Howdy from Texas. My tournament report continues.
Round three is coming up and I've done the proverbial castle king side on the non-existent wall chart, 0 0. I was starting to think I was having Thursday deja vu. I see Jim West and tell him he can report on the tournament from the front of the room, I'll report from the back of the room. Atomic Patzer says he'll also be reporting from the back of the room. Little did we know that we would play each other in round three.
This was one of these put me asleep, make me fall behind on time type of games. It's games like this that make me want to chuck the English and play e4. I end out playing lathargically and letting black grab the initiative. Even after I won a pawn I thought Black had some good attacking chances on the king side.
polly-tom101208.pgn
I was surprised when he offered me the draw. I had 2 minutes versus his 6 minutes, and I'm kind of playing down a piece with my rook stuck on g5 with nowhere to go. I accepted the draw with no hesitation, and said if I had been Black in that position I would not have offered a draw. He said I had a lot more confidence in my ability to try to convert the positional edge. Fritz only gives Black .44 edge. Maybe I was seeing ghosts. I was just happy to stop the losing streak at 6.
Round 4 I played one of the many Russian kids who attend the ICA. He mangled the opening by walking into a book trap against White's attempt to play the Yugaslov against the Accelerated Dragon. I mangled the middle and end game, so we drew.
IlyaK-Polly101208.pgn
So that's it on the tournament front. Look for Wacky Wednesday, and some pictures from California.
6 comments:
I too cant understand why Tom didn't play further, atleast he could try and offer draw later on.
I was wondering why white didn't play Ka8 in that endgame and then try to build a bridge with the rook but i guess the two pawns on the kingside made it difficult.
Hi Polly:
Do you have your own private jet or what?
It seems you criss cross the country playing is all kinds of chess events. I'm jealous.
In this game with Atomic Patzer, Black's Queen was certainly active and had a more fluid position.
Why Black did not play on for a win, only God can answer that question.
Diamondback
I started chess blogging about two months ago. (August 2008) If you think my blog has some sparkle, can you add me to your blog roll.
If I see you at the Marhsall in NYC, I buy you maybe one, three, five , maybe fourteen drinks. (Non-Alcoholic , of course)diamondback
www.diamondbackchess.blogspot.com
tiger: I think he didn't play on because he was concerned about the time factor. Even though he had six minutes to my 2 minutes, he knows himself with time. The last round game he lost on time despite having an edge, so perhaps he thought he'd burn his advantage. I know I've had huge time advantages at times and burned the extra time only to implode. Considering we were both 0-2 at the time perhaps psychologically he just wanted to get on the score board even if it's only a 1/2 point.
diamond: LOL I wish. I'm afraid this will be the last year for flying all over the place unless done with frequent flier points, which is how I'm doing my next chess trip in November.
Welcome to the blogosphere, and I'll take you up on the drink offer when you're at the Marshall.
Hi Polly ! About draws, just a real time update which change my mind about Draws ! today I played at Hamilton Chess Quads October 18, 2008 in first round with an 10 year Kid. As my flag was ready to drop on the first time control in an unclear King and Pawn endgame I offered the Kid a draw and left for the men's room. The kid follow me in and without hestitation the kid accepted. For me this was not a loss but one half point. I was pleased because I had two more rounds to play. Draws, sometimes mean more to me than the full point. Diamondback
Diamond: I'm not opposed to draws, and there are good times to take or offer them. I just get irked at kids who offer a draw to higher rated opponent after 17 moves in an even position. What does one learn about chess getting draws after 17 moves. In this game I wouldn't have offered a draw at that point. I would seen if I could take advantage of the trapped rook, if not then I'd offer the draw.
Post a Comment