Gambling My Way Through the Kyoto Chess Championship
Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing for something.
~ Wilson Mizner
Welcome everybody to another tactically unsound edition of the Osaka Papers.
On Sunday March 22nd, I found myself in the idyllic city of Kyoto, Japan, there to play in the Kyoto Chess Championship, which serves as a regional qualifier for the upcoming Japan Chess Championship. The tournament consisted of four rounds, with games having a time control of 30 minutes | 30 seconds bonus. The qualifying process was broken into two parts, with 32 players participating only the top five finishers would be guaranteed a qualifying spot, and one spot reserved for a player who resides in the prefecture of Kyoto.
Sad to say, but I was not particularly optimistic about my chances to qualify. It would take at least three victories and in a field this tough those points would be hard to come by. Moreover, in recent months I have struggled to find the time to put towards proper chess training, so my game hasn't really improved in any meaningful way...
In many ways my chess has degenerated to "Gamble Chess", the state of playing moves when you think that they are most likely the best move, but you're not really certain...so you "Gamble"...
Well, you might be able to imagine how this turned out...but before we confirm your suspicions, how about a few pics to prove that any of this happened...
The Tactic Inside the Tactic
In the first round I had the unenviable task of playing an unrated player...I always hate playing these guys...O_o...
On one hand, they are inexperienced, so at least you have that going for you. On the other hand, you have no idea how strong they are, and losing to them will cost you quite a few performance rating points.
My opponent, Kimura-san was a fairly strong competitor and the position was even for much of the game, until I came to the following position and decided to gamble...
White needs to defend the d6 pawn, Qd5 is best, but what if Black attacks the pawn with ...Re6? Great drop back with Qf3 and target the Bishop on f8, but what do I do if the Bishop takes the d6 pawn?
This is what is going through my mind...my problem is I do not see the tactic that comes after the bishop takes d6...
But can you do better? Start with Qd5 then Qf3...
Pump Up The Pressure
I had no time to dwell on my loss in round 1, as my game was one of the last to finish giving me very little time to prepare for round 2.I was up against Inukai-san, an opponent I had played once before in last year's Kobe Chess Championship.
Once again, I gained a great position only to spoil it with impatience. One of my main problems is wanting to cash in my advantage, rather than slowly increasing it. As the old saying goes, "You've got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em...Never count your money when you're sitting at the table".
White's Bishop is pinned to the Rook on e1, how can we increase pressure on said Bishop? And How can we use or Bishop to dominate the light squares?
Treachery
Treach·er·y
1. betrayal of trust; deceptive action or nature:
With only a half point from my first two games, qualification seemed out of reach, which may excuse going into round three with a somewhat lackadaisical attitude. I was paired with an enthusiastic youth by the name of Maeda.
And in a short time I was down two pawns...O_o...faced with such calamities I knew I had only one tool left to me: TREACHERY. I must swindle this young man out of his deserved victory.
A Flip of the Coin
In the final round I was matched with a much stronger opponent, with qualification out of reach I was content to play for fun and hope for the best. Unfortunately, the best didn't show up and I was unceremoniously crushed...
Here we have a flip of the coin:
Heads - You play Ncd7 and keep the position closed?
Tails - You play axb4 and try to weaken the queenside pawn structure?
The Champions
Postmortem
And that was it, that was the Kyoto Chess Championship 2026...
So, what did we learn? First, don't play Gamble chess, chess is not gambled upon, it is calculated. Yet, despite not playing well in this tournament I'm not truly that disappointed. Although, I still want to achieve the goal of qualifying for the Japan Chess Championship, but due to extenuating circumstances, I doubt I will travel to Tokyo to participate this year.
My goals have more to do with fixing the problems in my game, rather than worrying over qualifying for this tournament or that.
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to share these games with your friends down at the Library or Casino.
Cheers, SheldoOfOsaka.
P.S. Snick into the Click Button's house and replace their chess sets, with checkers sets...
"Click Button"
