
PAN AMS Day 2

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Honestly, she outplayed me, not much more to that. I did learn a lot after analyzing the game. It came down to my lack of understanding in the QGD structures, and missing a critical Knight maneuver in the end that torched me.
I also felt bad, because at the time of the game, we were tied 1-1... our board 3 lost, but our board 4 (1178 provisional) crushed their 1454 board 4. So when I lost, we were trailing 1-2, and Mark (our board 2) was in an intense battle vs a 1900.
I joined my other teammates in our hotel room waiting for the result. I finally got a call from Mark, and we were ecstatic that Mark got the win, and we tied the match!
Was I happy about my game? Nope. However, it is a team-event first, and I'm glad to see us get on the scoreboard!
Round 3 was set for Friday evening. Our team got paired vs Virginia Tech. Individually, I was paired with Atharva Haldankar (1531 USCF). I did see his most recent tournament, he defeated two 1900s back-to-back, so I knew he was not a pushover!
I didn't really care that this was going to cost me rating... with the draw, I clinched us our first match win 2.5-1.5! What an exciting way to finish the day.
Thanks for reading, and sorry for the delay in posts. I've actually played three(!) tournaments since Pan Ams, and I need to catch up on my reporting! I'll be posting the rest of Pan Ams very soon, and will continue taking you through my chess tournament journey. Until then, have a great day, and see you next time!