Great Falls Open - Round 1

This past weekend I traveled to Great Falls for a warmup tournament leading up to the Open in just a couple of weeks. I played all five rounds and didn't lose a game; the only other player to pull that off was the winner, my old nemesis Guy Stafford. Unfortunately, I didn't rack up as many wins as he did, managing only two with three draws (one against Guy himself).

It was a tough tournament all around. There was a tremendous upset when Mark Anderson (rated in the 1830s) lost to an under-1200 player. Brad Bodie, another friend who traveled from Idaho to join us, was the top seed but lost a large number of points. When the smoke cleared, I had finished in second place but with the highest new rating of the field, and I managed to crank out some interesting games.

This first one was against a gentleman who used to play but is just now getting back into the game after laying off for several years. As someone who went through the same process, I know how he feels, and I wish him well on his return to the circuit.