. Ne7+ Kg5 45. Qg6+ Kf4 46. Qxf6+ Ke3 47. Nd5+ Ke2 48. Qxf2+ Kxf2 49. Rxg4 hxg4 50. Nf4 1-0
I once again tried to review the game using Chess Master but that doesn't work for me. I don't understand why it plays certain moves and when it gets to the end of each variation I don't understand why those positions are better or worse. I guess I need to keep working on that. However, as you look through this game you will see how I was able to bring a lot of pieces to bear in the attack. Later in the game, I then dropped a knight and a few pawns but I still had an attack. Time go low and then I blundered the end where I should have been able to manage a draw. This game did go about 10 or 15 more moves but my opponent and I were under 2 minutes each so we didn't get them written down.
I guess I just need to keep working but next weekend is the North Carolina Class Championship, and I get to play in that. I'm really looking forward to a full weekend of chess. I hope I do well.
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