Random Thoughts

Hi everyone,

So many things are going on and have been going on this month - its been crazy.

Chicago Open:

I finished the Chicago Open in May 2013 and did about average, losing to 2 GM's Wesley So in round 1, and later on vs Alexander Shabalov. I lost both games, which was disappointing that I didnt play better. My other games were all versus very talented juniors. I defeated 2 of the juniors (Andrew Tang and Jarod Pamatat), and drew the other 3 (Safal Bora, Christopher Wu, and Cameron Wheeler - all of whom were rated about 2300. I missed winning continuations vs Safal Bora and Cameron Wheeler - which speaks to me being quite rusty. All in all I was not too disappointed, though I could have done better.

National Open and World Open: 

I then played at the National Open in Vegas two weeks later. Unfortunately, my result was not good. I didnt play very well and was not very sharp overall. I am going to do my very best to keep playing and get myself back into playing shape. This now brings me to the World Open this coming week. As of this blog being posted, I have not decided whether to play U2400 section or Open section. I probably will decide on the plane ride tomorrow!  Wish me luck!!

Western Invitational Chess Camp: 

Lastly, as I wrote in my last blog, I have the camp that I run, the Western Invitational Chess Camp (www.westernchesscamp.com) July 14-18, 2013, here in Tucson, Arizona, when I get back. I am more excited about this camp than ever before given that it is the 10th year of existence, and it has 8 masters signed up! Check out www.chess.com for 2 blogs during the camp by two of the camp participants, as well as a very lengthy recap at the conclusion of the camp.