If You're Going Through Chess Hell, Keep Going.
If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going - Winston Churchill
Welcome everybody, to another rapid edition of the Osaka Papers...
In the last few months, I have encountered that all too familiar infernal locale, where chess dreams go to die. Call it stagnation, the plateau, tilt, the Pit...Chess Hell. The calamitous nature of the last few months cannot be overstated, failing to qualify for the Japan Chess Championship, scoring less than 2 points at a tournament for the first time ever, innumerable blunders, missed wins, inaccuracies and mistakes. It has been hell. And owing to my proclivity for blogging, it has come to pass that the world at large knows the shameful story of my wretched fate.
Yet, Winston Churchill was correct. If you find yourself going through hell, there really is only one thing to do...
Lucky for us chess players, redemption is only ever one tournament away, which brings me to my latest over-the-board chess adventure.
On Sunday May 10th, Osaka, Japan was host to its first ever FIDE rated rapid tournament, the 1st Kansai Rapid Masters. The event boasted a novel structure, participants played two games (once as Black, another as White) against each opponent before being paired for the next round. So, although there were 8 rounds, we had only four unique opponents. The time control was 15 mins | 5 sec bonus, with the 2nd game beginning immediately after the conclusion of the first. I enjoyed the system as it allowed us to play more games than would be normally possible.
But what about the chess? Would I finally break out of Chess Hell, or would this be yet another cautionary tale about how NOT to play chess?
Before we get to all that, how about a few pics to prove that any of this actually happened.
Opening Troubles
In the opening round I was paired with Monsieur Pasquier of France, who had traveled with his son to Japan and happened to take in the rapid tournament as one of their vacation activities. Although his son is only 11 or 12 by his looks, he had a rating in the 1800s and ended up finishing 4th in the tournament.
The senior Pasquier was a little less experienced than his son and committed an opening error in our first encounter.
Black has played the Petrov, but instead of taking on c3, he has essayed the dismal Bf5??
How can we punish such impudence?
In the second round Monsieur Pasquier but up a stiffer fight, but I was still able to get the full point, going on to the 3rd round with a perfect score.
Tactically Crushed
In the 3rd and 4th round I was paired against Tanaka-San, a player rated slightly higher than myself. Although I had seen him quite regularly around the Kansai chess scene, this would be our first contest. And it didn't go very well, in our first game, he was able to outmaneuver me into a completely winning position in under 30 moves...
Which brings us to this second encounter. We played the Sicilian Najdorf, and my inexperience with this position was plain to see. Right out of the opening, he was able to pull off a stunning tactic to win the game.
Black hopes to target the loose rook on h1, but has forgotten how weak the e6 pawn is, how to continue?
My Heart's Desire
There are three kinds of players I abhor...London System players, Unrated players...and Children...O_o...
Regardless of their rating you just never know what you're going to get when you face a child, so it was with no little trepidation that I faced off against my fifth-round opponent, the young Mr. Ramkumar.
Yet, I found myself with a strong position right off the bat, a gigantic space advantage, bolstered by my queen and light bishop aimed menacingly toward the Black king side. I have my heart set on a sacrifice, but perhaps there is something better...
White can sacrifice his bishop on g6, but how can he increase the pressure before doing so?
In our 2nd game, I was able to get the better of my opponent, despite a few positional lapses, going into my final match with 4 points from 6 games.
Keep Going
The final match, the final test. I hadn't payed much attention to my rank, but surprisingly I found myself near the top of the table and within touching range of taking home a trophy.
These last few tournaments have been hell, not because of the losses, but because of the way I lost, there is nothing more painful than squandering a lead, nothing so soul crushing as a missed win.
To me, Chess Hell is a lack of momentum, lack of progress, lack of motivation. The only way to gain momentum is to start, the only way to progress is to keep moving forward, and the only way to build motivation is to take action.
As I sat down before my unrated opponent, I promised myself that I would keep calm, keep looking for winning opportunities, and no matter what keep going.
Unfortunately, due to my illegible handwriting, the exactitude of the final game is a mystery. In short, the King's Indian Defense was played, and my opponent got an attack on the king side, while I expanded on the queen side. Yet, at the critical moment White blundered by making a slightly inaccurate sacrificial attack. White ended up a piece down in a queen vs queen and bishop end game but managed to build a fortress for his king. With time running low, I decided to simply repeat the position instead of risking losing on time.
The game ended in a draw, at first, I thought my prudence had led me missing out on a trophy, until I heard my name called during the closing ceremonies...
The Champions
Postmortem
And that was it, that was the 1st Kansai Rapid Masters...
Of course, I am immensely pleased with the result of the tournament. In truth, this is only the second time I have won an actual trophy at a chess tournament, and I'm proud to say that I have placed it on my mantle, where it will remain until the end of time.
Yet, I have to admit that I got quite lucky with my pairings, as I did not have to play against a few really strong players, who ended up finishing just below me.
Nevertheless, a win is a win, when it mattered most, I chose to keep going, instead of being held back by past mistakes. Chess rewards those who keep going, not those who stay stationary.
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to share these games with your friends down at the library or bar.
Cheers, SheldonOfOsaka.
P.S. If you like some chess merchandise to wear to your next chess tournament, invite the Click Button to a game of chess, but for no reason at all flip the board over half way through the game.
CLICK BUTTON
