
"The Sharpest Game I've Ever Played" and Other Stories from the Fjords
Foreword
Salutations from the Fjords!
It's been a while, hasn't it? I mean, aside from that little post about the Trinket, I haven't said ought about my chess adventures.
And adventures they are indeed, for I've seen the smiles of some exciting developments.
Introduction
Let me open up with a quick description of how I got from the Denker to where I am now:
- I got in the car.
- We got on the highway.
Nope, that's the long story. The shorter story is this:
After the Denker, my rating was 1533. I played in four local tournaments through the end of 2016. Said local tournaments generously boosted my rating to 1525. Brilliant.
But then came the new year. Shortly after January 1st, I set an ambitious goal of reaching 1800 USCF by the end of 2017. But there are only so many tournaments to which I can get myself... so that means that when I do get to play, I can't afford to spend my time losing! (En route to 1800, I also want to pick up the title of 3rd Category. [And make a big dent toward 2nd Category. {I'm currently a 4th Category.}])
So that's where I stand as far as my goals go. In February, I went to my Tourney #1 of 2017, the Tom Nard Memorial III. Without going into Herculean detail, I'm happy to say that I had a great result there, scoring 3.5/4 and achieving clear 2nd in a the ~20-player U1800 field. I took home a personal record amount of moolah, too. But how did my rating fare? Well, I improved by 34 points! That took me from 1525 to 1559. A good step. Two more like that one, and I'd be able to crack through my personal ceiling of 1623.
The Tom Nard came and went. A month or so passed. Soon enough, I started planning for my Tourney #2 of 2017: the Huntsville Challenge, which was to take place on April 8th; I would be playing in the Reserve Section (for ratings 1400-1800). The time control would be G/70, d5. For this tournament, I decided to do something different from my norm. What did I change? Well, this time, I put in two weeks of intense preparation in advance of the tournament. Typically, I only do one week — and even then, my prep usually isn't very intense. But this time I tried to kind of "OD" on chess leading up to April 8th. (I planned to take a vacation from chess after the tourney, so I figured it would be okay to go on overdrive in the two weeks leading up.) My prep went well. I poured a lot into it, including both online practice and "book-and-board" work.
Well, that about covers the introduction. Let's roll right into the main story.
The Chapter Before the First
Well, hold up a sec — there's a little more to say before the aforementioned "main story." I took but little sleep before the tourney, and when I got up early in the morning, I started wondering if I'd done a little too much chess. I hoped I hadn't overextended myself. But I knew that I'm always somewhat nervous before tournaments, so I didn't place too much stock in how I felt.
Chapter 0: The Game That Wasn't
So I arrived at the tournament, signed in, and got myself settled in the venue. (Again, purely for reference, the time control was G/70, d5.) Soon, the pairings came out: I got Black against one Difei Zhu, a then-1418. Historically, I had a 2-0 score against her.
Round 1 began.
Or did it? Just 2 moves in, the TD announced for all players in the Reserve Section to stop their clocks. Ah, the serene beauty of chess-players in confusion and delay. Apparently, (and this had never before happened during a round in one of my tournaments), there was a pairing change-up in order. Perfect. And I'd just gotten my opponent right where I wanted her, too. -_-
Not everyone was affected, but I was. No big deal, though: chess-players make do.
Chapter 1: A Seaside Drive in a Kia
Okay, so the new pairings had me playing as White against one Patrick T. Dowd, possessor of a 1406 rating. I'd heard his name before, but I'd played him as often as I'd played Vishy. Which is to say, never. Let's jump into the game notes to continue the story...
So that was Game 1. Given the nervous state I had been in during the morning, this game helped me gain some confidence.
Chapter 2: With Billy in the Wild West
In my second game, I was due to play as Black against one Neal Sankhla, a 1275P19 whom I had never seen before. This time, we actually did play. No TD recall here. As the chapter's title suggests, it was quite a shootout! In fact, I was actually a tad worse for much of the game...
So that was all I was able to write down. But I generally remember the climax position. For most intents and purposes, it was this:
Whew! That sure was a shootout. It's a pity he didn't see the danger on the d4 square. He had played in a solid, draw-keeping fashion up to that point. But that's the way it goes sometimes. (No, don't go mentioning Randy Stonehill in the comments. Actually, if you feel like it, do go mentioning Randy Stonehill in the comments.)
See ya in the title chapter.
Chapter 3: The Sharpest Game I've Ever Played
Okay, the tale you've been waiting for.
Two up, two down, and Round 3 was on tap. Out of the 11 or 12 players in the 1400-1800 Reserve Section, there were only three of us sitting on 2/2. And it was my prayer, (probably literally), that I would be paired as Black against a particular one of the other leaders: the #1 seed, a certain Jayashree Sekar, who held a polished rating of 1645.
Prayer answered. I thanked the Lord. But since my second round had gone down to the wire, I had very little rest time before I would be thrust into another intense match. One of the reasons I wanted so much to face Mrs. Sekar was that I had a +2=0-1 score against her. And I had a little surprise planned.
Sooner than I preferred, the 3rd round started. Now go jump into the hurricane, the battle of the Jay. S.'s...
And for the plausible reconstruction...
What just happened? Both during and after the game, I opined that it was probably "the sharpest game I'[d] ever played" in my OTB tourney career.
- First, I'd planned a surprise.
- Then, the surprise backfired, and I was face to face with a mate in 1 threat.
- After a tough game of strained development, I was desperately low on time, possibly to a losing degree.
- But I was given the win. With 48 seconds left.
Breathe.
After another shorter-than-wondrous break between rounds, it was time to play my final game. It all came down to this. Both my opponent and I were on 3/3. (He had won his 3rd game long before Mrs. Sekar and I finished.) My last-round adversary, one Josh Burgans, a 1504P18, received the black pieces.
So. We were the leaders. Winner would take all — of the $170 first place prize. Plus trophy. How would I play? Would I be conservative and play for a draw from the start? Nope, not me! The problem was...
Well. What a day. I discovered afterward, in the harsh light of the computer's chilling impartiality, that it is indeed White who has the better hand in this endgame. But I can't let hindsight be a joy-thief. I made the right decision.
It's happened to me in OTB games before, at least once. I remember a game when, like the dog in the fable, I had a draw in my mouth. But as I crossed over the bridge, I looked down in the water and saw a win. As I opened my mouth to grab the win, the draw fell from my hold. Sploosh. And I was left with nothing.
Or, if you're into one-line proverbs, "a draw in the hand is worth a win in the bush."
So I made the right decision. I didn't know how to win; therefore, I drew. Have I repeated myself enough times? Methinks so.
Okay, so how did things shake out? Well, my last-round opponent (Josh) and I tied for 1st place in the Reserve Section. What this meant was that the prizes for 1st and 2nd would be combined and then split evenly between us.
- $170 + $120 = $290
- $290 / 2 = $145
So we both received $145. My new personal best for monetary gain! As it turned out, my tiebreak number was better, so I received the 1st place trophy, too!
Myself and Josh Burgans, respectively, Co-Champs of the Huntsville Challenge's Reserve Section
Epilogue
When I got home that night, my new rating was already released on uschess.org. I had run some mental estimations, and I'd guessed it might go up at least about 50 points. I'd entered the day at 1559. +50 would get me to 1609 — within striking distance of my record high, 1623. Cool, I thought. But I was wrong. I didn't gain 50 after all.
I gained 71!! I surged past my former high of 1623 to a new top of 1630!
A few days later, I checked the USCF website and found that I'd earned a Category 3 norm. Now I have four of the needed five Cat 3 norms. Another good tourney, and I could obtain that sought-after Category 3 title!
Also, (though it's probably too early at this point to be a whole lot more than cautiously optimistic), it's starting to look like 1800 might actually be achievable this year! I just need 170 more points, and if I can string together a few more solid tournaments, that dream just might become a reality!
Needless to say, I'm really excited about my chess future. Two record tourneys in a row have left me with an alligator's appetite for more!
Post-Production Addition:
I just want to make something clear, if I hadn't done a sufficient job of it up to this point.
The glory goes to God. He made it possible. I made mistakes; there were several times when my opponents could have made things much harder for me — even to the point of beating me and placing higher than me. Throughout the whole day, I was giving thanks to God for the various good things He brought my way. Had He willed for someone else to succeed and take the win, this post would never have been written. I owe it all to Him. I just wanted to make that clear.
Original Editor's Note: I would highly appreciate feedback! You don't know how much I'd love to both see and respond to your comments. So whether you have questions, comments, complaints, constructive criticism, thoughts, insults, culinary donations, or pecuniary testimonials, please give something if you can! (About the insults, though... just... you know... yeah. Don't interpret that too liberally.)