My Recent Chess Activity

My goal in this blog is to compile a collection of recent games that I've played over the past couple of weeks. I have a target audience (mostly of peers and younger players) so most of my notes in my games are directed with them in mind. I did not provide a deep analysis of my play here (although it did occur for a few moves here and there). I wanted to use this as an instructional tool.

These first few games are from a tournament that was organized on April 26th, 2014 in Hammond, IN. The turnout for the adult division was much stronger than I anticipated and I was happy to finish in 4th place! While the tournament was 4 rounds, my 3rd round opponent never arrived for our game so I can only post my first, second, and fourth games. There was no enforced time control but those who used clocks had either G/30 or G/25 with a 5 second delay.

 Round two against Mr. Parham! I've never had the pleasure of playing a game of chess against him and I'm glad to at least make it a contest!

The 4th round was against a strong player from Lafayette, IN. For me, it was a very bizarre game! I have yet to truly analyze the game but I will say that I only won because of a time factor. We didn't have a clock, but we were literally the last game of the event to finish and the TDs gave us each 5 minutes on the clock to play the end from move 50 onward. My experience playing blitz certainly paid off, as my opponent used a couple minutes in each of two separate thinks. It's also true that it is harder to play blitz from a constructed position than it is from the starting point of a game!

The next tournament I would attend would be a week later. I played in the G/60 + 30 sec. increment quads held at ChessIQ in Skokie, IL. I really enjoyed playing there because the turnout was excellent! There was no rating gaps of any significance within my quad and the 4 of us were pretty well-matched.

My third round is a game I consider to have been played very poorly on my part. At the same time, I would like to credit my opponent for his play. He had lost the first two games and seemed determined! I made the mistake of playing against his time. I believe I resigned with 45-50 minutes left on the clock, while he won with a little over 8 minutes! It's a good thing I can take those 45 minutes with me to the next tourney.... oh wait! No! I can't!

The last few games that I'll submit here came from a chess club that I attend on Tuesday evenings. It meets at the Meijer in Highland, IN and we do 3 round unrated tournaments that begin at 7:30 sharp. They are G/20 with an entry fee of $1. The club is an adult-player only club but every once in a blue moon, an exception is made for a strong player/junior. My games here aren't my most accurate due to the time control but I still take them seriously. I can experiment here without repercussions (other than losing a game!) 
I have played all of my opponents from here on out several times. We do occassionally "prepare" for the other but piece color is selected immediately before the game starts. 

My 2nd opponent is the owner of the club. He has a very unorthodox style. He also plays very fast, almost instantaneously. His tactics are also above average (from his side of the board). He rarely misses a good tactic that's advantageous for him.