Road To Master - Chess In Alberta
Hi all, welcome back to another blog post! The 7th one of my Road To Master series.
Last month during November 11th to the 13th I competed in the 2022 Banff Open, located in Banff, Alberta. The trip was awesome, the thumbnail of this blog is a picture I took while I was there. These days my rating is high enough where I can regularly play in the top section at these tournaments, so I was once again in the top section. Heading into this tournament I was 2069 CFC rated and 1858 FIDE rated. Lots of lower rated players played up, which means they paid extra in order to be moved up to the top section - you'll see I played a couple of them. It was a 6 round swiss, time control was 90+30, and it was CFC (Canadian National Rating) and FIDE rated. All ratings displayed in the games will be CFC rated, but as usual I will include my opponent's FIDE ratings in the little description beforehand.
Round 1: Pressing Against The London
My first round opponent was Pat Moore who was 1777 CFC rated and 1695 FIDE rated, I had the White pieces. I had no idea what he was going to play but I was confident enough I could outplay him at some point in the game.
I was playing good quality chess and it all went down the drain. First I missed a hanging rook, then I allowed him enough counterplay where I was the one defending. On a side note if we don't look at my play for a second, these kinds of games are interesting where one side is playing for a more dry, quiet position while the other side is trying to find chances to play for a win. A disappointing start but onto round two.
Round 2: Hungry For A Win
In these kinds of tournaments you have to do well if you want to play strong players. The stronger players generally tend to do better than the lower rated players, so you have to keep up. This round I was playing Richard Hobbs who is now 1953 CFC and 1725 FIDE. He was unrated CFC heading into Banff, but he had a USCF (US Chess Federation) rating instead which was 1876. I had the White pieces.
Not bad, I'll take the win. He had a much better position and I had no play, luckily he created weaknesses and I took advantage of them. There's not much else I can say about this game, overall it wasn't horrible so that's definitely a plus.
Round 3: Miracles Do Exist
This round I had the Black pieces against Tristan Taylor who was 2020 CFC and 1919 FIDE rated. This game was the definition of never give up, a must see.
Honestly I'm shocked I survived that, I was dead lost for a long time. I guess this is why you should never resign even when the position is completely hopeless. If we're just looking at my score, I have 2/3 which isn't bad at all.
Round 4: Absolute Domination
This round I was playing against FM Ian Findlay who was 2304 CFC and 2154 FIDE rated, I had the White pieces. After three rough rounds I was hungry for a win here, ready to turn my tournament around.
I think I surprised him with this 3.g3 sideline, I got a really nice position out of the opening and never let my advantage slip. The truth is my repertoire wasn't completely ready for this tournament so I had to choose a couple sidelines here and there. It seems this sideline vs the e6 sicilian worked out well. 3/4 heading into round five!
Round 5: Immortal Game?
This round I was paired against CM Rafael Arruebarrena who was 2238 CFC and 2109 FIDE, I had the Black pieces once again. At this point in the tournament I was near the top of the standings, a win here would make me one of the tournament leaders.
Unfortunately a disappointing loss. I had a draw at the end there with the four pawns against his two pawns & knight but just messed it up. My opponent played very well though, he tied for first place at the end of the tournament with 5/6! Big congratulations to Rafael.
Round 6: No Risk No Reward
The final round! I was paired with NM Patrick Tolentino, he was 2250 CFC and 2055 FIDE rated. I had the White pieces. Coming into the game I knew Patrick played the Caro Kann and King's Indian Defense exclusively. Unfortunately the King's Indian Defense is the best opening of all time, so I had to play against his Caro instead.
Sadly another loss, but definitely a game I can learn from. This variation I played against the Caro is very aggressive, White gets a lot of activity. The downside is that my d4 pawn is forever a backwards pawn and will never be supported by another pawn for the rest of the game. Patrick had more experience in the structure, he was able to capitalize on my weakness and outplay me. I'll definitely have to work harder for when we meet next time.
Final Thoughts and Comments:
I finished Banff Open with 3/6 and a 2090 performance rating. I ended up gaining some points, my new ratings became 2074 CFC and 1880 FIDE. While I suffered some painful games, I also had some good games. This tournament really helped me understand what my weaknesses are and what I need to work on for next time. As for my next blog, I actually finished another tournament just last week. I have the next blog planned with that tournament, I'll probably release it closer to the end of the year. Thanks for reading, see you next time!
