2nd place tournament finish !

Earlier today, I played matches in the 2nd round of the "under 1200 tourney" and placed second. I did not do well in the first match, blundering away the game very early. In the second match, I did better, but the opponent had plenty of firepower in their tactics ! We agreed a draw, however, as I caught up to him toward the end... but there was nothing left but a tonne of exchanges, followed by a potential stalemate.... or so it seemed to me.

At any rate, I am happy that I have 29 points on the tournament leader board, a shiny 2nd place trophy, and what I hope is the first of many tournament placements ! My rating has been cruising in the 1300 range lately, and it appears that I have to buckle down and plug in tactical and endgame holes to see an increase; I believe I have plateau'd. Within the next two weeks, I will play in my first OTB tournament, and I will see how that goes before I decided on any other chess.com tournaments...  I am aiming at a solid end of year performance, and want to be in position to chase the leaderboard for next year !