Northern AB Open 2024
Hello friends! I'm going to share some games and analysis from my most recent tournament, the Northern Alberta Open, held at the Edmonton Chess Club. This was a frustrating event for me, as I felt I played some of my best chess but failed to get results. I was somewhat unlucky not to face anyone in my rating range, so it's hard to say if I'm improving. It would be nice to be able to play in these a bit more frequently in order to get a larger sample size.
As always, I welcome any feeback, suggestions, random comments, etc. On to the games!
First I had black against Jonathan W. (2139), probably my second strongest opponent ever in a rated game. I would estimate this young man to be around 16 and already close to NM strength. It actually turned out to be one of my better games in the Spanish against a strong junior, of which I've lost many.
After visiting my favouirte local record store, I was paired against young Sina R. (694) in the second round. This game was decided by a touch move mistake by my opponent. I'm not proud to claim the point like this, especially against a small child, but my opponent literally confirmed the rule with me verbally moments before touching his queen. He seemed to be sitting on his hands in the latter rounds, so hopefully he learned something.
At least I had a nice long rest before my third round game against the famous chessboxer Dustin K. (1811). Dustin and I drew a game in the Sicilian Dragon a little over a year ago. This time he obliged me by playing a Scotch line that I have been studying recently. Despite having chances, I couldn't get the job done.
I was a bit worse for wear Sunday morning, having investigated the Chateau Louis' renowned selection of fine Scotch whiskies the night before. Fortunately my opponent John C.'s (1218) chess game was not as strong as the smell of his stale cigarette smoke, and I was able to recover and win a pretty simple game (after a few notation errors and errors over the board).
Finally, I faced another talented junior in Erin Z. (1768). This was a very stressful game for me. I fudged the opening but managed to end up in an equal position in which I had many chances to hold. My opponent put a lot of pressure on the clock, and this was the only game in which the time situation really stressed me out.
And just like that, soaking with sweat and brain bouncing around like a demented jackrabbit, I ended my tournament. Three blacks against opponents much stronger and two whites against those much weaker is kind of tough luck, but so be it. Better luck next time, patzer!
