Montana State Championship 2024
I went into this year's Closed tournament with zero expectations, but rather with genuine curiosity about whether I could break the slump that's been pulling me down for the past year. This gave me a sense of calm throughout the entire weekend, except for some tragic news I learned on Friday shortly after I arrived in Helena.
There is a small wine shop across from the DoubleTree hotel, and for years I have paid a visit to purchase a bottle from the friendly old man who runs the place (his name is Martin, but I refer to him as the "wine guy"). The wine guy is a chess enthusiast who maintains a life-sized chessboard outside his shop, with giant pieces that passersby enjoy using. When I went into the shop this time, though, the wine guy wasn't there. A different man was running the place and informed me that the wine guy had passed away from chemotherapy treatment for cancer. I still purchased a bottle and looked forward to toasting the wine guy on Sunday after the smoke had cleared from the tournament.
The tournament got started bright and early on Saturday morning. In keeping with a pattern that began in 2020, I lost in the first round after sleepwalking into a terrible position. But things improved after that. I scored wins against the two top-rated players, while scoring a draw that should have been a loss and another draw in the final round that was a matter of mere convenience. So, I wound up with 3 points out of 5 for a plus score and second place, thereby snapping the slump. That's good enough for me.
In the first round I faced Ben Curtis, who has an uncanny talent for making me play poorly. I followed a series of customary moves without considering alternatives, which led me into losing position fairly quickly.
In the second round I confronted a fellow former state champion, Ben Vogel, who was the top-rated player and recently defeated me at the Open. I suppose it was my turn to win, although it was very close because we got into a time scramble where we both played poorly. My play was just a little less bad.
In the third round I faced Daniel Mattson, who was having a rough tournament but played a very tight game here. I thought I had a win, but the fatigue and the time pressure made me blunder and hand him a winning position. Suddenly he had a bunch of pawns while my lonely knight would have to hop furiously around the board trying to stop them. This is exactly what happened to me in the 2019 Closed against James Skovron. Luckily, my instincts with the knight were strong enough to avoid defeat, so I settled for a draw.
I woke up on Sunday morning feeling refreshed and relaxed, ready to do battle with the young and talented Matteo Nero, who was the second-highest rated player. We had faced each other on three prior occasions, with one win apiece and a draw, so it would be interesting to see what happened this time. I won in a position that felt drawn until I discovered a positional nuance that created a powerful endgame. It's good to know that, at least now and then, we old folks can still triumph over the young (the only other player who managed to defeat Matteo was the equally young Ben Curtis).
I had 2.5 points going into the final round, where I was paired against Jim Skovron. Even if I won the game, I know that I couldn't catch Ben Curtis, who had 4 points and was coasting by now. So, Jim and I agreed to a draw after playing a few token moves. There is no need to show them here, but I will say it felt good knowing that I was the only adult player who achieved a plus score. The slump was snapped.
