Results from April 11

The second Sac Pawn Storm online tournament drew 20 participants from the Central Valley and the Bay Area. After five competitive rounds, a single clear winner emerged. Congrats to the following:

• 1st J3Chess24 (Javier) with 4.5
• =2nd NM fpawn (Michael) with 4.0
• =2nd championps (anonymous) with 4.0
• =4th grcridlan (Graham) with 3.5
• =4th Mossyhorn (Conrad) with 3.5
• Top U1600 USCF newpawn67 (Sean) with 3.0

The first round of many chess tournments features mismatches with large rating differences. However, the higher rated player in one game was actually the underdog. His opponent grcridlan was unrated on Chess.com, but rated over 2100 USCF. Well done vish1080!

When round 2 started, nobody could have predicted the teacher vs student pairing between fpawn and J3Chess24 would determine first place. Alas the master carelessly allowed a clever pawn endgame fortress. This draw was the only half point that J3Chess24 would surrender all afternoon.

The top board of round 3 saw a matchup between kapilank and J3Chess24, the top two rated juniors under 13 in the Sacramento region. Their game did not disappoint as black sacrificed the exchange to win with a knight supporting three connected passers.

Two lower rated players, WindyHill64 and izzyabe, battled in another exciting game that same round. They lived up to the motto of all Sicilian players: live by the sword and die by the sword.

Both leaders fpawn and J3Chess24 overcame difficult positions in round 4 to reach 3.5 points. Who would blink first? While the youngster drove the white pieces to victory in the final round, the master could only draw with black against expert grcridlan.

This draw also allowed another junior championps to share second place with a strong opening against the veteran A player knvsback.

Mark your calendar for another Pawn Storm next Saturday at 3:00 PM. Bring your friends! Better yet, beat or draw a master and your game will appear in the tournament report for all to see.

Just in case anyone was interested, I will hold off on a Tuesday night blitz for now. If you have an itch to play blitz, then I recommend the Mechanics' Institute online club. Their Tuesday evening tournament (G/10 + 2 second increment) starts at 6:30 PM and will be broadcast on Twitch.

Check out the final standings of Sac Pawn Storm #2 below.