Sitting on an even score in a 14 player swiss section that ranges from the 800’s to the 2000’s is bad for the guy with the 800. Last night I played Ruben Portugues, whose rating of 1819 is just a little higher than mine. I lost, but it wasn’t as awful as it could have been. I’ll post the game tonight if I have time.
In brief: I had the black side of a two knights’ defense, defended against 8. Qf3 for the first time (played 8 … Bb7, which is not good, instead of the main line moves of 8 … h6 or 8 … Rb8), made some questionable moves, dropped a piece to a removal of the guard tactic, played on because my attack was looking strongish and his pieces were uncoordinated, had my attack fizzle, and resigned after I dropped a rook to a knight fork.
So, two bad tactical errors, one much worse than the other, but the rest of my play was mostly ok. After going over the game with me, Ruben pointed to my rating and asked if I had just started playing, because he thought I played better than 800. I said that, after September’s tournament my rating actually went up to 1036. He chuckled and said that I had played a good deal better than 1036 as well, which is nice to hear, if not actually helpful for winning games or getting better.
On the bright side, I’m over 1000 for the first time, and I think I’m playing fairly well, for me. Still having a hard time seeing tactics that are coming at me, but I think that some of that has to do with my thought process.
Sudbury tournament starts tomorrow ( the 2 day section, anyway) and I’ll have two G/55’s and one G/155. I’ve gotten used to the 40/90 G/25 at the club, so I’m a little worried about the G/55 games, but I think I’ll be ok. I’m looking forward to potentially tearing up the U1300 section, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I think I’d be satisfied with a + score, which would be a first. I’m going to set my goals low though, and say that I want to at least win 1 game out of the 3 I have tomorrow. I went 0-3 on the first day of the Eastern Chess Congress back in March, and that was a little depressing (though it put me in a position to get some very weak opponents for rounds 4 and 5).
Any advice out there for the best food to take with you for a long day of playing?
eat light, nothing heavy, nothing with heavy sauces.
i’ve heard that if blood is rushing to the stomach for digestion, less is going to the brain.
something like deli sandwiches with sprite or 7up served me well during tournaments or during big exams.