Lightning Reports - 2021 Chicago Open, U2100

Hey wassup y'all! Been a while since my last post, but I couldn't resist sharing my experience at the 2021 Chicago Open! And yeah, I know what you're thinking. "What? Lightning did really well at a big event? No way, he's lying, this is all lies and deception!" Well, I kid you not, this is legit, and I'll show you how in the rest of this post! However, for those of you who need further proof, or simply don't want to read this, go check out the following link to the tournament crosstables: www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202105312592.3-15336543! Anyway... the Chicago Open is kind of a big event. With 8 sections and 559 players, it was incredible, especially in this coronapocalyptic world. Don't worry, masks were required

PRE-TOURNAMENT

About two weeks before the event, I asked my coach which section he thought I should play in: Open, U2300, or U2100? I thought for sure he'd say U2300, but to my surprise he recommended I play U2100. His reasoning was he felt I hadn't yet demonstrated dominance over players rated U2100, and to be fair he had a point. I had not yet done that.  Honestly, I was confident I could, but at the same time I was terrified that I would flop yet again, tank my rating, and show I was just another typical 2000. Now I knew I needed to play U2100 and show my coach, and also myself, that I could dominate players rated U2100. But hey, no pressure, I like a good challenge! I spent the next 2 weeks hard at work, determined not to mess things up. This was a good chance for a rating jump! Even on the 13-hour road trip there I was studying opening theory, playing rapid, and doing puzzles (although admittedly, I spent most of that road trip reading Harry Potter lol). So anyway, onto the actual tournament!

ROUND 1

I was so HYPED for this tournament to start! Having opted for the 3-Day schedule, the time control for my first two games was G60|D10, which was really not enough time for me, but I've always enjoyed faster games. Although I've played any many events before, that didn't prevent the usual nervousness and anxiety before each and every game, including round 1. As excited as I was to play, the idea of getting pairing with a random 1900 who is actually 2200 strength was daunting. Luckily that didn't happen. My first round opponent was one Bernard Parham of Indiana, a seemingly solid player who had been around 1900 for years. I was still nervous, but once I got to the board my confidence returned, along with the joy of simply being at the board, moments away from what was sure to be a great game. Er, well, it wasn't really great at all. In fact, it was probably my most inaccurate game of the event.

That was.... fun. Crazy game, but that's how I roll sometimes, utter craziness follows me everywhere. While it's never good to return a blunder the way I did, it is always great to start off a big tournament with a win. I figured winning it all was a long shot based on that game, but my goal of 5/7 was certainly possible. Assuming I didn't blunder anymore pieces...

ROUND 2

For round 2 there was some funny context. After my round 1 game ended, so did the game on the next board. The winner of that game congratulated me on my win, and I said thanks and congratulated him as well (uh, well I hope I did...). After a short chat, while I don't remember our exact words, he said something like "good luck next round", and I said jokingly, "you too, unless we play each other." Why am I sharing this? Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, and I know some of you could tell where I was going with this.... he turned out to be my next round opponent... like bruh, what are the odds of that!? I mean seriously, I was joking when I said "unless we play" bc I was legit thinking, there's no way we could get paired! But yet, there it was on the pairings, I was set to play Jack Heller from Illinois. Fun stuff, right? So anyway, here's the game.

Ahhhh that was close. I guess technically I was winning almost the whole time, but I didn't know that. I mean, I was seconds away from losing! Twice to start off the tournament, I barely escaped at the hands of 1920s. But. I escaped. I found ways to win, and amazingly I find myself at 2/2!

ROUND 3

Round 3 is when the players on the 3-Day schedule merged with the other schedules, meaning the time control henceforth was G100|30, which I was happy about given my recent time troubles. For round 3 I was paired with another 1900, this time it was Oliver Heggli-Nonay, from DC. I thought he was from Illinois bc of his jacket, which said UChicago on the front, but oh well. I won't deny, the idea of playing another player lower rated than I was actually very appealing. It meant I was technically favored to win, which would increase my chances of getting to 5/7 by a lot.

Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled to be at 3/3 after day 1! I couldn't believe it! What a start, but there was still work to be done. Chess.com analysis gave me a 99 for accuracy, which turned out to be my highest for the tournament. We take those!

ROUND 4

In round 4 it just got even tougher. My next opponent was Arendal Markovic from Illinois, 2000 rated. Given that I was 3/3 and very rarely play a whole tournament this consistently, I thought it was a given that I'd lose in either round 4 or 5. This seemed like the right time to lose, but fate had other plans.

Alright, now I'm 4/4 and kind of freaking out. Since when am I able to win 4 straight games vs people so close to me in rating?? I figured I was underrated, but wow. 4/4 (and 2/2 vs Illinois players) is insane, and I wondered vaguely if I actually had a real chance to win the whole thing. I still figured I'd lose to whoever I'd play in round 5 tho, but I certainly had chances.

ROUND 5 & CHICAGO OPEN BLITZ

Surprisingly enough, my round 5 opponent was lower rated than me previous two opponents, at 1954. He had already beaten two players above 2000, so he was obviously a very strong player. Another player from Illinois, Ankush Moolky gave me my toughest game yet.

Phew, so close. But in the end, the win was mine, and somehow, some way, I found myself tied for first place with one other player, both of us at 5/5. Given that my goal was 5/7, to be at 5/5 was amazing! And now that I was tied for first, I started to think, I could actually win it all! But best not to think ahead, still had 2 more rounds, and also the blitz tournament, which, if you know me, you know I would never miss out on that

Speaking of the blitz, if not for what happened in round 1, I'd say I probably shouldn't have played, given that it went on until like 1am. But, something did happen. This blitz tournament was a 5 round double round tournament, so you played all 5 of your opponents twice, and the time control was a speedy 3|D2. In round 1, I happened to be paired against.... IM Eric Rosen. I was annoyed at my bad luck of having to play probably the best player there, but then again, who would pass up the chance to play Eric Rosen otb?! The crazy thing is, I actually beat him in our first game I proceeded to hang a piece, or two, maybe more, in our second game, but still. That's pretty much the only noteworthy thing that happened in the blitz lol if you want, you can check out the standings at: www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202105302762.0-15336543

ROUND 6

Here we go, round 6. The winner of this game was likely to win the event. I knew the stakes were high. I knew if I won, I would be taking home big money and rating points. Despite staying up late playing blitz, I was ready. Surely, Michigan's Kameron Tolliver was doomed.

Yeahhh so... that really was probably the worst move I have ever made, given the circumstances. Not gonna lie, I was ticked off. I was so mad. I wanted to cry, rage, and remain silent all at once. I felt depressed, angry, mortified, and just totally torn apart and heartbroken. I was so very close to 6/6, and clear in first place, with a chance to win the first place prize of $3,381. But I essentially put that in a gift box and gave it to my opponent there. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal. We all blunder. I was lucky to even be at 5/5 before that game. But since I was 5/5, and was winning that game, and seemingly on my way to 6/6 and a ton of money... it just sucked. I really didn't think I could shake it off before the last round. Heck, for some time I didn't even want to play! After eating a late lunch, I came to my senses. I never went to Chicago for the money. The goal was never to win the whole dang tournament and cash in. The goal was at least 5/7, which I had already achieved, and a solid amount of rating points. I needed a strong finish to get that one. It took a lot of talking with my coach to help me recover from this round 5 loss, so thank you coach, I was a mess after this game. But as my coach mentioned numerous times, I had had my fair share of luck. Rounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 could have all ended in losses. In round 6 my luck ran out. So I guess y'all, always remember your goals. Don't lose yourself because you failed at something you weren't even trying to succeed at

ROUND 7

This was it. The last round. With that tragic round 6 choke fresh on my mind, I was still feeling a little down, but I was ready to play. I knew regardless of what happened, I had already done what I came to do. But even still, I had a chance to finish strong, gain lots of rating points, and take home 2nd place and some money. I found out before the game that my opponent, Aditya Gupta of Illinois, played the Caro-Kann, which has sort of been my kryptonite at big events for a while. That didn't ease my nerves at all lol but let's see what happened

Yoooo let's gooo! This was probably my favorite game of the tournament, simply because I destroyed the caro kann, an opening that has plagued me at these big events. The win put me at 6/7 (and 4/4 vs Illinois ) and in a 3-way tie for second place, winning $1,014.67! Far better than I expected or could have asked for. Truly an incredible event that nearly got me to 2100. I'm still a little bummed about that loss, but hey, you can't win them all. I did better than I expected, and am just thankful I didn't go all the way to Chicago just to lose all my games and tank my rating. Big thanks to my coach for, well, coaching me, helping me sharpen my game all around, I surely would have lost a few more of those games if not for what he's taught me, and a big thanks to my mom for driving me there and back, and supporting me throughout the tournament. In that regard, thanks to everyone who supported me throughout the tournament

BONUS: WHEN B1ZMARK & I PLAYED OTB

Less than a week after the Chicago Open, the Alabama Quick & Blitz championships took place. IM Stuart Rachels won both of those events, with NM Forest Chen taking 2nd in both. I somehow tied for 4th in both events, which I'm just now realizing. So anyway, what happened in the quick doesn't really matter since it isn't regular rating, so I don't really care lol the blitz tho, that matters. Why? I played @B1ZMARK in the blitz championship. It was hysterical. I'd been joking all day that if we played we needed to double bongcloud. And that's exactly what we did.

Yeah. That actually happened. I got a pic of the final position. Be sure to check out B1Z's view of this historical game. https://www.chess.com/blog/B1ZMARK/double-bongcloud-draw-ft-lightningchess21

Alright that's all, y'all. Thanks for reading, and props to anyone who read the whole thing. That took forever to write. Appreciate any comments, thoughts or feedback. Cyall in the comments!