My Summer OTB Tournament Adventure!
INTRODUCTION
This is my recap of the Friday Night Lights weekly classical tournament that is hosted by the 954 Chess Club (owned and operated by Otis Wilson) in Florida. I participated in this tournament last summer and scored a 3/4, so I decided to return this summer and test my luck against a new playing field.
However, some things had changed since last summer. Last year, there were two separate sections, a U1601 section and an Open section. I had participated in the U1601 section and gained a ton of rating points after upsetting a 1400 as black in the final round. This year, though, they merged the two sections into one big Open section, which meant that lower-rated players like me were mixed in with a bunch of Big Kahunas. There was even a National Master in my section. I was literally starting 4th to last on the standings.
But at the end of the day, none of that really matters anyway. I was only here for fun as a way to cure my summer boredom. I needed to put all of the statistics aside and just do my best through the tough circumstances.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
- Our time control is 90 minutes with a 30-second bonus
- I play in the Open section
- There are 4 rounds over the course of 4 weeks (every Friday)
ROUND 1
Since I was starting near the bottom of the standings, I had to be paired with one of the top players. Thankfully, it wasn't the NM (phew). Not that this pairing was likely going to be much easier, but you know... being paired with an NM would be a trash way to start a tournament.
My opponent was a 1600 who I remembered seeing participate in the Open section last year, so that was a bit intimidating. I was also playing black, which was another slight bummer.
I probably could have at least salvaged a draw, because I was actually defending pretty well at first, but I made a few iffy moves here and there that put my king in jeopardy and it eventually led to my position completely crumbling. See here:
Rats. That's all I have to say. An upset would have been great, but I knew that it was best to just accept the fact that I lost, learn from my mistakes, then focus on bouncing back in my next game.
ROUND 2
I used the week leading up to this round to the fullest, cramming in at least two hours total of prep for white openings. I was mostly worried about facing the French Defense because although I love to play it as black, I hate to play against it as white. Despite knowing all the lines, it just scares me.
When I arrived at the hotel for the second day and read the pairings, I felt my heart sink. I was playing black again. I didn't know what to do since I had spent all of that time brushing up on white openings without even once considering the fact that I might play black in back-to-back rounds (I'm so goofy).
So that's two hours of my life I'll never get back. Looks like I was just gonna have to wing it like it was some random game online.
The game was fairly uneventful. My opponent and I played a near-perfect game. There was never really a time where I felt like I was completely losing, but there was also never a time where I felt like I was completely winning. See here:
I consider this draw a victory. I went into the round with little to no prep and exited with half a point, so I'm definitely not complaining.
ROUND 3
Unfortunately, there's not much to say here. I couldn't make it to this round and had to request a half-point bye. I know that's not very exciting, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
ROUND 4
Any chances I might have had to win the tournament had flown out the window. I was sitting at 1 point through 3 rounds and really just wanted to close the tournament with a win in the final round.
I got a little lucky and was paired against a 916, one of only 3 people with a lower rating than me in the tournament. I was also finally playing white. I knew that my opponent was not to be underestimated, though, as he had upset a 1200 in round 2.
In the game, I was ever so slightly winning throughout, but then my opponent made a mistake in the endgame that allowed me to steal the win! Check it out:
Hurrah! That was a nice way to end an otherwise mediocre tournament! Endgame wins are so satisfying to me, so I was certainly very satisfied with this win!
CONCLUSION
Although it wasn't my best tournament performance of all time, at least I got to end the tournament on a high note! I was also happy to see that I finished 8th place and brought in 21 rating points in the process.
All things considered, I am very content with how things turned out. This was an awesome experience. Hopefully I can do this tournament again next year! Better yet, even sooner!
I hope you enjoyed this blog. Cya next time! 
