Tournament Recaps: Boston Chess Congress
I recently played in the 10th Annual Boston Chess Congress, where I scored 2.5/5 points in the U2100 section. This was my very first FIDE rated tournament, so I was excited about that, as well as significantly high-rated players and a high prize fund. I'll be taking you through some of my wins, losses, mistakes, and tactics from this tournament. Enjoy!
Round 1
I was playing a somewhat underrated player, since he very recently moved to the US. He didn't even have an official USCF rating yet. This is the very reason why I was scared to play him; you never know what to expect, he could be a very good player. His rating was also noted as '1900 EQ' during the tournament, which meant that his rating was equivalent to 1900 in the other rating system that he played (ACF, National, FIDE, etc.), so that was that. Thankfully, I ended up winning the game with a climactic and unexpected ending.
Most of the game was equal but got decided by one horrific blunder. I felt like I could've played a cleaner game and converted my opening advantage, but it is what it is. After this game, I was confident to continue the tournament, but I also knew that I would be facing a really strong player.
Round 2
We were almost at the hotel when my dad received the next round pairings. I quickly checked the USCF profile of the person I was playing and was shocked to see that he was top 3 in his entire state by rating. I mentally prepared for a long and hard fight, as I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a really difficult and interesting game.
I was really disappointed in my play here, since in the beginning I had chances, but I knew that my opponent was a strong player, so there's really nothing I can do now. 1/2 points wasn't bad, but it could've been better. I went home to rest and prepare for my next game.
Round 3
When I checked the pairings for round 3, I was surprised to see that I was going to be playing a friend of mine. I quickly prepped for him, made sure that I was going to be playing the correct opening, and started the game confidently.
After this win, I was inspired to continue doing great in the tournament. The next round would possibly be the most difficult game in the tournament, so I needed to get ready. I took a good rest and was ready for whatever challenge my next opponent would bring to me.
Round 4
I didn't know much about my opponent, except for the fact that he was like 1980 rated, and that he has a good record against high rated players. Looking back at it, this was probably my hardest game to play in this entire tournament because of how effortlessly he converted his advantage.
I was disappointed in my play here, but I decided to not get sad over this loss to much, and rather prepare for my final round, because I just couldn't lose. If I lost the final round, I would barely get any rating, and would go home defeated. I just had to do something.
Round 5
The final round has arrived, and I was fully prepared. I sat down at my board, got all of my materials, and when the TD's said that we could start our clocks, I did. One problem though, my opponent wasn't there! I waited for 5 minutes, 10, 15, and he still hadn't arrived. I walked around the playing hall for a bit, and finally, after 20 minutes, I saw my opponent press the clock on my board. I had no clue how this game was going to turn out, but it definitely would be fun.
I was happy with the result because it definitely could've gone worse for me. I watched my friend's game for a bit, looked over my game, and decided that it's time to head home. Before I did though, I checked out the incredible view from the top floor of the hotel!
Conclusion
Overall, I thought that this was a great tournament. My USCF rating jumped from 1568 all the way up to 1646. At the time that I'm writing this, I have a USCF rating of 1703! If you enjoyed this blog, you might want to consider checking out some of my other blogs. Thanks for reading, have a great day!