My First National Event

DanielGuel

Updated: Aug 13, 2021, 10:16 AM | 15

OK, please don't be mislead by the title, or the thumbnail for that matter. All of my chess tournaments have been played in the USA. So what is a National Event? Honestly, I'm not sure the best way to describe it. I'm pretty sure it's one where national titles are at stake. There's a list of national events and info HERE.

Also, before I continue with the tournament storyline, I have some personal updates at the end of the blog. So if you're here just for that, feel free to skip to the end!

The tournament I'm referring to is the 2021 US Class Chess Championship. The tournament is divided into sections (Master, Expert, Class-A, Class-B, etc). The winner of the respective section is the Class Champion.

Players are allowed to play one class up if they desire stronger competition. My published rating at the time was 1818, even though it had tumbled since. I would normally be "assigned" the Class-A section, but I requested to play up in the Expert section. Given that the next lowest rated player in my section was exactly 1800, I went into my section as the lowest rated player. As I recall mentioning in this blog over a year ago (also about a tournament in Houston), playing higher-rated players is a tremendous opportunity for improving players.

The plan was to stay with my grandparents who also live in Houston (to save money on a hotel lol). Even though with Houston being Houston, it would have been a 45-minute drive to the tournament venue. Although I had some friends going to the tournament, and they offered me to stay with them at the hotel the tournament was being held at, so I graciously accepted!

We left Waco at about 1:00 PM on Friday afternoon, arrived at Houston somewhere between 4:00-5:00 PM, with plenty of time for round 1 at 7:30 PM on Friday evening. Followed by two rounds Saturday, and two rounds Sunday.

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After having some Taco Bell which was a walk away from the hotel, it was time for round 1. For whatever reason, the pairings were about half an hour late (maybe I'm exaggerating, but it sure felt like it). We finally got them. I got the White pieces against Kent Slate (1905 USCF).

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KEY POINTS:

When you THINK you blundered, don't get frazzled. 13... Nxa2 looked genius from my opponent. However, always look for potential consequences from your opponent.

I need to trust myself more and do a better job comparing variations with 19. Rxa2. Instead, I allowed my opponent to trade his Knight, and be up two pawns.

Even if you think you're dead in the water (like I thought after say move 24), it's important to stay persistent. Refuse trades, make your opponent's winning job as hard as possible!

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Obviously a great start. Yes, it should have been drawn in the end, but I'll take what I can get! The game ended at around 11:30 PM, I spent some time talking to a friend after the game, and crashed into my hotel room at about midnight. It took me HOURS to fall asleep, as I was exhilarated from winning! But finally, I fell asleep.

Then I woke up. I had breakfast at the hotel with IM Zurab Javkahadze, who was the #3 seed in the tournament behind two GMs. Zurab did a simul in Waco a few years ago, and he's very friendly, especially given he's one of the top active players in Texas! I think he had an omelet, I had breakfast tacos. It was good but expensive as hotel food is XD. BTW, he posted video analysis of his games from this tournament on his channel, so check that out!

I went back to my hotel room with about 10-20 minutes to spare, I think round 2 was slated to start at 10:00 AM, but I also think the pairings were late again. Round 2 was once again a strong opportunity vs Matthew Hernandez (1977 USCF).

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KEY POINTS:

I need to be more aware of my opponent's resources. 12. Bg5 was very annoying to deal with.

It's a good idea to trade pieces when your opponent is down material AND pressuring you (20... Rxe5 or Nxe5 instead of Qd5?).

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Crazy game overall. Hard to evaluate the final position even not under time pressure. I think objectively, Black is much better, but Stockfish gives less than -1 I'm pretty sure, so even the fish itself is indecisive.

Round 3 was slated for 5:00 PM, and I was paired with Aparna Yellamraju (1942 USCF). I coincidentally played her sister last tournament two weeks before. It was hard to believe I was undefeated going into Saturday night, can I maintain that?

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KEY POINTS:

7. g4 is the critical move. Even if I don't know the theory, it's worth a shot.

13. b4? was too hasty, there was nothing to fear from her Queenside attack, and now I have weaknesses.

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Not a great way to end the day. She outplayed me, but it's a good game to learn from. After the game, I had dinner at the hotel restaurant with some friends. I had pizza. It was good, and it was also fun to relax with some chess friends.

Time to go to bed, and wake up again for the Sunday games! I got an exciting pairing, Zachary Haskin (2006 USCF). If any of you remember, I peaked at 1836 USCF back in May, and my final round win vs this same opponent was what did it. However, I knew I was going to have to work hard to make history repeat itself. That tournament was G/45;d5, and I won because of a huge clock advantage (he outplayed me most of that game until he lost a pawn in the endgame in time pressure). In G/90+30, you HAVE to outplay your opponent, the clock is a much smaller factor.

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KEY POINTS:

I once again misevaluated my opponent's resources (20. Nf5 followed by Bh3!).

28... Bf6 was definitely findable, and probably draws the game on the spot.

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Well, that was a bummer. Once again, I think I got outplayed. However, I did have some chances, I just have some more work to do if I want to have good results against 2000 players.

OK, so time for the final round! I was slated to play someone... I don't remember who, but as I got to the board, I was informed by the tournament director that my opponent had withdrawn after the pairings came out, so therefore, I would win by forfeit (it's not rated because no moves were played). However, I was offered an extra-rated game against Minh Tran (1983 USCF) who had a 1-point bye in my section. Obviously, I need every opportunity I can get vs strong opposition, so I agreed!

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KEY POINTS:

6... c5 is worth reviewing for the future.

When being attacked with g5 etc, it's important not to panick. If I don't see any immediate threats, I need to let them come to me and address it then. 22. g4?? was awful.

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Disgusting way to end I naturally started to have regrets about taking the extra rated game. However, it's not a fair regret, it would look silly for me to skip a final round I was planning on playing, and turn down another opportunity vs a 1900. So it's all good. Let's check the rating reports!

Edit: I ALSO BROKE 1400 FIDE!!!!! XD XD XD

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This was after my first four games, as the extra rated game was put in a different section.

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This was after my extra rated game which I lost

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SOME PERSONAL UPDATES:

As some of you might know, but I doubt most of you do, I got accepted into Baylor University as a transfer! I spent my freshman and sophomore years of college at community college. I graduated in May with my Associate's Degree, and I'm going to Baylor for my Bachelor's!

I'm going to study Entrepreneurship. Baylor has one of the best entrepreneurship programs in the nation. And, it's in my hometown!

That said, I still want to take up chess, and will continue to do so as long as I'm motivated by it. However, I don't know what my tournament future holds, for a few reasons. On top of classes being more demanding, there will be several social opportunities at Baylor, and I also want to take advantage of that while I can.

Also, enrolling at Baylor is going to take a financial toll. I'm going to be billed monthly by Baylor for the semester, plus I'm also paying monthly rent for my apartment I'm moving into Monday. I'm hoping we can get some of those loaned, but even if so, I'm going to have to be more frugal with my money. Which means that large multi-day out of town tournaments with high entry fees may have to take a back seat I still hope to do one or two of those this semester, especially if maybe I can stay with a friend(s) at a hotel to save money, and also save up for that entry fee. But if/when I play in tournaments this semester, it'll probably be more focused on local single-day tournaments. I even told my coach I was going to take a break from lessons for a few weeks to get my finances worked out.

Plus, classes will be difficult from what I hear. I am still hoping that if I can manage my academic time well, I can still practice chess 30-60 minutes per day, and stay in shape for when I do tournaments.

There's a tournament in Waco coming up tomorrow. I might play in it (yes, it starts in less than 24 hours, and I have not made a decision to play or not -___-). The TD told me there would be several 1700-level players playing. If I do play, it'll be solely for fun. Right now, I'm not too concerned about my rating. I just want to enjoy chess while I can!

So that's about it, thank you so much for reading! Have a great day, feel free to comment, I enjoy reading those. Until next time! ...

My First National Event

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