Philly Open Day 1

Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, symbol of American independence, and the destination for my first away-from-home chess tournament. I have made plans to play in two big away tournaments this year and the 2014 Philadelphia Open seemed like an excellent first choice. It had a large prize fund of $80,0000, it would offer me the chance of playing a fresh crop of east coast players, and it was held in April when there was going to be a marked lull in chess tournaments in the Chicago area.

I arrived at the airport in the early afternoon on Thursday, the first day of the tournament, figured out the mass transit system to get from the airport to the hotel (only $8 each way), and got settled in to the hotel with enough time to rest before my first round game.

After traveling 700 miles to play a fresh group of east coast opponents, I get paired up with a previous opponent from a Chicago tournament who traveled with the same idea! But, we had a good game and both had chances of scoring the point.

Lessons Learned

• Don't attack a piece that will just move to a better square (which I did two moves in a row!).
• As always, make sure to look at all checks, captures, and threats each move. If I had done that I wouldn't have left white's d pawn hanging two moves in a row but would have captured it with a small advantage.
• Stick to my plan unless the position warrants changing it.