Montana Open 2024
This was bound to be an unusual Open for me. Not only have I been in a yearlong slump, but I was traveling during the prior week to help judge a moot-court competition in Washington, DC (where my brain alternated between legal analysis during the day and alcohol during the night). I flew into Bozeman on Friday and rented a car that would carry me back home to Missoula on Sunday. I wound up scoring 3.5 points, which is not very impressive but might still be enough to qualify me for the state championship. My play was pretty flat, and I had difficulties visualizing the future possibilities. If I do qualify for the championship, I will do my best to clear my mind first.
In the first round I faced Michael Muller, whom I haven't played in a while. He put up a good fight and offered a draw, which I rejected because I sensed an impending endgame (my favorite phase of the game).
In the second round I confronted friend and former champion Ben Vogel, who played very well and might repeat as champion if he keeps it up. He got sweet revenge for my victory over him in the 2022 Closed. I don't know why I made some of the bad moves I did, other than that it's part of the curse that still hangs over my head these days.
Given my loss in the second round, I needed to forgo my usual bye and play in the third round to try to salvage the tournament. My opponent was a new tournament player I'd never met before, and I played in a rushed and sloppy manner because I still wanted to head out for the evening. Luckily, I won and avoided blunders.
On Sunday morning I faced Zach Eddy, whom I've played once or twice before and is more dangerous than his rating suggests (as with so many other players on this circuit). He put together a very tough game in which I could not come up with a plan to save my life, until the end where my choices became very limited and forced me to do what I did. I barely won, so Zach deserves praise for playing well.
In the final round I faced my old friend/nemesis, former state champion James Skovron. We played what I think is an exact (or near exact) duplicate of our game in round 5 of the Thaw tournament just two months ago. We agreed to a draw only a few minutes into the game, which made me happy because it allowed me to race home, return the rental car, and prepare for a very busy week. The other players who were still hunkering down for their games did not appear amused.
