St. Patrick Open 2024
This year's St. Patrick Open in Billings was a lot of fun, though a mixed bag in terms of my results. On the plus side, I scored 4 wins in some exciting games and should receive a fair number of Grand Prix points because of the mileage multiplier. On the negative side, I lost a game that was a clear win when I went into another time warp and flagged, even though we were using a 30-second delay! I notice as I get older that I hate any sort of time pressure. This is probably why my daily games on here have gone so well, as I can stare at the board for long stretches without any worries.
In the first round I faced Frank Miller, an old friend from my early days on the Montana circuit. I played black and (thankfully) managed to avoid the blunders that have plagued me for the entire past year.
The second round was another tragedy in a string of tragedies stretching back to last March. I played white against good friend Daniel Mattson and, after getting into a won position with checkmate only a few moves away, succumbed to time pressure and wound up flagging. I suppose it's only fair because on many occasions Daniel has had winning positions against me but wound up losing. If I had to lose a game this tournament, I'm glad it was to Daniel.
Given my (idiotic) loss in the second round, I felt compelled to play in the third round and try to salvage the tournament. My opponent was a young man who was unrated and played the Queen's Gambit, which put me in an instant dilemma. I had promised to avoid using impractical openings, but I love the Budapest Defense so much that I couldn't help myself. Luckily, it worked this time, though the game was still very tough.
After enjoying an evening in the hotel bar with some friends, I woke up bright and early to find out whether I truly could salvage this tournament or suffer another disaster like the one in Idaho the previous month. In the first game of the day (round four) I played white and clinched the win against someone I'd never met before, but who found some creative moves that had me worried for a moment.
In the final round I faced another person I'd never met before, but who gave me one hell of a cliffhanger. As in the second round, I was having trouble finding the right move in a clutch situation, and I came very close to losing when I suddenly spotted a way out. The 30-second delay saved me this time because I had mere seconds on my clock and might have otherwise lost.
