taking a break.
Well....my last few tournaments didn't go so well. Out of my last 7 games i only managed 1.5 points. On the other hand, I feel the game I managed to win was actually a good one. I employed the Tal variation against the Caro Kann defense for the first time in an OTB tournament game. I would like to show it now.
I also had some interesting conversations with various players in this tournament. One was with my opponent in the above game. It turns out that he just recently started playing he Caro Kann. He used to play the sicilian but didn't do well with it. His coach told him to switch to the Caro Kann, so he did, which kind of makes me wonder if the sicilian might somehow be out of fashion. From my own games it kind of seems like it might be. Since I made my return to OTB chess in February I haven't played a single game in the sicilian and I have played 1.e4 in every single game. It has mostly been 1...e5 with a few 1...c6 here and there. I didn't think much of it before my recent conversation with my opponent but now I kind of wonder.
I also chatted a bit with my first round opponent before the tournament and he told me about a time when he had a choice whether to travel to play in a chess tournament or go to all the Final Four basketball games. For anyone that might not be familiar with the Final Four it is one of the most important sports weekends in the United States. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/448582-americas-top-ten-sporting-events
Well somehow my opponent chose chess and he says he still regrets that decision since he didn't do well in that tournament. I think many of us OTB players have had similar moments albeit probably less dramatic than my opponent's example. The thing is we often give up fun and interesting things to do when we play in chess tournaments.....particularly the longer ones....weekend swiss events and the longer ones like World Open. It is certainly worth it when we win. The feeling of winning a chess tournament is awesome! But when we don't do so well there is regret for playing.
Thinking about this is getting me interested in pursuing a more ambitious approach. Winning a chess tournament is a great accomplishment....especially the bigger ones. But what about if I aim for more? For example, what about if I run a marathon and win a chess tournament in the same weekend? That would at least make a good blog post wouldn't it? In a weekend swiss I can imagine playing friday night, run a marathon saturday mourning, maybe take a bye in round two and then play the rest of the rounds.
Well anyway......Ive taken like 3 weeks off from chess....watching college baseball. I kind of feel like 3 weeks is long enough and I should get back to work on chess....especially since I recently signed up to play in the G45+45 team league. http://teamleague.org/ However, I may just wait until the College baseball world series is over since I am kind of still into it, even though my favorite team is not involved. So I may just wait a little longer. BTW in addition to the SEC championship I also attended the regional playoff games.
My team didn't win a single game but I still had fun. Anyway hope everyone is doing well. I'll post more when I get more active in chess.
