reno on the horizon
first off, R.I.P. Brett Somers.
story is HERE
so i’m going to the tournament in reno in just over three weeks. am i ready? nope.
i have mixed feelings, and i’m filled with self doubt on one hand, and filled with blind overestimation of my abilities and optimism on the other foot. i entered the 1300 – 1400 section, thinking, my rating is just under 1200. if i play in the 1200’s and lose, my ratings will plummet, and i don’t’ care about chess, just the ratings (smell that? that is sarcasm. nothing int he world smells like that…) but if i enter the 1300 – 1400, if i win, my ratings will go up and if i lose, well, i shouldn’t go down that far. i also, somewhere deep inside me, believe i am better than a 1300 rating, even though i consistently lose to 1100’s.
i think i will have a chance playing the grob, it seems to throw people off for some reason.
here are two quick games, i am white in both.
1. g4 e6 2. h3 d6 3. Bg2 c6 4. d4 Na6 5. Nf3 Nc7
6. c4 g6 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bf4 Bg7 9. Qd2 Ne7 10. Nc3 O-O
11. Bh6 Bd7 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. h4 Be8 14. h5 g5 15. Ne4 d5
16. Nexg5 fxg5 17. Qxg5+ Kh8 18. h6 Rg8 19. Qf6+ Rg7 20. Qxg7#
1-0
1. g4 e5 2. h3 d6 3. Bg2 Bd7 4. Bxb7 Be7 5. Bxa8 Bc6
6. Bxc6+ Nxc6 7. Nc3 Nd4 8. e3 Ne6 9. Nf3 Nf6 10. e4 O-O
11. h4 Kh8 12. d3 Ng8 13. Ng5 Nxg5 14. hxg5 Bxg5 15. Nd5 Bxc1
16. Qxc1 Qg5 17. Qxg5 f6 18. Qh4 h6 19. Ne3 g5 20. Qh5 Kg7
21. Nf5+ Kh8 22. Ne7 Rf7 23. Qxf7 Nxe7 24. Rxh6#
1-0
both grob games, both wins. i gotta try it at the tournament.
i’ve been losing, but online i only play blitz. i can count at least two losses where, after i made the move, i saw that it was wrong, and had i just looked for 10 seconds longer, i would have seen the move. so i think, possibly wrongly, that i am stronger over the board playing in a 2 hour game then on the computer playing 5 minute games while looking at porn waiting for the other guy to move.
i still retain that naive belief that i can just waltz on into the chess world and play well and win. if i can keep that optimistic confidence, i think i will do ok. also, if i would just pay attention to the master games i am going over, if i could remember the pawn stuff i read in “my system” and if i can just play good solid moves, not attack with nothing behind it, look for tactical moves for me and my opponent, i should be ok.
but am i ready?
Wahrheit said,
September 18, 2007 at 1:06 pm
You were f’in’ born ready and if the D-section knew what they were in for they’d be quakin’ in their high-heels about now–hell, yeah. And the Reno tourney has really slow time controls so I can hardly wait to see what kind of shit you can pull when you have lots of time to calculate your piece sacrifices, rather than just throwin’ ‘em down.
BTW, send me your ETA so we can arrange a pre-tournament “briefing.”
Talk to you soon!
samuraipawn said,
September 18, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Good luck in the tournament! It’s good that you entered the 1300-1400 section. I’m sure you’ll learn a lot more playing stronger opponents than you would have in a lower section.
Jo Blow said,
September 18, 2007 at 2:28 pm
If yor rating is under 1200 you should play in the 1199-below section.
You say you are playing in the 1300-1400 section, there is no such section
there are (1200-1399): (1400-1599):
Unless u r takin about tournament other than SANDS REGENCY RENO-WESTERN STATES OPEN
ookwelbekendalsemc said,
September 18, 2007 at 3:15 pm
“…while looking at porn waiting for the other guy to move”
ROFLOL
Wahrheit said,
September 18, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Don’t know who Jo Blow is, but he blows all right!
Anyway, good for you for playing “up” and I think a lot of D players, when confronted with a guy wearing a full hockey goalie uniform (including a stick) will wilt pretty quickly…anyway, let me know what time you plan on arriving, and we will definitely meet up for a surveillance of the premises and attack plan.
chessloser said,
September 18, 2007 at 5:58 pm
samurai pawn – thanks, i’m looking forward to learning, but i hope i’m not learning that much, that would mean i’m losing a lot…
jow blow – my bad, i’m in the 1200 – 1399 section…
ookwelbekendalsemc – can i just call you E, or dd?
blunderprone said,
September 19, 2007 at 5:42 am
Play up a section. If you lose, its not too many points and you can say “I was playing someone MUCH stronger” and if you win you gain more points and you can say the same thing
-BP
chessloser said,
September 19, 2007 at 5:50 pm
blunderprone – i like the way you think….
frogiam's dad said,
September 21, 2007 at 6:25 am
What blunderprone says is correct, but there’s another excellent reason to play up: your losses will be much more instructive. Think of it as “free” (except for the entry fee) lessons. Stronger opponents will show you where your game is weak, which will allow you to focus your improvement efforts.
chessloser said,
September 21, 2007 at 6:32 pm
frogiam’s dad – definitely…i know what you mean about the “free lessons”…i just hope i don’t have too many of them…i’d like to maybe win a few games and give the other guy a lesson….