Clutching second place!!!

Yeah this series is starting again, last year having attended 3/5 of the events and winning money as 13/334 overall players in the state, I was looking to get this started with a solid showing at the St Cloud Open, you know the drill, 104 players, $2,500 in prize money and 2 rematches lol. Also I had to take a round 1 bye so we are starting with 0.5/1 going into round 2. 

Lets get it!

Round 2: The #1 seed...

Yikes lol, I mean it wasnt unexpected, he is very strong and I came right off of an 2 hour drive but no excuses, starting my tourney off with a loss is rough and im going to need some very strong chess to make a comeback from this... (spoiler) 0.5/2

Round 3: I hate facing kids

All things considered that round went well, a solid win against an 1600 and it gave me good confidence that I could maybe get some momentum going later in the tourney, 1.5/3.

Round 4: Him again???

Now this is the 3rd time ive had to face Harrison OTB, with a score of 1-1-0 against him I went in confident but looking to hit him with the white pieces in his own home territory, d4. But with a twist thanks to my main inspiration for my playing style and openings, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.  

Definitely a fun game, goes to show that even against players who have been 1800 uscf strength, using opening surprises to create dynamic chances is practically an interesting concept, of course the computer could try and refute it but its well studied enough that realistically its a draw. 2.5/4 lets go. 

Round 5: Very underrated 1200

As I had speculated and he had admitted he was around 2000 Rapid online and far stronger than his rating would suggest, it was a very balanced game that there was chances for him to play for a win but he simply didnt take all of them, which happens. Anyways I managed to somehow after my loss bounce back and win every game, which managed to cop me this rating and placement:

Huge W!!!! Lots of rating points and undisputed second place as the 2 above me tied for first with 4/5. 

Anyways I hoped you enjoyed the read as its about 3 weeks till my next blog of the state blitz tournament, see yall next time and feedback and support is much appreciated! 

Adios, Owen