Scoring 8.5/10 in the last Untitled Tuesday of the year!
Getting 8.5/10 and second place made it my best Untitled Tuesday event ever! Around 2 years ago, when I started playing in these tournaments; getting second place would have been a dream, but dreams are made to be chased
These tournaments have always given me great games that are always worth analyzing, so I had to make a blog about this tournament. UTT is definitely a tourney worth playing, I try to play every week and I hope I can see you there also. You can find the club here:
https://www.chess.com/club/untitled-tuesday
My first game was against a 1200 which ended after they dropped a rook. I played pretty well except a small mistake.
In the second game I dropped a pawn and was losing the most of the game. I should have lost that game but @Ramoneski flagged when I only had a bishop and one pawn left.
My third game was against @Smyslovfan , a regular player of Untitled Tuesday. I played very well with 93.7 CAPS and only one major blunder which Smyslovfan thankfully missed.
By game four, I was expecting to lose by now. I was black, playing one of the only 2200's in the tournament. I was down time and a pawn when my opponent blundered on move 19 with Nd5. After that, the game resulted in a very good example of a weakened king pawn structure.
The next game resulted in a draw. At one point I was winning but I was playing for a draw. A decision I regret because this draw probably cost me first place. I wanted someone with the same score of me so I would not get stuck playing all the strong players. But as you'll soon see my next opponent, that did not happen
My score was now 4.5/5! Myself and bishop_to_e4 were leading the tournament.
Game six was against the highest rated participant, @Mikechesser had gotten top three multiple times and I had all losses (6!) against him. I had holes in my defense, but Mike failed to convert into a win when he blundered, allowing a trade of queens.
Game seven was totally garbage. I played too fast and was dropping pieces like a newbie. A game that belongs in the "I never want to see again" list.
After this game @bishop_to_e4 was leading the tournament with 6.5 while myself and @peterchaplin were trailing a point behind. But a encounter between @bishop_to_e4 and @peterchaplin was still bound to happen!'
Game eight was a very close match, after I dropped a pawn, the game was going downhill until my opponent chocked and blundered into mate in 1 with still 20 seconds on the clock! A very dirty win but I'll take my wins anyway I can get them.
On the happy note, @bishop_to_e4 lost to @peterchaplin and the tournament was now a 3 way tie for first with 6.5/8. The next two rounds would decide the winner.
The ninth game was finally against a lower rated opponent. I took advantage of the pinned rook and had a crushing position.
Meanwhile peterchaplin and bishop_to_e4 both won their games, meaning the result of the tourney would depend on our final games.
I got lucky again to play another lower rated player. It was not very well played but my opponent's time stress lead to multiple blunders .
With a score of 8.5 I was guaranteed a top three finish. I had the lowest tiebreaks out of the three so I needed my competitors to lose or draw their game.
Disaster for bishop_to_e4 struck in the form of a draw, giving them third place. At the same time, peterchaplin won his game; giving him first place, leaving me with second place!
Over all, it was a very good tournament. It is a little disappointing that I did not get first place but I can't complain; a 2000 who scored 8 wins 1 draw and 1 loss is something that rarely happens.
Thank you for reading my blog! Follow me to see more blogs about tournaments! Join Untitled Tuesday to join the fun; Tournaments are weekly every Tuesday.
