I Got Mated by Two Bishops OTB
I was midway through the 2023 Vulcan Open when I contemplated whether or not I'd even blog about this event. I was playing some of the worst over-the-board chess of my life; losing a forgettable Round 1 in an equal endgame, and on the verge of receiving another loss in a position where I had been up a pawn. With an 0-2 start and the psychological effects of my losses already taking a toll on my mind, I was discouraged to say the least. Not only was I performing awfully, but it was also looking like I wouldn't even get any content out of this tournament. I was seriously questioning my decision to play in the U1700 section. Then came the turning point... although I did wind up losing in Round 2, it was to one of the rarest checkmates in existence, something I hadn't seen before in my chess career. I then followed up that round with two of the most incredible games of my OTB career, which resolved my decision to write this blog. So without further ado, let's begin 
This tournament was held on May 27, and is always a special event because not only is it an annual competition that I've attended since 2021, but it was the first tournament I ever played in, a few years ago. As usual, this was a four-round Swiss, with a time control of 60/0 d5. Following up my success at the Alabama Scholastic Championship a couple months back, I made the questionable decision to play in the U1700 section, hoping to continue my four tournament streak without losing rating.
I started off the week of the tournament as I typically do, by not playing any chess or studying. And that was about the full extent of my OTB preparation. This was probably a bad choice by me since this was the first time I was playing in an U1700 section that actually had 1500+ players registered. But oh well, before I knew it, the morning of the tournament had arrived and with Round 1 set to begin at 9:00 AM, I mentally readied myself to face the toughest competition to date.
Round 1: I Forgot How to Play Chess
In round 1 I was paired against a 1430; someone who was not only the highest rated player I'd faced OTB, but also wasn't on the pre-registration list so I hadn't gotten the chance to prep for him. Oh well. At least I was white in this game. I've only won the first round of a tournament twice, and I'm pretty sure I was white in at least one of the games.
Another Round 1 loss. Nothing new for me, and certainly not unexpected against someone +300 my rating. This game was interesting though because rather than one game-ending blunder by me like usual, I lost a single pawn and simply got outplayed in an equal position. Granted, there weren't many opportunities for me to push for a win, but my opponent did a great job at consolidating his position and deflecting all my attempts at counterplay until he could convert the winning endgame. In fact, my opponent played with an accuracy of 92% and received a performance rating of 2200 by Chess.com's game analysis feature.
Mistakes:
- 17. Rfb1- Not a dubious move by any means, but it was definitely a lot more passive than its alternatives. The computer likes either Bxc6 or Be4; in retrospect, Rfc1 is probably the more natural move from a human perspective.
- 21. Re1??- A complete blunder of a pawn. Literally any other rook move would've been better here. Probably something like Rc1 or Rd1 would've been better suited for contesting black's advantage.
- 39. Rxa5??- This move causes the eval bar to plummet from a mediocre -0.4 to -3.6. Once again, my sub-par endgame skills were exposed in practice and my opponent was able to exploit that.
Yet another game where I had thrown an equal position because of my poor endgame abilities. If I don't address my endgame problem I have no doubt that there will be several more games in the future that end just like this one.
Round 2: Two Bishops Mate
Round 2 saw me paired against a 1250 who once again wasn't on the pre-registration list so I hadn't gotten the chance to check what openings he played. This time I was black, and looking for a rebound after my previous loss.
I wasn't sure how to feel. Yes, I had just lost a second straight game, but there was something almost exhilarating about getting checkmated by two bishops. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty positive that this was the first time throughout my 6,000+ chess games where this unique checkmate had occurred. I definitely dug my own grave with a few inaccuracies in the middlegame, but credit to my opponent for navigating that endgame. I know for a fact I wouldn't have been able to find the double bishop mate.
Mistakes:
- 17. Rc8?!- A fairly intuitive-looking move, continuing to activate my immobile pieces, and moving my rook to its most natural file. However, I overlooked the prophylactic move 17. h6, which would've disarmed white's threats on the kingside. In fact, I think 17. Rc8 was the catalyst for my demise. It allowed white to infiltrate my kingside with his rook and bishop pair. Perhaps to a computer that position would've been equal, but for a human, playing under that much pressure is extremely difficult.
- 35. Rg8?- I missed the continuation 35. Rxh7, 36. Bxg6+ Rg7, which would've simplified and preserved the equal position.
- 37. Nf8??- My final mistake, blundering a knight.
These three mistakes (all coincidentally made on the same rank!) led to a collapse on my kingside and my opponent capitalized on this asset by putting me under immense pressure. Now I was virtually out of contention for a Top 3 finish, although there was a slight chance I could win the U1300 prize. But to do that I'd have to at least win my next two games.
Round 3: My Turn For a Mating Net
After two games lost to slight oversights and brilliant moves by both of my opponents, things weren't looking good for me. But now I at least had material for content; it's not every day you see a double bishop mate OTB. With not much to lose at this point in time, and a pairing that matched me as white against a 1200, I decided that I wouldn't walk away from this board without a win.
Mistakes:
- 18. Nd7??- So yeah, I just hung a pawn here. Classic example of tunnel vision.
- 31. Qa7?- A detrimental mistake that almost cost me the game by allowing black to encroach on my kingside and potentially win my bishop. As noted in my post-mortem, I should've played either 31. Qc7 or 31. Rc1 to try and trade off one set of black's major pieces.
- 32. Kg2??- A blunder ensued my previous mistake. 32. Qd5+ 33. f3, Rxf1 won my bishop. 32. Qc7 was best once again.
Despite these three mistakes/blunders that gave black a -3 advantage at one point in the game, I still survived and brought back the full point as my spoils of war. Now I just needed to win my next game and this tournament will have been the best performance I've ever had in an U1700 section.
Round 4: No Pawn Captures?
In Round 4 I was paired against a player who had a palindrome rating of 1111. He was 0.5/3, but he had drawn a 1400 earlier in the day so I couldn't accurately judge his skill level. Nevertheless, it was certainly possible for me to win this game and finish the day with a solid 2/4. Could I seize a victory as black in the final round?
For the third consecutive time I had played a very unusual game. I got an exceptional position from the Dutch, locked down the board with my pawn chain, and forced my opponent to make concessions under time pressure. Oh, and a pawn wasn't captured until move 35.
That was the highest accuracy game I had played all day (88%), and also my lowest "rating performance" at 1450. Nevertheless, I was extremely pleased to see that I had made no mistakes. I had also achieved what I considered to be an optimal position out of the Dutch. That's actually one of the primary reasons I swapped my queen's pawn counter from the Nimzo-Indian to the Dutch; because of the incredible middlegames black gets. Overall, I was relieved to have won my final round and turned an 0-2 start into my best U1700 performance to date. Now it was time to await my rating changes...
Conclusion:
Two days after the tournament I found out I had not only gained 21 rating points, but I had also been involved in a four-way tie for the U1300 prize, meaning I won $18.70 😂 I never would've guessed that out of all the tournaments I'd ever competed in, this would be the first one I won a cash prize in, even if it was a minuscule one at that. And now I was 1150, just a few dozen rating points shy of my peak. I'd say this was a pretty successful tournament. I went 2/4 playing in the upper section, played four phenomenal games that were fun to annotate, and even managed to gain rating for my sixth straight tournament.
As always, thanks so much for reading; I sincerely hope that you enjoyed or at least learned something from this blog 
Consider leaving a comment below if you liked this post, as all feedback that I receive is much appreciated. As far as future posts are concerned, I have at least two more blog posts scheduled for this summer and my next OTB event should be in early September. But yeah, that'll wrap this one up. Thanks again for reading, I appreciate all of my readers. Until next time,
-Nimzo
