Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Texas Amateur Championships - Final 2 Rounds
The 7 round Texas Amateur tournament over Memorial Day Weekend wrapped up Monday. IT was held simulatenously with the Texas Championship for those U2000. After taking a first round bye, I won two games on the first day, got a win a draw on the second day, and a win and a final draw on the final day. I finished with 5.5/7 and a final place of 3rd equal out of 118 participants, 30 of whom were class A players. Not too shabby. I played both the #1 seed (draw) and the #3 seed (win). My rating went up 19 points to an all-time high of 1951 and had a tournament performance of 2118. I've already posted the first game in a previous post and below I have the final day. (I will add the middle three games soon.)
Going into the final day, I had 4 points and one person had 4.5. The morning game was a tough one. My opponent was a strong 1950 and 3rd seat in the tournament, who has spent a lot of time over 2000. During the endgame, I constantly thought it would draw and the I thought I had a win, but would find a draw for him, then back to the win. He blew about 3 chances for a draw during the endgame. I think the endgame is my strong suit, so perhaps that's why I kept seeing draws for him. The game took 4.5 hours to play leaving me quite drained by the end.
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. Bd2 Ne7 6. Nb5 Bxd2 7. Qxd2 O-O 8. f4 cxd4 9. Nf3 Nbc6 10. Nbxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Nc6 12. c3 f6 13. Nf3 fxe5 14. fxe5 Qc7 15. Qe3 Bd7 16. Bd3 Ne7 17. O-O Qb6 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. a3 h6 20. Rae1 Nc6 21. g3 Be8 22. Nd4 Rxf1 23. Bxf1 Nxd4 24. cxd4 Rc8 25. Bd3 Ba4 26. Kf2 Rc6 27. Ke3 Bb3 28. Kd2 Bc4 29. Rc1 Bxd3 30. Rxc6 bxc6 31. Kxd3 Kf7 32. a4 Ke7 33. b4 Kd7 34. Kc3 Kc7 35. a5 Kb7 36. Kb3 Ka6 37. Ka4 Kb7 38. b5 cxb5 39. Kxb5 bxa5 40. Kxa5 Kc6 41. g4 g6 42. h4 g5 43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Ka6 Kc7 45. Ka7 Kc6 46. Kb8 Kb5 47. Kc7 Kc4 48. Kd6 Kxd4 49. Kxe6 Kc4 50. Kf6 d4 51. e6 d3 52. e7 d2 53. e8=Q d1=Q 54. Qc6+ Kb4 55. Qe4+ Kb3 56. Qe6+ Kb4 57. Kxg5 Qd8+ 58. Kg6 Qd3+ 59. Qf5 Qd6+ 60. Kg5 Qd8+ 61. Kf4 Qd2 62. Kg3 Qe1+ 63. Qf2 Qc3+ 64. Qf3 Qe1+ 65. Kh3 Qe8 66. g5 Qh8+ 67. Kg4 Qc8+ 68. Qf5 Qa8 69. g6 Qg2 70. Kh5 Qh2+ 71. Kg5 Qe2 72. Qg4+ 1-0
On to the afternoon, still a half point behind the leader with one game to go, I was black. However, my teenaged opponent played a very drawish line and there was nothing I could really do about it. I was surprised he went for such a line. Perhaps I'll need to develop a fighting line as black that cannot as easily be avoided. It's such a slow and boring game that I will only post the final position and the pgn. It's very similar to my other draw in the 5th round, but even more drawish. His knight will go to c5 and it's way too risky to try for a break on e5. So we agree to our Grandmaster draw. In a small way, I was happy because I was quite drained from all the games, especially the morning game, which finished about 40 minutes before this game started.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 a6 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. h3 Nc6 7. Bf4 Bf5 8. a3 e6 9. e3 Bd6 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 O-O 13. O-O b5 14. b4 Rfc8 15. Rfc1 Rc7 16. Rc2 Rac8 17. Rac1 Nd7 18. Nd2 Nb6 19. Nb3 Nc4 20. Nb1 Nb8
Going into the final day, I had 4 points and one person had 4.5. The morning game was a tough one. My opponent was a strong 1950 and 3rd seat in the tournament, who has spent a lot of time over 2000. During the endgame, I constantly thought it would draw and the I thought I had a win, but would find a draw for him, then back to the win. He blew about 3 chances for a draw during the endgame. I think the endgame is my strong suit, so perhaps that's why I kept seeing draws for him. The game took 4.5 hours to play leaving me quite drained by the end.
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. Bd2 Ne7 6. Nb5 Bxd2 7. Qxd2 O-O 8. f4 cxd4 9. Nf3 Nbc6 10. Nbxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Nc6 12. c3 f6 13. Nf3 fxe5 14. fxe5 Qc7 15. Qe3 Bd7 16. Bd3 Ne7 17. O-O Qb6 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. a3 h6 20. Rae1 Nc6 21. g3 Be8 22. Nd4 Rxf1 23. Bxf1 Nxd4 24. cxd4 Rc8 25. Bd3 Ba4 26. Kf2 Rc6 27. Ke3 Bb3 28. Kd2 Bc4 29. Rc1 Bxd3 30. Rxc6 bxc6 31. Kxd3 Kf7 32. a4 Ke7 33. b4 Kd7 34. Kc3 Kc7 35. a5 Kb7 36. Kb3 Ka6 37. Ka4 Kb7 38. b5 cxb5 39. Kxb5 bxa5 40. Kxa5 Kc6 41. g4 g6 42. h4 g5 43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Ka6 Kc7 45. Ka7 Kc6 46. Kb8 Kb5 47. Kc7 Kc4 48. Kd6 Kxd4 49. Kxe6 Kc4 50. Kf6 d4 51. e6 d3 52. e7 d2 53. e8=Q d1=Q 54. Qc6+ Kb4 55. Qe4+ Kb3 56. Qe6+ Kb4 57. Kxg5 Qd8+ 58. Kg6 Qd3+ 59. Qf5 Qd6+ 60. Kg5 Qd8+ 61. Kf4 Qd2 62. Kg3 Qe1+ 63. Qf2 Qc3+ 64. Qf3 Qe1+ 65. Kh3 Qe8 66. g5 Qh8+ 67. Kg4 Qc8+ 68. Qf5 Qa8 69. g6 Qg2 70. Kh5 Qh2+ 71. Kg5 Qe2 72. Qg4+ 1-0
On to the afternoon, still a half point behind the leader with one game to go, I was black. However, my teenaged opponent played a very drawish line and there was nothing I could really do about it. I was surprised he went for such a line. Perhaps I'll need to develop a fighting line as black that cannot as easily be avoided. It's such a slow and boring game that I will only post the final position and the pgn. It's very similar to my other draw in the 5th round, but even more drawish. His knight will go to c5 and it's way too risky to try for a break on e5. So we agree to our Grandmaster draw. In a small way, I was happy because I was quite drained from all the games, especially the morning game, which finished about 40 minutes before this game started.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 a6 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. h3 Nc6 7. Bf4 Bf5 8. a3 e6 9. e3 Bd6 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 O-O 13. O-O b5 14. b4 Rfc8 15. Rfc1 Rc7 16. Rc2 Rac8 17. Rac1 Nd7 18. Nd2 Nb6 19. Nb3 Nc4 20. Nb1 Nb8
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Texas Championships - Rounds 4 & 5
In the 4th round, I faced a 10 year old who looked like he was even younger. It's interesting to watch kids play. Being about 1650 and 10 years old, he probably beats most kids his age. He's certainly better than when I was 10. So he plays the first 12 moves, in about 5 minutes. (We have 90 minutes for the first 30 moves.) He blunders and then takes about 40 minutes for the next two or three moves. Some of the time he isn't even looking at the board, but his eyes wander around the room.
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 a6 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 Qc7 7. d3 Nf6 8. O-O
Be7 9. Qe1 b5 10. e5 Nd7 11. exd6 Bxd6 12. f5 Nde5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bxc6+
Qxc6 15. Qxe5 Bb7 16. Ne4 O-O 17. f6 g6 18. Qf4 Kh8 19. Be3 Rad8 20. Bxc5 Rg8
21. b4 Rd7 22. h3 Rdd8 23. Kh2 g5 24. Qf3 Rg6 25. Rf2 h6 26. g4 Kh7 27. Qg3
Qd7 28. Qd6 Bxe4 29. Qxd7 Rxd7 30. dxe4 Rg8 31. e5 Rgd8 32. Bd6 Rc8 33. Rd1
Rc4 34. Rfd2 a5 35. bxa5 Ra4 36. a3 Rxa5 37. Bb4 Rxd2+ 38. Rxd2 Ra7 39. Kg3
Kg6 40. Rd8 Rc7 41. c3 Kh7 42. Kf3 Rb7 43. Ke3 Rc7 44. Kd4 Rc4+ 45. Ke3 Rf4
46. Rb8 Rf1 47. Rxb5 Rh1 48. a4 Rxh3+ 49. Kf2 Rd3 50. a5 1-0
ROUND 5
For the 5th round, I drew the top seed, a 14 year old, rated 1989, as black. The game was actually quite boring. Afterwards he said he never faces the Caro-Kann, so he's never bothered to learn any lines. It's a boring game, and I couldn't really do anything about it. So we agreed to a draw. Since it's a dull game, I'm only posting the final position and the pgn.
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. Nd2 e6 9. Ngf3 Bh5 10. O-O Be7 11. Rae1 O-O 12. h3 Bg6 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Nd7 16. Bh2 Qc6 17. Qc2 Bd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Qd3 b5
20. b3 Rab8 21. Rc1 Rfc8 22. Rc2 a6 23. Rfc1 Nb6 24. Nf3 Rc7 25. Ne5 Rbc8
26. Qe3 Nd7 1/2-1/2
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 a6 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 Qc7 7. d3 Nf6 8. O-O
Be7 9. Qe1 b5 10. e5 Nd7 11. exd6 Bxd6 12. f5 Nde5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bxc6+
Qxc6 15. Qxe5 Bb7 16. Ne4 O-O 17. f6 g6 18. Qf4 Kh8 19. Be3 Rad8 20. Bxc5 Rg8
21. b4 Rd7 22. h3 Rdd8 23. Kh2 g5 24. Qf3 Rg6 25. Rf2 h6 26. g4 Kh7 27. Qg3
Qd7 28. Qd6 Bxe4 29. Qxd7 Rxd7 30. dxe4 Rg8 31. e5 Rgd8 32. Bd6 Rc8 33. Rd1
Rc4 34. Rfd2 a5 35. bxa5 Ra4 36. a3 Rxa5 37. Bb4 Rxd2+ 38. Rxd2 Ra7 39. Kg3
Kg6 40. Rd8 Rc7 41. c3 Kh7 42. Kf3 Rb7 43. Ke3 Rc7 44. Kd4 Rc4+ 45. Ke3 Rf4
46. Rb8 Rf1 47. Rxb5 Rh1 48. a4 Rxh3+ 49. Kf2 Rd3 50. a5 1-0
ROUND 5
For the 5th round, I drew the top seed, a 14 year old, rated 1989, as black. The game was actually quite boring. Afterwards he said he never faces the Caro-Kann, so he's never bothered to learn any lines. It's a boring game, and I couldn't really do anything about it. So we agreed to a draw. Since it's a dull game, I'm only posting the final position and the pgn.
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. Nd2 e6 9. Ngf3 Bh5 10. O-O Be7 11. Rae1 O-O 12. h3 Bg6 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Nd7 16. Bh2 Qc6 17. Qc2 Bd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Qd3 b5
20. b3 Rab8 21. Rc1 Rfc8 22. Rc2 a6 23. Rfc1 Nb6 24. Nf3 Rc7 25. Ne5 Rbc8
26. Qe3 Nd7 1/2-1/2
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Texas Amateur Championships - Round 2 & 3
Over Memorial Day, I played in a seven round tournament. There were 118 people playing in a giant U2000 Amateur section, including over 30 class A players. For the Championship section, over 2000, School of Chess has a nice roundup of his games. There was a 17 year old GM there and he's been a GM for 2 years.
I took a first round bye. Here's my first game in round 2. I played a talented 13 year old girl. Whew, I won.
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5 d4 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. Ne2 Nf6
8. d3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qe1 h6 11. Ng3 Ba6 12. b3 Qc7 13. f5 e5 14. Bd2 Bd6
15. h3 Rae8 16. Nh1 Kh8 17. g4 Kg8 18. Kh2 Nh7 19. h4 f6 20. Qg3 Qf7 21. Nf2
Bc8 22. Rh1 Bd7 23. Kg2 g5 24. hxg5 hxg5 25. Rh6 Re7 26. Rah1 Qg7 27. Rg6 1-0
ROUND 3
The next game was against a middle aged guy that I've played once before (and won). This time I was able to win again and leave the first day with a score of 2.5/3.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Ne4 5. cxd5 Nxg5 6. h4 Ne4 7. Nxe4 cxd5
8. Nc3 Nc6 9. e3 e6 10. Nf3 Be7 11. Rc1 Bd7 12. Bd3 h6 13. h5 Rc8 14. O-O O-O
15. Bb1 f5 16. a3 Bf6 17. b4 Be8 18. b5 Ne7 19. Ne5 Qa5 20. a4 Bxe5 21. dxe5
Bxh5 22. Qxh5 Rxc3 23. Qe2 Rfc8 24. Rxc3 Qxc3 25. Rd1 Qxe5 26. f4 Qc3 27. Kf2
Qc7 28. Rd2 b6 29. g4 Qd8 30. Qd3 g6 31. g5 hxg5 32. fxg5 Kf7 33. Qf1 Qh8
34. Qg2 Qh4+ 35. Kf3 Rc4 36. Rc2 Qe4+ 37. Kg3 Qxe3+ 0-1
I took a first round bye. Here's my first game in round 2. I played a talented 13 year old girl. Whew, I won.
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5 d4 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. Ne2 Nf6
8. d3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qe1 h6 11. Ng3 Ba6 12. b3 Qc7 13. f5 e5 14. Bd2 Bd6
15. h3 Rae8 16. Nh1 Kh8 17. g4 Kg8 18. Kh2 Nh7 19. h4 f6 20. Qg3 Qf7 21. Nf2
Bc8 22. Rh1 Bd7 23. Kg2 g5 24. hxg5 hxg5 25. Rh6 Re7 26. Rah1 Qg7 27. Rg6 1-0
ROUND 3
The next game was against a middle aged guy that I've played once before (and won). This time I was able to win again and leave the first day with a score of 2.5/3.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Ne4 5. cxd5 Nxg5 6. h4 Ne4 7. Nxe4 cxd5
8. Nc3 Nc6 9. e3 e6 10. Nf3 Be7 11. Rc1 Bd7 12. Bd3 h6 13. h5 Rc8 14. O-O O-O
15. Bb1 f5 16. a3 Bf6 17. b4 Be8 18. b5 Ne7 19. Ne5 Qa5 20. a4 Bxe5 21. dxe5
Bxh5 22. Qxh5 Rxc3 23. Qe2 Rfc8 24. Rxc3 Qxc3 25. Rd1 Qxe5 26. f4 Qc3 27. Kf2
Qc7 28. Rd2 b6 29. g4 Qd8 30. Qd3 g6 31. g5 hxg5 32. fxg5 Kf7 33. Qf1 Qh8
34. Qg2 Qh4+ 35. Kf3 Rc4 36. Rc2 Qe4+ 37. Kg3 Qxe3+ 0-1
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Crash Course Required
I've been quite busy recently and consequently haven't played much chess. We've been looking at houses and I'm getting ready to go back to school part-time for my masters in business, so this weekend's tournament might be one of my last for a while.
Nonetheless, I need to prepare! My mind goes cyclically in terms of chess. There are weeks where I can't think of hardly anything else and then weeks of where my mind is else where.
Nonetheless, I need to prepare! My mind goes cyclically in terms of chess. There are weeks where I can't think of hardly anything else and then weeks of where my mind is else where.
