After two rounds, the competition has been fierce here at the ACE Chess Arizona State Championships! Your blogger is a little under the weather, but maintaining a decent performance thus far.
Despite blowing a winning position out of the opening against my first round opponent, I feel that I am seeing the board pretty well considering I can't stop sneezing 
... I feel bad for my opponents because as crappy as I feel, I must be even more obnoxious to play right now...
Anyway, here is my first round game against International Master Shahin Mohandesi (who by the way, is sporting a 2600+ USCF Rating because his provisional performances have been so good 
).
In round two, I was paired against the other Iranian Master in our tournament: FM Pedram Atoufi.
The analysis included in those games is "fresh off my head" after immediately finishing. Now, I will debate going to bed for a few hours before our next game at 5pm pacific time -- OR doing a little preparation for my next opponent: IM Mackenzie Molner.
Here are the current standings:
- 1st-3rd Rensch, D. -- Ginsburg, M. -- Mohandesi, S. -- 1.5 pts
- 4th Banawa, J. -- 1pt
- 5th Molner, M. -- .5 pt
- 6th Atoufi, P. -- 0pt
I plan to keep everyone posted with at least one more "mid tourney blog" -- and a full post tournament review, with pictures, can be expected after the event.
Again, thanks to our sponsors for making this event happen: Steven Kamp; Karry Design; Rensch Law; Meltmedia; ChessKid.com; and of course last but not least -- your favorite chess web site -- Chess.com 
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