How I Won My State Chess Championship With A Brilliant Move!

This year, I was super fortunate to win my state chess championship for the second time. Things didn't look good as early as round two as though I started with a nice win (actually the first time I haven't lost in round one at the State Championship!), I then lost a tough game in round two against NM Pradhyumna Kothapalli. A draw against IM Alexander Matros in the final Saturday round meant I had only 50% going into Sunday.

On Sunday, I was busted at points in my first game, but I managed to get away with a win which put me in a huge tie for second with 2.5/4. Everyboday was chasing NM Mike Sailer who was on 3.5/4, a full point clear of the field. The good news for me was that I got to play the white pieces against Mike! It's the first time I've been in this kind of must-win final round before, and the tension was incredible. The game was not perfect, but it featured tons of great ideas and is one of my favorites. I've annotated it here, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed playing the game.

With the win, I caught NM Mike Sailer and NM Ben Caiello also tied for first with us and Kothapalli who wasn't eligible for the state title as a non-resident. I was fortunate to have the strongest tiebreaks and take home the trophy though Sailer, Caiello, and I share the title.

Here are my other four games in the event of which my favorite is the first for the creative double rook lift.