Montana State Championship 2021 - How The Mighty Have Fallen

I had a terrible tournament at the state championship, scoring a paltry 2 points and tumbling below 1900 in my rating. But I wasn't the only one suffering the bitter dregs of defeat. Dorje McPherron is now the former state champion, having been ousted (and defeated head-to-head) by new champion Ben Vogel. Dorje and I have been dominating this event for the past three years, so I guess the joyride had to end sooner or later. My buddies Rasul Nazriev and Scott Caldwell likewise crashed and burned, so there was plenty of disappointment to go around.

Despite all this, I remain upbeat and eager to play chess more than ever, for several reasons:

• Some of my games were fun cliffhangers that made for good theater (the games were live-streamed and can still be viewed on the MCA Facebook page). I held Dorje to a draw when he had a clear win, with only seconds on my clock. I also pulled off an impossible win against Scott Caldwell (again with seconds on my clock), causing him to leap up and shout an expletive. 
• My Billings buddy Daniel Mattson had a great tournament and almost became state co-champion. Though I spoiled it for him by holding him to a draw in the final round, his game is at a whole new level that he has been striving to reach for years.
• I'm accustomed to setbacks, which motivate me to try harder. I dipped below 1800 at least twice before regaining it. This is my first dip below 1900 since earning it two years ago, so my story isn't over just yet.
• Montana chess is growing by leaps and bounds. There are so many new people coming to our tournaments, and so many others who are playing and preparing to take the plunge into tournaments as well.

In the first round I faced Rasul Nazriev, who got revenge on me for beating him back in March. I couldn't resist playing my beloved Owen's Defense even though I knew he was prepared for it, and was he ever. He played it just right and pounced on my mistakes. I won't give up on this opening, though, because my execution was flawed rather than the opening itself.

In the second round I faced defending champion Dorje McPherron, holding him to a draw despite playing some of my worst chess in recent memory. Many of the moves are unrecorded because I got into time trouble (another recurring problem of mine), but Dorje blew a win when he rushed and allowed me to grab a free bishop. For this game I dusted off my old Bird's Opening, which I hadn't played in a tournament for a long time but has slain some giants over the years. My handling of the opening clearly needs more work.

In the third round I faced Scott Caldwell, who qualified for this tournament by winning the Open back in May. Once again I was playing poorly, but I managed to score an impossible win in the last few seconds (if not for the 5-second time delay, my flag would have fallen). He was understandably upset because the position was a clear draw and he had time to be more cautious. By the way, the only reason I am able to present the entire game is that I watched the live-stream and reconstructed the moves (about half of which I didn't have time to record).

In the fourth round I faced Ben Vogel, the new champion, and I again played the Bird's Opening. I am baffled by some of the moves I made. They are so bad that I think someone must have mickeyed my water bottle. I went a pawn down and almost held a draw, but my time ran out.

In the final round I faced Daniel Mattson, who's been playing extremely well lately and was a last-minute substitution for this tournament because James Skovron had to drop out. He had 3 points coming into this round, so a win would give him 4 and guarantee him a spot as champion (either solo or as co-champion). I played slightly better than in my other games, but I still missed some good opportunities and wound up (yet again) having to blitz the ending. We finally reached a draw. This was just like the tournament in 2014, when I held my friend Will Davis to a draw in the final round and denied him a co-championship. I take no pleasure in that; I just try to play well, and sometimes I play better than others.