Chess Galore in Philly! Part 3: Stunned in the Opening
This is part 3 of Chess Galore in Philly, a series where I will be covering all 18 games from two consecutive 9-round tournaments, the Philly International and the World Open.
Where we left off...
After an extremely satisfying win, I started to feel much better about my tournament. After starting with 3 tough losses, I now bounced back with a draw and a win in my last two rounds, both against very strong players. Now, as I was sitting at 1.5/5 points, I gained hope that I would be able to finish the tournament with a 50% score, or 4.5/9.
Little did I know, one player would stop me right in my tracks. Who will I play next? You'll just have to wait and see...
June 28th, 4:45 pm
As I prepared to head out to play my 6th game in the Philly International, I received the next round's pairings on my phone. After a satisfying 5th round win, I was looking to get another one under my belt. However, to my dismay, I was paired with none other than IM Carissa Yip.
As you may have predicted by now, the next game did not go according to plan. Let's take a look, shall we?
Game #6: IM Carissa Yip vs EnergeticHay
Key Takeaways From Game #6:
1. In the opening, 5.b3 with the intentions of developing in an anti-KID way should be met immediately with 5...c5 or some other immediate pawn breaks. It's amazing how precise one needs to be in these types of positions, and seeing this for the first time definitely didn't help my case.
2. By move 9...Nbc6, my position was already starting to deteriorate. Black's position is not that much worse than white's, but the many small advantages add up, especially in a situation where white holds all the cards. Perhaps I should have gone for a more passive setup, but that's not my style.
3. It's important to note that Carissa's play overall was very methodical and simple so that she barely spent any time during the game. This put me under even more pressure, because I had to worry about the clock.
4. 18...Bxd5 was a pretty bad positional move - It resulted in a position where white's minor piece is just so much better than black's - how could that possibly be good? In my defense, the d5 knight was strong and I thought that if I played on the dark squares, I could limit the bishop.
5. Immediately afterward, 19.cxd5?? missed out on a great opportunity to play 19.Qxd5! Winning on the spot. White's bishop is an absolute monster and white wins at least a pawn by force.
6. 21...Ng4 was a nice move by me, re-routing the knight to a better square while I still had a chance. I was surprised that she didn't try to prevent this with 21.h3 - but after all, she was focusing more on playing good moves and getting me into time pressure, which worked out quite well for her.
7. 28...Ne8?? Marked the end of the game - all of the pressure got to me, and I broke down. 28...Rf7 would've been a great defensive move, and after that white doesn't even have much of an advantage at all!
Wow, that's a lot of key takeaways, but it was a really instructive game and I'm glad I got to play such a strong player (and also kind of upset that I might've been able to score a result haha) 
June 28th, 8:00 pm
After a disappointing game (I had not realized how much I would learn from this one yet), I headed back to the apartment in a somewhat dejected state. This tournament had not really gone the way I expected, and this game was a bit of a setback, at least in terms of morale. At this point, I was 1.5/6, which is not the best score I've ever gotten! I decided to watch some tv and decided to watch a movie called Shazam.
Unfortunately, I was a little too down in the dumps to enjoy the corny humor from this movie. I had been briefly reviewing my game against Carissa, only to see that my egregious blunder with 28...Ne8?? could easily have been a drawing 28...Rf7 instead. What a pity! However, I knew that when you feel upset, getting some rest usually helps. So that's what I did: I went to sleep.
June 29th, 8:00 am
Good news: I sleep pretty well. In the morning, I was feeling much more energetic and excited again, and I was ready for another game. Let's get the points back, right? My opponent: a 2100-rated 11-year old named Eric Liu. I don't know what it is about chess these days, but there's just so much young talent! Obviously, we recently had GM Abhimanyu Mishra become the youngest GM in history, but being a 2100 at 11 years of age is no small feat as well - I would only reach that rating threshold a few years later in my life. I think it's really great that chess is growing as a game and there are so many more people interested in it, of all ages! There are no images of my opponent that I could find, but he's a pretty young kid. As indicated by the title of this blog, the opening did not go that well, just like my previous game. Let's take a look!
Game #7: EnergeticHay vs Eric Liu
Key Takeaways From Game #7:
1. In the opening, 11.Nd5 is a good way to handle this type of position when black opens up the h1-a8 diagonal with b6.
2. 15.g4 was a great move, not because it's necessarily gaining an advantage, but because it threw my opponent off a bit and created some instability in the position. Unfortunately, my opponent spent very little time navigating the complications and found that moves like 16...gxh3 would be disastrous for him! Darn
3. After a winning tactical idea, 20.Bxb6, I failed to see the true power of my opponent's minor pieces. If I foresaw that, I might've found 21.Bh3! Shutting down black's play and happily claiming the exchange.
4. 23.Nd5 allowed 23...Bxd5! Trading off the bishop to allow black's two knights to dominate the position. I had to give the exchange back almost immediately with a much worse position with the move 28.Rf2.
5. 35.b3 was a really clever idea on my part, setting up a trap for my younger, inexperienced opponent. In these situations, as long as he does not grant me counterplay, I don't have anything. Even if 35...Nxd5?? wasn't a blunder, it still wouldn't be worth taking in my opinion - why let your opponent's pieces get active if you don't have to? If you still think piece activity isn't a big deal, check out how World Champ Magnus Carlsen recently dismantled Fedoseev in their first game for third place in the FIDE World Cup. Absolutely brilliant!
6. In the end, there were faster ways to win, but 52.Qg2 is a move I'm very proud of - trading into a completely won K+P endgame to seal the deal. Nice game!
June 29th, 3:00 pm
After a rollercoaster win, I ran to a nearby convenience store and treated myself to a good 'ol Pure Leaf drink. Feeling very refreshed, I returned to my apartment, immediately jumping in bed to rest for the next game. I was going to win the next game, I could feel it!
Who will I play next? Will it be another higher-rated player? Will I have to play another young superstar? You'll just have to wait and see...
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed Part 3 of Chess Galore in Philly! Stay tuned for upcoming editions, which will cover the rest of my experience playing 18 consecutive OTB classical games 
Chess Galore in Philly
Part 3: Stunned in the Opening
Part 4: ?????
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