The Chess Dog Journal

Reviewing Foxwoods – Round 2

Here is my round two game from Foxwoods.  I was feeling upbeat heading into this game.  It was a classical system Caro Kann with 4…Bf5.  I often play this as Black, so I felt very comfortable in the opening.  Black makes an error on move 22 which cedes the advantage to white.

Though there were some subtleties in the position, I was able to negotiate the win quite smoothly.  The game is a fairly strategic one with some neat tactical undertones.

Reviewing Foxwoods – Round 1

I am getting around to analyzing my games from Foxwoods.  Here is my round 1 game.  It was not the crispest game.  I think both my opponent and I were just getting into it as we both made some rather obvious errors.  The edge went back and forth as we traded errors.  The result was a draw when I made a rather silly time wasting move and let the win slip away.

Nonetheless, it was a fun game and good way to start the event.

Foxwoods: Over, but just the beginning

The final day of Foxwoods was cathartic.

In round 6, I played the white side on a close Sicilian against Max Steinberg of New York.  It was an interesting struggle that opened with a lot of strategic maneuvering.  The first exchange of material did not occur until move 17, when I exchanged knights to create an endgame advantage.  It took 41 moves to navigate the hazards and convert the advantage into a win.

My friend, Harvey had 4.5 points going into the final round of his section.  Unfortunately, the support of his friends at the tournament was not enough to buoy him.  He got a huge headache, and couldn’t stay focused, so the chance at a prize slipped away.  (I warned you not to have that sugary dessert, Harvey.)

In round 7, I managed to get an advantage on the white side of the French Tarrasch.  I am sure I should have won the game, but as I sometimes say here, once you have the advantage you still have to convert it into the point.  Unfortunately, I had my own issues with focus, and couldn’t quite see the path to victory.  At move 60, I realized I was down to 4 minutes and would lose on time if I didn’t make something happen.  So, I sacrificed two pawns to try a quick pawn run; but was off by a tempo.  After exchanging my passed pawn and bishop for my opponent’s rook, I found myself in a losing rook & pawn versus knight & 4 pawns endgame. 

Somehow, with only 2 minutes left on my clock though, I managed to outplay my opponent and get to a dead draw position.  However, my flag fell, and I lost the point after making my 91st move.  My friend, Mark Kaprielian tells me today that I could have actually claimed the draw prior to my flag falling—had I only realized that I could have salvaged a half point.  I guess I’ll just have to take solace in having given my opponent, Steven Foust of Alberta, Canada a great finish to what he believes may be his last big tournament.  (Steve is 78 and doesn’t think he can do these events any longer.  I only hope I have his spirit & attitude when I get to his age.)

So, I ended with 3 out 7 (2 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses).  Not the kind of showing I had wanted, but considering the long time away from the board, and not being able to put in the preparation I had planned to do, I am actually quite pleased with the quality of play and the result I achieved.  Now, I feel invigorated and inspired to reach for the next level in my play.

I will post my Foxwoods games here as I analyze them.

Foxwoods: Looking for a rebound after a tough Saturday

In round 5, I crashed and burned.  I’ll attribute it to fatigue after the grueling round 4 game, but it wasn’t pretty.  I grabbed a pawn in the opening that was poison.  I knew it too; so, I don’t know what possessed me to snatch it.  The best defense would have left me in a game an exchange down with no compensation and an inferior position.  So, I tried to stave off the coming disaster with a different idea, but got mated in 15 moves.

I took a quick look at my round 4 loss and still feel I had good chances to win it.  I’ll analyze it fully and post it here later.  One thing I did find in my quick look was that I missed a beautiful knight sac that would have given me a swift and crushing victory.  I guess I just wasn’t in a good chess place yesterday.

On the other hand, my friend Harvey Reed is doing well.  He has 3.5 after five round which given the strength of play here at Foxwoods is quite respectable.  I also saw Mark Fins last night.  He came in via the 3-day schedule.  He had 2.5 after round 4.

Today is the final day of the tournament.  I am determined to make it a day of better chess than yesterday.

Foxwoods: Even after four

 My third round game was a slow positional game.  Aside from two pawns and all four bishops, all the rest of the material was still on the board after 30 moves of jockeying for position.  I thought about trying a pawn break on the king side, but it would come at the cost of a backward pawn and an inferior endgame if I couldn’t make prove the validity of the break.  So, I decided to accept my opponent’s offer of a draw on move 31.

 

In the Open section, there was a very interesting Q vs R,B & N ending being played out between Van Wely and Shulman.  Shulman got the win with the 3 pieces and took the lead in the tournament with 5 points after five rounds.  Akobian, Shabalov and Hess were all within a half point with 4.5.

 

I had my first loss of the event in round 4.  My opponent thought he was going to win a piece when he embarrassed my knight with an f5 pawn break, but I surprised him by sacrificing my other knight.  When the dust had settled, I had exchanged my two knights for a rook and pawn.  I also had a slight initiative, so I felt I can out better on the exchange as he was going to have to waste a few tempi to get his king out of the center.  Unfortunately, I made some bad strategic choices and gave his bishops some great squares.  Eventually, my position fell apart.

 

So after four rounds, I am in the middle of the pack at 2 points.

Foxwoods: Staying alive after two rounds

After playing the black side of the Caro Kann in round, I got to play it from the other side of the board in round two.  I played James Lowe of New York, in what a 51 move game of subtle nuance.  Lowe played the classical 4… Bf5 variation.  Unfortunately on move 22, he made a tactical error which forced him to either give up a pawn or an exchange.  After the loss of the pawn, he played the defense very sharply and had many interesting chances.  But in the end, I was able to hold my pawn on d6 and keep up the pressure.  When he offered a queen exchange on move 35, it was game over!  The exchange favored me by allowing me to keep his king out of the game and permanently anchor my extra passed d-pawn with a chain of pawns running from a3 to c5.  The winning technique now was simply to move action over to the king side of the board where his king could not go.   So, this one goes in the win column.

There are 14 GMs in open section and 14 IMs as well.  So, there are plenty of interesting high level games to watch featuring players like Van Wely, Shabalov, Shulman, Nakamura, and Ivanov.

Mark Kaprielian, Calvin Hori, Harvey Reed, and Ed Epp from Metrowest are here.  I think there are other Metrowesters here, but I have found them all.

The turnout is pretty good considering I have heard of many people skipping the event this year due to the economy.  There are 365 people playing in the Open and 4-day track.  The 3-day track starts tonight, so I expect many more people will be joining the mix.

Foxwoods: Round 1 First Notes

I managed to get to Foxwoods about 15 minutes before the first round began.  So, I quickly checked in, dropped my stuff off in the room, and ran down to the Grand Ballroom where the tournament area is set up.

My first game was against Kenneth Gurge of Massachusetts.  I played the black side of the Caro-Kann.  After getting the better of open, I carelessly lost my h7 pawn.  But, I was able to create some active counter play.  Eventually, I won back the pawn and an extra one for my trouble.  My extra pawn was not enough to win though.  We ended by in an opposite colored bishop ending where I had no way to make any progress.  I’ll post the game once I have analyzed it.

Several of my friends from the Metrowest Chess Club are here.  I haven’t counted them all, but I have seen at least 4 other Metrowest player here.

The open section looks very strong.  I haven’t had a chance to check out who is playing, but tonight saw Nakamura vs. Ivanov on board 1.

Off To Foxwoods

Well, the big date has arrived.  Foxwoods has begun.  Round 1 for my section begins at 7:00 pm this evening.  So, I will be hopping in the car and driving to Foxwoods this afternoon.  Even though I did not manage to fully implement my study & preparation plans, I am looking forward to the next few days.

I will be blogging while I am there.  So, check back here through the weekend for updates.

Preparing For The Big Event

I have always found having goals helps keep me focused.  So, I have set my sights on playing at Foxwoods this year.  I like big events like the Foxwoods Open.  There is a special energy at the big event and the quality of play usually very high.

When I was still new to tournament chess, I played at the Paul Masson Open (1979).  The Paul Masson Open used to be one of the premier events of the year in California.  It was played outdoors—quite literally in the vineyard.  It was terrific experience and cemented my affinity to competitive chess.  I was sad when the Paul Masson faded away into the memories of great chess events of the past.

This will be my third time playing at the Foxwoods event.  In my experience it has been an extremely well run tournament, and the venue is very nice.  Will you be going too?

Now, I am getting ready to spend the next three months preparing.  Where to begin is the big question.  I feel very comfortable with my endgames, so I think I will put the emphasis on tuning up my tactics and dusting off my openings.  I just got my ChessBase Mega Database 2009 upgrade to assist with the latter. Training day 1 begins tomorrow.  Do you have any advice to offer?