Emerald City Open 2018

This was a weekend tournament in two sections:  a 40 player Open and 17 player Reserve.  No decision-making for me, though, as Reserve was U1800.  I started out tired and a little apprehensive--playing while tired is one of my biggest downfalls--but I really wanted to play.

In round 1 I faced an unfamiliar, provisionally rated player who seemed a bit intimidated.

The queenside surprise reminds me of my game with Abramson from the WA Open, and just as in that game, White did not escape unscathed with his extra material.  The Dutch has a lot of pent-up aggressive energy behind its pawn shell; you poke holes at your own risk.

In round 2 I got to play an NM, something I've been wanting to do (I've played in too many Reserve sections, I think, though it's awfully tempting not to play up when you suspect you're not at your best).  I had a 1.5/2 record against Luke:  I drew him in a difficult endgame, and beat him on a blunder in a position that was winning for him.  I hoped for a repeat....

Luke showed his quality clearly in this game and outplayed me conclusively.

In round 3 I was paired against--this is an unfair description but hard to avoid!--Brandon Jiang's dad, who is apparently either starting up with or returning to competition.  He and his son checked out each others' games periodically.  I felt that throughout the game he was pessimistic, even despairing, despite having quite a good position.  If he can improve his morale he'll be a promising player.   Maybe he can borrow some confidence from Brandon, who has plenty!

After this game I felt like someone who has put down a half-eaten cookie and now can't find it.  Not at all a satisfying outcome, and another painful reminder that I need plans against the Exchange French.  (The whole club must know this by now, too.)

In the next round I was paired against fellow blogger Vignesh Anand ("You can tell everyone you've beaten Anand," he said afterwards).  He and I have similarly aggressive styles and our game are always exciting.

That last combination wasn't deep, or subtle, or artistic, but darn it was fun to play. 

I feel that Vignesh played, uncharacteristically, a bit too cautiously in this game:  he should have been more gung-ho with his own attack.

In the final round I played Expert David Rupel, who started playing probably around when I did but didn't stop--he has been an Expert for decades.  This is not as easy as it sounds due to what I think of as the Red Queen's Race.  In biology this refers to the fact that species have to keep evolving just to maintain parity with their predators, parasites, and competitors.  In chess I take it to mean that the standard of play is constantly improving (you have only to compare my games from the 1980's to my games now--I was rated 200 points higher but I don't seem to have been 200 points better) and so you have to study and train just to stay where you are.

Such an exciting game, but also heartbreaking:  I was positive I was better, and then slowly he drove me back and took over the initiative. (This is a very typical way for me to lose to a higher-rated player, alas.) 

I've played a lot of idea-rich games lately, which pleases me.  I wish I could win a few more of them, though.  My coach, when we spent an evening on this game (and it was a long evening, too) said he felt it was a reasonably equal struggle and I ought to be looking at Expert at some point.  I hope so.  I've been around 1900 for several years and it can be discouraging, especially since there are all those voices to tell you that adult players don't improve.  A few weeks later GM Sadorra said to a roomful of kids, and me, "You need ten thousand patterns in your head, let's say, before you're 16."  He looked at me and said, "No, let's make that in the next three years."  Which was nice, but it would have been easier before I was 16.  (I only started playing competitively at 15; by some accounts, over the hill before I even started.  But quitting at 23 was a much bigger issue.)

Improvement aside, though, this is the kind of thing I play chess for:  one of my most entertaining losses ever.  And a decent tournament all around, including a small rating increase:  1908 to 1921.  If I've got to be stuck, let me be stuck at 1951 (I've been there three times!) rather than 1890, which is good for prizes but hard on my ego.

My young nemesis Aaryan Deshpande took clear first place in Open with 4.5 points.  Dave Rupel and Joseph Levine tied for second with 4.0, so I would have taken second had my attack against Dave panned out.... Victor Zhang (no relation to Derek, Brendan, Eric, etc.--we just have a lot of them) and Aidan Chen split the Reserve.