Path To Chess Prosperity #3: 9/9/2017 Tournament Analysis PART 2

Yes, this is a double-feature blog...

Intermission...

OK, hi guys! Well, we left off when I started 2-0 at the prestigious Arlington Chess Club's tournament defeating the tournament director and a shaky upset in round 2. It's very hard to start 2-0 in these tournaments... let alone go 4-0!

So, after a shocking "W" against a fellow ACC veteran, my friend and I (we are both part of the Waco Chess Club and traveled to the tournament together) enjoyed a hearty lunch break and entered the tournament room for round 3 to start. It just so happened that three guys including myself were at 2-0 and I was the lowest rated among them.

What that meant was I had to play the highest rated player at 1.5/2 on board 2, who was a near master at an impressive 2166 rating. He had a disappointing round 2 draw against an opponent around my rating, and was not about to give points away to this writer. Though I had White and should rightfully push for an advantage, right? 

• The Black side of the KID Bayonett Attack often has the idea of Nh5-Nf4, which I had not studied before. Every game exposes possible improvements so I will know that for next time!
• Don't be afraid to take a pawn no matter the rating if it does not lose tactically! True, my position was quite a maze after I won the pawn, it was only a matter of finding the best moves which falls into my next point:
• Try not to regret the following position when playing defensively. As we saw, I missed Rfe1 a couple of times and my position suffered since.
• Especially since I did not use a computer, I am not 100% confident of my variations/suggestions from moves 14 and on... so feel free to let me know of any ideas/improvements that I may have missed!

Well, it was time to bounce back as I had a crucial pairing agains an opponent of a similar rating. We both posted hot 2-0 starts followed by dissapointing losses in round 3. This game would prove who was the hotter player and who wanted the 1.0 more, and it was indeed a complex struggle:

• I went a bit over agressive by pushing 17... d4 instead of the calm and obvious a5-a4. It is important to find the best move rather than just a (seemingly) "good" one!
• This game went to show how even your worse piece can play a big role in the game. The cursed d7-Bishop in the French defense played a critical role in my victroy.
• When two Rooks are having a staredown, it is sometimes a good idea to bring your rook halfway rather than snapping on the file. The opposing player may get annoyed and possibly will impulsively blink first. This is called something (27... Rc4), but I don't remember what! Maybe someone in the comments section can remind me! 

So... overall a success. I thought this was a well-fought game between two players of similar ratings and skill... but someone had to win. I tied for 2nd place with 3/4 and pocketed $28 in cash (it at least paid some of my tournament expenses! ). But the biggest prize of all were the well-played games, and a 1700 milestone... 1714 to be exact!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading. I also hope you may have learned something (or maybe you can teach me something in the comments section!). I certainly had fun playing the games and analyzing.

Until next time, this is Daniel Guel saying "good bye!".