2025 Music City Open

Hello there, welcome to the Lightning Reports! Last you heard from me I had made my return to chess after a bit of a break and, slowly but surely, I've dragged my rating up to 2113. That's good... but not good enough since I'm workin hard to get to NM by June. Ambitious? Very. Likely? No... not really. But this may very well be my last serious push for NM and I'm goin for it, a I'm gonna work hard and do what I can to finish my journey to NM in the coming months.

In early February I finally bought myself a vehicle. Not just to go to tournaments (although that would be rather funny), of course, but it certainly helps. Weeks later I found myself driving up to Nashville on a random Friday in February to compete in a G90+30 event with about 10 players higher rated than me - ample opportunity to gain rating (unless I uh... lose to a 1700 in round one... that would kinda hurt my journey to NM lol). I was pretty excited about this one. If I could gain a good 20 points I would be really happy. Anything above that... I'd be jumpin for joy. This is my comeback, stay tuned to see how it goes...

ROUND ONE

Ah, Nashville. I haven't played here since the K-6 Nationals back in 2016. And in 2023 I registered for a tournament here but... fractured my ankle right before driving up to the tournament and decided instead not to play. Me and my good timing huh? So you could say this weekend in Nashville has been long overdue haha. Happy to say, this time, I did make it to Nashville. 

After some downtime, the pairings were out. My first-round opponent was a name I actually recognized (he recognized my name as well, which I thought was awesome)... back in 2019, I had my best tournament ever. As a 1967-rated player, I scored 4/6 despite playing NMs in rounds 2-6. I gained 80 points. And yet, I wasn't the only one having the tournament of my life... Tennessee's Adam Steed, who also scored 4/6 and gained an absurd 123 points. Considering what I had witnessed from him in 2019, I knew that this 1700 was no ordinary 1700... he's a formidable opponent and he's gonna give me a fight.

Good grief y'all. He fought hard for a good 3 hours or so. For it to end like that is tragic, yet I cannot tell you how relieved I felt. We played out an alternative endgame after and I can confidently tell you it would have been a real headache trying to win. But I'll take it. I didn't feel overly pleased with my play, I can't complain here. But I will have to play better if I wanna gain rating...

Side note by the way, when I got back to my hotel room late that night I found this had been slid underneath my door... As a pizza lover who was more than ok with ordering a pizza at midnight (and this place was open until 4 am!!), this made me really happy. Nashville just gets me I guess. I can order a pizza to my hotel room at midnight? HECK YEAH! I ordered a pizza that arrived around 1 AM. It was very good. And, surprisingly, I still proceeded to sleep very well. 

ROUND TWO

After getting some decent sleep, I woke up the next morning and treated myself to... pizza for breakfast. Amazing. I also knew that I... was going to be playing the highest-rated player here, GM Mikhail Antipov. I was rather excited because at this tournament there's this stage set up for the top two boards, and I'm on board 1. As my fellow Alabamian Christian Friedman said, "We made it to the stage!" Or something like that anyway. Regardless, he was right, we had indeed made it! I thought it was really really cool and it's something I've not done yet. New experience. Naturally, instead of enjoying being on the stage for the entirety of the game, I still spent a lot of time off the stage walking around... some things never change.

Oh and there's also a TV displaying the games being played on the DGT boards, which is also neat. It was cool to sit in the audience and watch my own games unfold while my opponents were thinking... or while I was thinking... the GM must have thought I was so odd for sitting in the audience while my clock was running 😅

Anywho. As for the actual game... yeah, I figured there was very little chance of me stunning the GM and getting a win or draw. But I wasn't gonna go down without a fight, right? I came to Nashville to play some fighting chess. So I did some research, I did my prep... and I found a line in which, if it went as I was guessing it would go, I would gain a pawn out of the opening.... but it'll be close to equal.

So you're tellin me... I can gain a pawn. Against a GM. And if I play accurately I could have winning/drawing chances? Heck yeah, why not go for it?

Oh also, click here to see the game on chess.com with time stamps - it randomly stopped working on move 17, but otherwise, it's there. Oh and FYI, for any games played on a DGT board, when you click on the link it will show you the result. If you want to see the game before the result, don't click on the links until after going through the game. Up to you.

Welp... no shame in that. I didn't expect to win or draw against someone so ridiculously strong. But I do expect to notice things like 21...Qa4. That's a move I can't miss. What a shame. I was otherwise happy with my play but it fell apart very fast after Qa4. It is what it is, I'll just have to be more thorough with my calculations from here on out... I got my mistake of the tournament out of the way so now I'm good, right? Right...?

ROUND THREE

I wasn't too bummed about the loss to the GM. It was an enjoyable experience, honestly. I returned to my hotel room, treated myself to some more pizza, and relaxed until the next game. Eventually, the pairings were out and it was time to play. To my great surprise and delight, I found myself on a DGT board again. Perhaps I may pick up my first ever win on a DGT board... all my previous games on DGT boards have been, erm, less than ideal 😅

I was paired against Austin Powell, a 1900 who had defeated a 2300 in his first game. So... not the most ideal 1900 to have to play. Any 1900 who recently beat a 2300 is not ideal to play. Obviously, he is quite capable of beating me, so I'll have to stay sharp. 

Click here for the link to the game with timestamps. 

Let's gooo! First ever win on a DGT board - a minor milestone, perhaps, but a new milestone nonetheless. I'll absolutely take it. Regarding the actual game... I wasn't immediately sure how to feel about my play. Even after the game, I was very unsure about what had just happened. I didn't know how long I had been winning, or even when exactly I was winning. However, I felt good enough about it during the game to trust that I had solid chances to win, but I also felt like I played inaccurately. I suppose both of those things may be true. In the end, I got a solid win with black against a strong opponent and set myself up well for the final day of the event. Day three will make or break my tournament... been there, done that, nothin new. No pressure, right? Right... I totally won't throw the tournament at the last possible moment!

ROUND FOUR

After getting some decent sleep, I woke up the next morning and treated myself to... pizza for breakfast. Amazing. Say... didn't we already do this? Look I love pizza, ok... 😅

Anywho. In round four I was surprised to find myself paired with... Alabama's NM Matthew Puckett? Really? I drive up to Nashville and find myself playing an Alabamian. Seriously, what are the odds?

However, I wasn't too displeased by this. Matthew is among the few whom I have faced several times but have never beaten, and I don't mind a chance to change that. 2 losses, and 2 draws. To me, he's always seemed like someone who is just very difficult to beat. Everyone's got a weakness but I haven't figured out what his is yet. But what I do know is... I've played boring chess against him several times now. I don't believe I've ever played a sharp line against him. The last time we faced one another, I played an Alapin against him and was completely content with an easy draw. But like I said earlier in this blog... I came to Tennessee to play some fighting chess. I'm here to play to win, not draw (but I'd also be happy if we end up drawing lol). So ya know what? It's time for me to play the Rossolimo against Matthew...

Click here for the link to the game with timestamps. 

Ladies and gentlemen...

After 5 long years, I've finally beaten another 2300! No joke, I hadn't defeated any 2300s since 2019... this was a barrier I needed to break. And what a game to break that barrier. Sure, I did several things wrong, probably came too close to throwing the game, and perhaps I even just caught him on a bad day. But I will take it. Any day, I'll take it. For my journey to NM... this was a win I needed. A big step forward. Just gotta keep this momentum goin...

ROUND 5

As thrilled as I was to pick up that win, there's no time to celebrate. I've got to stay focused if I'm gonna finish strong. One more win will get me a lot of rating... and, quite possibly, third place. Which is something I would not have thought possible before the event. After round 4 I retreated to my room and just tried to relax. And enjoy some pizza of course.

Anywho. In round five I was surprised to find myself paired with... Alabama's Aaron Decord? Really? I drive up to Nashville and find myself playing an Alabamian. Again. What are the odds?

Ok but really what are the odds of this? If you've read my blogs before, there's a good chance you know this already... Aaron Decord is my most-played opponent. This will be our 14th regular-rated game. And this one is a tricky one to be ready for. He completely crushed me back in September in the e6-b6 line I've grown fond of...  and I am in no rush to try that again against him. So I decided to just look back at some old ideas I had saved for Aaron, chose to trust my past self, and... we'll see how it goes.

Click here for the link to the game with timestamps.

My goodness. I can't believe it.

The prep actually paid off. I outplayed him despite doing something dumb in the middlegame (I shouldn't have overlooked e6). I didn't get too low on time. Somehow... I got the win! I can't deny that I was absolutely ecstatic after the game. I ran up to my hotel room (I came back down later and watched the last games end) and ordered a small celebratory pizza (did I mention I love pizza?). Cause this was a win worth celebrating. Defeating Matthew AND Aaron back-to-back... genuinely, I dunno if I could do it again, they're so strong and difficult to face, I feel fortunate to have won both games. This was a big win for me... a big day for me. And I knew it. I was just really thankful and happy, you can be sure I enjoyed relaxing for the rest of the night.

GG Aaron, I have no doubt we'll be playing again really soon... chances are he gets the next win, we seem to be taking turns winning lol

FINAL THOUGHTS

February 23rd, 2025 was my day it seems... I dare say it may be a day we look back on as a true turning point in my journey to NM. At least, I hope it is. It's not often I leave a tournament happy with how I played AND happy with the results... it seems I finally had some good fortune there.  I know there are some things I could have done better and I will continue working to improve, but overall... I feel like this is the best I've played in a while. Definitely my best tournament in a wee bit. I ended up gaining a larger amount of rating than expected as I went from 2113... to 2150! I made it back to 2150! The tilt is over... I have recovered. I just have to stay above 2150 this time heh. I also did finish in clear 3rd place which... was great, I ended up not losing money on this event. Honestly, this one couldn't have gone much better for me and I'm thankful to the Lord, all glory to Him. 

So. While this was a huge event for me, and I certainly got to enjoy it and be happy with my new 2150 rating... there is still a long way to go. The last time I crossed 2150 I promptly dropped below 2100 not long after. July 2024 was all it took. I will for sure be hard at work to make sure that doesn't happen again. Getting to 2150 in one tournament not only restored my rating... it also restored my confidence in myself, no more self-doubt here. And it restored my belief that I really can get to NM. Previously I said I had to be real with y'all, NM wasn't looking realistic... but now? I could be 1-2 good tournaments away with some hard work and good results. I'm determined and hard at work. The journey isn't over just yet... but perhaps we are near the end. Thank y'all for your support this whole time, I'll continue to keep you posted...

THE "GOOD JOB, YOU MADE IT TO THE END" PART OF THE BLOG

Good job, you made it to the end. I am very proud of you, I'm sure it wasn't easy. Thank you so much for reading, I do appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed your time here. It was nice to write about a good tournament for once, after so many bad/mediocre ones I wasn't sure when I'd get to do that again 😅

I intend to play otb again on April 19th, which will be the annual Falcon Invitational. That is definitely a big one. I hope to play again either before or after that - if I can't get NM before/at the Falcon then I will probably play in Atlanta the following weekend, at least. But we'll see. 

Also in May, as I previously shared, I intend to finally bring back my Questioning Non-Chess Players series! I should have done that a while ago given how much people seemed to enjoy that, but hey, better late than never? I expect that blog to be posted in late May but it depends on when I post the J2NM blogs. 

Anywho, I reckon that's all I've got for y'all. Thanks again for reading, I truly do appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed this one. I'll cyall in the comments 🙃