My Greatest OTB Performance
Today I’d like to recap what I consider to be my greatest OTB performance to date in my short blossoming OTB career. I have competed in ten OTB tournaments, including four small tournaments that were held at my local in-person chess club (which, incidentally, I found through this tournament), but I consider this tournament that I plan to discuss to be the best one that I have competed in so far. That’s right― surprisingly, I believe that I performed better in this event than in my birthday tournament, where I won second place and earned my initial high rating , as well as the Mechanics' Institute tournament, where I gained 30 rating points. Because this tournament was my third OTB tournament, I still had a provisional rating, which allowed for greater rating fluctuation, so I planned to take advantage of this fact by having a stellar performance.
This tournament in question, hosted last year during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, was a local tournament that was conveniently located in a nearby hotel within a comfortable driving distance from my house. Thankfully, this tournament had a much more relaxing environment than the other local tourney that I participated in ― the hotel lobby was comfortable, with plenty of space to lounge, use the free WIFI, and play blitz in between tournament rounds.
The tournament was split up into three sections: 2000+, U2000, and Senior. Because of the massive range of ratings, there were a large number of players in each section: 27 competitors in 2000+, 20 competitors in Senior, and a whopping 65 competitors in U2000! A predictable side effect of the unusually large rating ranges was the pairings: I faced players of vastly fluctuating skill levels in this tournament, with my lowest-rated opponent being 972, and my highest-rated opponent being 1885. Despite these obstacles, I still performed excellently.
Round 1
My first-round opponent was the aforementioned 1885, and I was excited about the challenge. Let’s see how I did!
The fact that I blundered on the first move out of my prep was tragic, but it was a learning experience. Even though I was severely outmatched, and the quick loss wasn’t too surprising, I was still impressed by my opponent’s play, first by finding the correct response to all of my prep, then by absolutely demolishing me when I blundered. It was an incredibly clean game for him.
Round 2
My next game was against the 972 (which perfectly illustrates the range of the large section on pairings), so it was practically a must-win game if I were to have a good rating result.
Where do I even begin with this game? First of all, my opponent played well for a sub-1000, but I mishandled the middlegame, and even after I found the nice exchange-winning tactic, I still almost threw the game away. It was a game filled to the brim with emotional turmoil.
Round 3
The next day, I was paired with a 1757 whom I later found out runs the local chess club. I was excited for another, more manageable matchup with a higher-rated player, and to build off my momentum from the last game. Let’s see if I was able to perform better here than in Round 1.
Well, there’s nothing much to say about this game. I simply got crushed, and at this point you might be asking why I even consider this my best OTB performance ―- well, you’re about to find out very soon.
Round 4:
For this round, I was paired with a 1017. This game was crucial: If I lost this game, I would be hard-pressed to win the U1400 prize, and my rating would likely suffer, but if I won I would be back on track to having a good tournament performance. I was well aware of the stakes and was extremely motivated to use this game as a stepping-stone to build momentum for the remainder of the tournament.
This game was insane! While my positional understanding in that game was hideous, and missing h6-Rf6 was inexcusable, I fought well, and I’m glad that I never offered a draw, despite being sorely tempted multiple times. A draw against a player that is 200 points below my rating would not have been ideal, and with my record in the tournament being 1/3 so far, I did not want another subpar result.
Round 5
In this round, I was paired with an unrated player for the first time, so I was a bit apprehensive, which was bolstered by the fact that he had beaten a 1900 in an earlier round. (His rating after the tournament was 1601)
The game was going down a wild path and then he hung a piece! I was certainly relieved but also disappointed. We managed to refute my intended follow-up to the piece sac in the postgame analysis, so I’m guessing he would have refuted it too had we gone down that line, but it’s also possible that I would have found the right follow-up, so who knows what would have happened.
Round 6
For the final round, I was paired with a 1650, and this game was the most important one yet. If I won, I would most likely win the U1400 prize, and gain an abundance of rating points. If I lost, it’s uncertain that I would win a prize ― I would certainly not win it outright ― and I would gain fewer rating points.
One thing that I found odd about this game was my opponent's time management: he played as though it were a short rapid game, never taking more than two minutes per move, usually moving within a matter of seconds. This time mismanagement made it easier for me to make the upset and secure prize money.
Basically how I feel after winning prize money 
So in conclusion, there are three reasons why I consider this to be my best OTB tournament:
- I won $300 for first place in the U1400 division, which is the most prize money that I’ve won so far!
- I gained 120 rating points in this event, which is the most points that I’ve ever gained in a tournament.
- I discovered my local chess club because of this tournament: joining this club has allowed me to play casual games and compete in USCF-rated tournaments in person, while also making some new friends.
What do you consider to be your greatest OTB performance? Tell me in the comments below!
