2011 San Antonio Championship

Last weekend, June 25 & 26, I participated in the 2011 San Antonio City Championship. My hopes were high after the great success I achieved in Dallas a few weeks earlier. However, very early into the tournament I felt things would be different.

And they were. After the first day I posted only one point out of three and the next day I would also post one point out of two for a total of two wins and three losses. I was disappointed with this performance to say the least and I have already begun to make adjustments.

Here are a few lessons I have taken away from this tournament:

1. Prepare adequately. It sounds simple enough, but it can't go without saying. Preperations need to be focused on improving on the mistakes from previous games and building on the things that are going well.

2. Keep focus on chess. Life will show up. Sometimes at a bad time. Non-chess induced stress is a killer to your form at a tournament. Do whatever it takes to eliminate negative thoughts and clear your mind before a tournament game.

3. Learn from your mistakes. Don't repeat them & make adjustments. If you are able to pinpoint a specific thing that negatively impacts your performance, then take action to keep it from reoccuring. There is nothing worse than doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result (the definition of insanity).

That is all for now. Thank you for reading! I will continue to post my games as I am able.

-Aaron!