Photo courtesy of @ijgeoffrey.

Untitled Tuesday Test Event - May 20, 2017

On Saturday I took part in a test run for an awesome event called Untitled Tuesday, which I am currently helping to manage. I played some incredible blitz games and some not-so-awesome blitz games, and I would like to share them with all of you today.

So, what is Untitled Tuesday? Exactly what it sounds like. Untitled Tuesday is a monthly "show after the show" run by super admin and cheater-hunter @MGleason, annotators and report writers @solskytz and @dpnorman, moderator and news writer @ijgeoffrey, and other admins @ChristopherBTrapper and myself. Our first event drew 29 players out of a group of about 150, and our numbers are growing quickly.

But the best thing about Untitled Tuesday is that it attracts a dedicated group of players, and so 2000s get to compete for the top spot, 1600s get to put on a show occasionally, 1200s get a break from all of the weird stuff 1200s play in the regular pools, and almost everyone gets a shot at beating stronger players.

Here's my win over an 1850 from the first round:

This sort of thing is fairly typical for me, and it's probably true of most people currently sitting on a plateau in that they possess the knowledge and skill needed to outplay much higher-rated players, but rarely are able to use it for a full game due to various other small problems with their game.

What's also true for me is that I tend to be wildly inconsistent in blitz play, simply because I'm not tactically savvy enough to play any large number of blitz games without blundering, and I also find 3-5 minutes to be a relatively short time when stopping to think for even a little bit wipes 10 seconds off of your clock. Sometimes I lose ugly games because I try to play too quickly.

That leads to blunderfests like these two:

This is another wonderful positive of this event. Had those losses been to 1200s, they would have been much tougher to handle. But when they're against 1600s or 1900s, it's all part of the game, and wins like this next one make it all worth it. Here's my best game of the event:

Yep, this one was fun. I got to test my theoretical knowledge and play a nice game with just the right amount of tactics involved. The pseudo-sacrificial 25. Nc5! was an especially nice idea.

For all those interested in taking part in this great event, you can join the official group here and read the exceedingly well-written report here.

I'll be releasing new content relatively quickly over the next two or three weeks as I drew an 1850 on the same day and have another blog to write on the 18. Qb2!? line in the first game.

Thank you to everybody who reads this blog and remember to join the official Untitled Tuesday group and leave a comment to make this blog a better place for everyone. Once again, thanks and I'll see you all next time.