Bob Johnson 2014: So I can play chess after all...

On Saturday, I played in the Bob Johnson team match tournament. I went with a couple friends from my college chess club.

To explain the subtitle, chess has been a struggle since this summer. I scored a miserable 2/5 points at the Cleveland Open, despite being near the top of my section.

I knew a number of the players at this tournament, so I was hoping to do better.

I had never played Mr. Jones, so I really didn't know what to expect. But apparently I was ready.

So in the end, I had winning chances, but the game was a draw in the end. I was quite happy to draw a 2000 rated player for the first time ever.

Round 2 I was playing Ben Rummell. He had drawn a 1900 player in round 1, so I was a little nervous, even though his rating is about the same as mine. He is also a kid, which can be scary because they surprise you by getting better at chess each time you play them.

Round 2 was perhaps my worst recorded game. That is, I did a terrible job of writing down which moves I played. It started like this...

So I'm up a pawn, but as the game progressed, I found myself under considerable pressure. It ended up looking like this...

I got him in the end, though a hard fought battle it was.

So I have 1.5/2 going into the final round. So of course, I was paired with the highest rated person at the event: Barry Davis. Mr. Davis is rated 2138, and is quite good. And last time I played him, I lost so fast it was downright pitiful. I was going to be back over 1700 at this point in the tournament, but I would like not lose the last game.

I needed a miracle to not lose this game. Fortunately, miracles happen.

And so I draw two 2000 rated players in the same tournament, and had a performance rating of 2105. Now my rating is 1767, and I'm in range of hitting 1800 before the year is over.