I played the 133rd Minnesota Open!
It was a cold night below freezing, the kind of night that no one who has ever sat in front of a warm fireplace with a good book would ever want to be outside in. It was a night of snow and ice, of cold and clear skies, and of fiery action on the chess board. It was a chess tournament in winter in Minnesota, and the stage was set for one of the biggest chess events in the Midwest. It did not disappoint.
Welcome to the 133rd Minnesota Open! This is the third time I've played this illustrious tournament and my second time writing a blog about it. Will I reach my goal for this tournament or will I crash and burn at the finish line? All will be revealed in due time, but let's not delay.
Let the games begin!
Table of Contents:Back to Top
- Event Overview.
- Warming Up: A Game Against John Bartholomew.
- Round 1: Highs and Lows.
- Round 2: Solid Gameplay.
- Round 3: A Single Move.
- Round 4: Smooth with Style.
- Round 5: Domination.
- Round 6: The Perfect End.
- Aftermath.
The Minnesota Open is a tournament rich with history. Dating back to 1894, it is the longest running chess tournament in Minnesota history, and one of the oldest in the entire country. February 20-22, 2026, marked the 133rd edition of the Minnesota Open, and the continuing advancement of chess in Minnesota.
Specifics of the tournament I'm playing are always needed! The MN Open has an uncommon number of rounds, six in fact, with two options of playing schedules. There's a three-day schedule with one game on Friday evening (20th), three games throughout Saturday (21st), and two final games on Sunday (22nd). The two-day schedule skips the Friday game and has four games on Saturday, merging with the three-day schedule for Round 3.
The time control is G90+30s, so we have 90 minutes for the whole game with a 30 second increment from move 1. This is a fairly standard time control for Minnesota, and the two-day schedule is the same except having a shorter time control of G60d5 for the first two games.
In terms of rating sections, there were a whopping six sections by rating! Starting with the Premier, which was open, we then had the Amateur(U2000), Reserve(U1700), Sophomore(U1300), Bantam(U1000), and Novice(U700). I played the Premier for the first time ever (previous two times were both in the U2000) as my rating recently went over 2000 USCF.
Adding to the mix was the added bonus of qualifying for the Minnesota Closed State Championship (Stenberg Cup)! There were a total of 15 spots for the Stenberg Cup up for grabs across the top four sections, and that made this tournament special. I had already qualified for the Stenberg Cup by winning the U2000 State Championship last year, so I didn't have that pressure on me this time. But the others did!
And finally, for the first time ever, the Minnesota Open featured a simultaneous exhibition by International Master (IM) John Bartholomew! The simul was held Friday evening at the same time as Round 1 of the three-day schedule, so everyone could play providing they either took a bye in Round 1 or played the two-day schedule.
I decided to play the two-day, as shorter time controls always appeal to me, and of course I played the simul as well! My brother @ChessicalMoves and cousin @Redloudcannon also played the tournament in the U2000 and U1300 sections respectively.
In the past I've set goals for tournaments, and I decided to do the same here. My goal for this tournament was to get 50%, 3/6 out of all of the games. Not shooting for the stars this time, I just wanted to solidify my place in the top over the weekend.
You ready? Let's dive in!
Warming Up: A Game Against IM John Bartholomew.
As mentioned before, I played in the simultaneous exhibition against IM John Bartholomew on Friday evening. Mr. Bartholomew is one of the five Minnesota-grown players who have earned the IM title (Samrug Narayanan, Sean Nagle, Alice Lee and GM Andrew Tang are the other four) and he is also the co-founder of Chessable, an author and YouTuber, and more. Check out his website!
When we got to the hotel preparations were already underway for the first round of the three-day schedule. The Minnesota State Chess Association (MSCA) board meeting was wrapping up and I took the time to chat with some people I hadn't seen in months. The Minnesota chess community is really great, and it only took a few tournaments before I felt like I knew everyone there.
The chess was soon ready to begin! As with most simuls, John Bartholomew would be in the middle of a square of tables and chess sets, and he would have White on every single board. As he passed by each board, the person there would make their move, John would think for a few seconds, make his move, and then go on to the next board. This would continue for hours, until all of the games were finished.
Before I knew it, it was time to start the game! I sat down at the board, shook Mr. Bartholomew's hand, watched him play 1.d4, and started the four hour grind.
It was 7:00 PM when the game started, and it finished at 11:00 PM. Four hours, and I was the last game to finish. And what a finish!
I was (understandably) very happy with how I had played. This was definitely my biggest test in months, and I managed to hold a draw from a worse position in what was basically a classical game against a 2400-IM. There are a couple things to be careful of, one being that I was worse for most of the game, but the positives far outweigh the negatives!
John Bartholomew finished the simultaneous exhibition with a record of 19 wins, 0 losses and three draws. Unfortunately, @ChessicalMoves and @Redloudcannon were defeated in their match-ups, but they had fun throughout! The other two people to make a draw were Scott (one of the board members of the MSCA) and Ryan (a strong young competitor on his way up the top).
With a very good draw under my belt, I headed home. It was almost midnight by the time I got to sleep, but the result motivated me to play well tomorrow. What a start to the Minnesota Open!
Left to right: @Redloudcannon, @ChessicalMoves, me, John Bartholomew, Ryan (one of the three who held John to a draw).
I woke up around 6:30 AM and immediately got started on a very important aspect of any chess tournament: sustenance! My main sustenance over the two days of chess was in the form of energy bars, fruit, and grilled cheese sandwiches, which I started work on as soon as I got up. There's very little better than a sandwich to get your mood up and fill you with energy to 'go get 'em' in the next game!
Sustenance procured, I gathered my materials and my family and headed off to adventure! The game last night had boosted my confidence and I felt ready for anything.
My first round opponent was a doozy, however. I was playing Jordan, a 19-year old NM with a rating over 2250. I've played Jordan a couple times before, and although it's been close once or twice, Jordan has won every single time.
I had the Black pieces and was ready for a fight.
So there were highs and lows in this game. The high was undoubtedly that I managed to get a winning position and achieved some very strong positions against one of the best in Minnesota. The low was definitely missing 'Bxh3' and then crashing in flames at the end.
A strong game only to fall dramatically at the end.
With that game done, I headed back to my base of operations - a corner of the wall - to analyze, fix myself mentally, and prepare for my next game.
After maybe an hour of hanging out and analyzing, it was time for the second game. This was the second round of the two-day schedule, so the time control was still G60d5. The pairings came out and I saw that my opponent was 1800-rated Garv, playing up a section. I had the White pieces this time.
More recently I've been playing a Nimzo with 1.b3, so I decided from the beginning that I was going to play it. I wanted a slower game where only I had chances, but life rarely works out as planned. There's also the pressure of playing a lower-rated opponent, since I'm expected to win.
All that aside, it was time for the game! I crept into the playing hall (there were still games going on from the three-day schedule so we had to be quiet) and got set up. When the time was ready, we shook hands and I played my only game this tournament against a lower-rated player.
Phew! Tough game, but I never really lost control and was able to steer it into a win. Back to 50%, and now I merge with the three-day schedule and play the rest of my games at a time control of G90+30s.
With that ordeal behind me, I headed back to a seat with my posse of friends and family and happily ate my first grilled cheese sandwich of the day. I think this one had some mixed herbs in it for flavour, and I know that it sustained me for hours!
After lunch, I got back into the chess playing mood. With the schedules now merged, a veritable ocean of strong players opened up as possible opponents, and there were over 10 people with 1/2 points.
When the pairings finally came out, the result was as expected. I was playing Jose, a 2100 who I've never played before. I had the black pieces once again and was curious to see how this game would turn out.
How it turned out was beyond insane.
The comeback is here again! To give credit to Jose, he was completely overpowering me in the game up until move 25, and that move was very unfortunate. Sometimes one move is all it takes, and chess is hard sometimes.
Not that I'm complaining, however!
With a score of 2/3, I had a couple hours before the final round of the day started at 7 PM, so I had another sandwich (this one had corn in it) and checked in with the rest of my family.
All too soon, it was time for the fourth round of the tournament, and my fourth classical game of the day. Tonight would once again be a late night since the round started at 7 PM, but the adrenaline kept flowing.
Partly because of the late start time, many people chose to take half-point byes for this round. This dramatically shrunk the number of players available for pairings, and meant that instead of playing a 2200, I played one of my friends from the community, Rishab.
Despite the fact that Rishab was 'only' 40 rating points above me, I knew this would be a tough game. I've played him once before - in a Rossolimo version of the Sicilian that I won after a wild fight in the middlegame - and I was ready to play for a win. I had the white pieces, which helped bolster my confidence as well.
After some banter, it was time to start the game. We shook hands, Rishab started the clock, and I played 1.d4.
Needless to say I was very happy with this game. The only things to work on were the momentary mental breakdown on move 17 and one missed win in the endgame. But I was able to grind out the win, and that's what matters. GGs to Rishab, I look forward to playing you again!
And just like that, I was 3/4 in the strongest chess tournament in Minnesota! One brief hiccup in Round 3, but other than that I've played pretty good chess and the results will eventually reflect that.
I was so excited that I almost wasn't able to fall asleep.
Time for the final day of the tournament! I woke up early-ish again, had some breakfast of eggs on toast, listened to a church service online (since the round times meant I wouldn't be able to go attend my normal church service) and then headed off to the Marriott Conference Center.
When I walked through the doors, this is what greeted me.
That's right, after my hat-trick of wins I ended up in fourth place. You know what that means...
Maybe you don't know. Well, my mother has a saying about tournaments, one that is instantly relatable, even if you're the top seed.
The reward of winning is that you get to play a harder opponent.
— My wonderful mother
So guess who my next opponent is! If you're familiar with Swiss tournaments, then you might have been able to figure it out. You see, the lowest rated player on 3 points typically plays the highest rated play on 2.5 points... and in this case that person is Sean Nagle.
Lucky me.
If you're not familiar with Sean, he's basically the best chess player in Minnesota. He's an International Master (IM) who has dominated the chess scene here for decades, and also serves on the MSCA Board, lending his legal background to help with many things. Sean is one of the titans of MN Chess, one of the five IMs from Minnesota, and just overall a very tough opponent player to play at any stage.
Looks like my mother knew the future. 
Sean had the white pieces, and I knew he was more of a positional player so I felt as comfortable as one could be when they're about to face a 2500-rated giant. We shook hands, and the game commenced.
That was fun. I'm not actually being sarcastic, I had a lot of fun that game! Sometimes you don't have to win to grow, and that game taught me a lot about endgames and principles. There's no better way to lose to an International Master than in the most educational way possible, and this game was all of that.
Also, that was a really crazy bishop endgame!
Even though the result knocked me down a few places, it was an incredible experience to play such a strong player. I'm looking forward to the next game!
After the games from Round 5 ended, the MSCA conducted their annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony, welcoming RK Johnson and Tom Unger into the Hall of Fame under the Class of 2026. I attended and enjoyed learning about the history of chess in Minnesota, as well as the conversations I had with some of the other attendees. It was time well spent.
After the ceremony concluded, I had my lunch (this grilled cheese sandwich had corn and herbs in it!) and got set for the final round of chess.
The finish line is in sight! Two jam-packed days of chess, and now one game is all that separates me from a stellar finish in the Premier section.
So I lost to an IM last round, that should give me an easy opponent for my last game, right? Wrong. My opponent in Round 6 was Okechukwu, a gentleman with a floor of 2200. If you're not aware, floors in USCF rating are 200 points below your peak rating... which means that Mr. Okechukwu has in the past been rated over 2400. Yikes.
I've played Mr. Okechukwu once before, and he won after a wild middlegame fiasco. From that game I learned something that would help me here, and that's that he plays slow solid openings. I had White for this game, and that knowledge was useful.
Final game, here we go!
And there we go!!! A nice solid draw, 96% accuracy by both players, and I finish the 2026 Minnesota Open with 3.5/6 points in my first ever rodeo in the Premier section.
What a tournament! From start to finish, I had tremendous fun throughout all of the games, even the ones I lost, and I learned more and more about my own style, strengths and weaknesses.
My game finished fairly quickly, so I was able to relax, unwind from all the emotions, and enjoy watching the rest of the games play out. IM Samrug Narayanan finished in sole first place with 5.5/6, solidifying his place at the top of the food chain. After that came a logjam of players on 5 and 4 points, making the race for the Stenberg Cup even more exciting.
And that was the Minnesota Open! My first experience in the Premier section yielded some spectacular results, as I finished with a score of 3.5/6 despite only playing one person rated below me. A loss in the first round led to three wins in a row, then another loss to a 2500 IM, and then a draw in the final round against a strong NM.
As many of you know, my goal for 2026 is to become a National Master. I need to reach 2200 in USCF Classical to do that, and since my rating was 2014 coming into 2026, I have until December to gain 186 rating points.
It will surprise none of you to realize that I gained rating points after this event! After scoring 2.5/5 against higher rated opposition and winning one more game, I gained 37 rating points to reach a new peak rating of 2051! The sky's the limit, and it would appear I've got a jetpack.
In addition to a rating jump, I also qualified for the Stenberg Cup once again! My final score with tie-breaks put me in 11th place, and that was enough to qualify me for the U2200 section of the Minnesota State Championship. I've competed in the Stenberg Cup twice before, and I won the U2000 title last year... but this is a whole other ballgame. The competition is incredibly strong at this level, as evidenced by the fact that 4 out of the 6 players in the U2200 section are juniors.
So what's next for me? Any more chess tournaments on the horizon?
As it turns out, the answer is yes! This weekend (March 7-8), I'll be playing in the Minnesota State Scholastic, which is a tournament with sections by grade instead of rating. It's a fierce championship, with more chances to qualify for state and national titles. More details will be out in my recap of that event soon!
Thank you for reading and for following on my journey! It's been an incredible past year blogging about my tournaments, and I hope to keep it up for as long as I can.
Let's wrap up with a random question, just for funsies. What's your go-to snack before playing chess?
Take care!
-Ethan Harrison (@theeldest1)
