USCF Tournament #1 - An Amateur's Adventure

If you read my first blog, then you are aware that I grew up outside of chess culture. With my interest in chess growing, I knew that I wanted to visit the St Louis Chess Club and play in a USCF tournament. I turned 30 in 2018, and I visited the US Chess Championship as a quick day trip for my birthday (I "famously" predicted GM Shankland's tournament win in a tweet). Invigorated by St Louis' chess culture, I eagerly knocked off the second item from my list by entering a classical tournament in my area - The 13th Annual Indianapolis Open. 


I had no idea what to expect. As an Unrated player, I was unsure what section to place myself in. I decided on the U1400 section, but I looked at the field and decided to bump myself up to U1600. With registration finalized I sharpened my skills by tackling tactics. In an effort to avoid a lot of opening theory, I decided to employ the London System as white and 1...b6 as black. I would play this innocuous pawn push against any of white's first moves and try to reach something playable in the middlegame. 

The day of the tournament came, and I was extremely nervous. Part of the appeal of playing a tournament is just the pleasure of being around like-minded people. I watched young men play blitz in the hotel lobby and listened to a coach working through a young lady's repertoire. Some seasoned fellows were in the back discussing their recent tournament results, and a group of other guys were sitting by the bar blitzing out moves while lightheartedly talking smack to their opponent, their hands smacking the DGT clock with speed and poise. I wandered alone soaking it all in.

I was with my people. 

Finally, the time came to shuffle ourselves to the pairing boards and wander over to our assigned table for battle. What follows are my five games, lightly annotated by myself. You will inevitably find many mistakes and games that are not high of quality, but they are mine, blunders, blemishes and all. If you are a new player contemplating playing tournament chess, I hope you are encouraged to go out and compete. If you are a strong player with insight to my play style, I ask that you leave some constructive criticism of these games. 

My first opponent was a young man, perhaps 10 years old. I had never played someone his age who exhibited any understanding of piece development and defending your pieces. Nervous and excited, our battle began.

What a win! I loved the finish in this game, and I was elated. The drive home was full of renewed confidence in my chess though I understood I made terrible errors. Chess is one of those games where you can have an awesome result (in this case my first ever tournament victory) but be disappointed in your own play. 

Saturday morning brought my second game and another young opponent, 12 years old. It was time to try my hand with the white pieces.

I was a little ambitious with that bishop sacrifice. I was even lost at moments in that game but was able to survive with a draw. I was not disappointed at all in my 1.5/2 start. 

GM Maurice Ashley often tells his students to never resign. Once I was a rook down, I very nearly extended my hand in resignation. But I pressed on to test my opponent's skill to convert the winning position. I am so glad I did and was extremely fortunate to win. With 2.5/3 it was time to head home, sleep, and prepare for the final 2 rounds on Sunday.

I "paired up" in Round 4 with my strongest opponent yet rated at 1598. By rating, he was the number 1 seed and favored to win the U1600 section. I welcomed the challenge to play a worthy opponent with the white pieces. 

That was a frustrating game. I did not write down how long I took for each move, but I do know I was racing to reach move 40 for extra time. I realized that I needed to allot more time for grinding out the end game. I believe I was pushing for a win in the end game, but when I lost my a pawn it was probably a draw. When I lost my bishop, I was dead in the water. Frustrated with my first loss, I tried to rest my mind before Game 5. 

I underestimated how grueling tournament chess can be. Yes, it is tiring on the mind, but it is also tiring on the body. The mental stress brings about real, physical exhaustion. My last game was against another sharp 12 year old. We had actually played next to each other twice when I had the white pieces. Before I game begin he mentioned he wished I had the pieces since he knew I was a London player. Smiling, we shook hands and began the final round of the tournament. 

I was wiped, but I was proud of my result. 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss which means I finished with 3/5. I spoke with Stephen Sims, the second place finisher, and he gave me great encouragement by noting how well my results were for my first outing. Even though I was incredibly exhausted from the weekend, I was thirsty for more tournament play. 

I mentioned this before, but I will say it again. If you frequently play chess online but never play over the board, then you need to start. There is something special about playing in tournaments that is altogether invigorating, refreshing, exhausting, and exhilarating. If you are in the United States, then you should join the USCF and enter a local tournament. Your chess will be the better for it.