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Adults

Never Give Up

“Never Regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful… If it’s bad, it’s experience.” – Victoria Holt

This sentiment resonates well with my recent tournament experience. I finished with 2/5 points. Here is one of the wins I managed to take in the tournament with the black pieces from a losing position. No one ever won a game by resigning, said Saviely Tartakower.

In the 2nd round of my first-ever USCF rated tournament, I faced a tough position. Having already lost the first game, I could have been disheartened by my situation. However, I chose to adopt a fighter’s spirit instead. My opponent held two passed pawns and a material advantage, making my position dire. If White managed to simplify, the game would be over for me. Despite my earlier miscalculations and my opponent’s superior play, I decided to play on.

29. g3 may seem OK. However, my opponent seemed reluctant to remove their rook from the a-file. 29… Qb2 and my opponent missed trying to force their win condition with 30. a5, I followed with 30… Nd2 and the position quickly changed in my favor from here.

 

31. Qc1 is a blunder. The only non-losing move for white is Qa6, which with accurate play, white can force a draw.
31… Ne2+
32. Kg2
32… NxC1 and white resigned.

We all make mistakes. Even if I should have lost this game against a more accurate player – I made my opponent have to earn their win from me. It was a satisfying victory and one I fought hard for.

Learning from Losses

Tournaments are emotional endeavors, and it has taken awhile to process this most recent DMV Summer Open. I am still absorbing my games, and will continue for a while. I should not be so melodramatic, but it is not fun to lose, and losing happens a lot when you are the third lowest rated player. It is worse still having to write out your public thoughts about losing. But now I am being melodramatic.

The first game started fine and oops there goes a pawn, and oops there goes everything. Although a lot to be learned about taking initiative against passive defenses. The second game was much the same, with a subpar response to an opening novelty. The third game broke the streak, with a win grinded out after 7 pawns locked up the position. A better chance was lost earlier, which could have secured the win without another 50 moves in time pressure, but a win is a win. It was also a rare opportunity to enforce the touch-move rule, which created a lasting example to tell kids about when explaining tournament rules. The last game of the evening was my first on a DGT board, which was extremely convenient for recording a 103-move game. While it ended as a tough loss – blundered away with 2 seconds on the clock – it was still perhaps my best game of the evening. I faced off against a dangerous gambit, and held on to even a winning position. However, my advantage melted with my time, and I left the playing hall in a rotten mood.

There are always more tournaments to play, I tell myself, but poor performances (from my point of view) are not easy to swallow. A chess player must be very committed if they want to improve, and that begins with a lot of hard losses. 

“Cassia Rewards Those Who Endure Her Wrath” – Riley Dosh blogs from The Tyson’s Corner Action Tournament

I have always loved Pinball. A girlfriend in high school had many renovated Pinball machines in her basement which I would play for hours on end (the Terminator-themed one was the best). I would also play the Microsoft Pinball program, which introduced me to the concept of tilt. Tilting, or slam tilting, is when a player too aggressively handles the machine. This immediately ends the round or the game, and is generally considered bad sportsmanship. The term carried through to poker, and later chess. A player becomes tilted when they become too angry or upset to properly play the game. This results in more blunders, more loses, and more tilt. 

In my last tournament, I was tilted. I had quickly racked up two wins, which earned me the chance to play a National Master for the first time in a rated game. I played into a completely winning position, against someone rated over 800 points higher than me, before one bad move caused the whole position to go up in flames. I couldn’t focus, my eyes blurred, and thinking logically became impossible. The following two games are not even worth talking about. 

That was the losing streak I was on before the DMV Chess’s The Tysons Corner Action tournament. About a year ago, I won the U1500 section, so I felt confident enough to play in the Open Section, despite qualifying for both. 

Round 1
True to my principles, I didn’t check my opponent’s rating before the round. I had a strong start, catching my opponent off balance and creating a dense pawn majority in the center. However, more tension on the board means more complications, and I didn’t notice my Achilles heel until it was too late. He found it first, and my center evaporated. Only down a pawn, I already felt like I had lost – a prophecy which is always fulfilled. An [obviously] unsound tactic lost my knight and I was forced to concede a few dozen moves later. My 4th straight loss. 

Round 2
I was buoyed by the fact that my previous opponent was rated 1900, so I wasn’t likely to have won anyways. I rallied for another game. I didn’t want to play anything too fancy, just get out some solid development and play some chess. Instead, I was met by a prepared line whose 2nd move was already a novelty to me (1. e4 e6 2. b3!?). Unlike my opponent, I didn’t know what was coming. It was a crushing defeat, which might’ve been even faster if my opponent was looking for tactics. My 5th straight loss.

I sulked back to the skittles room and sat in my chair. I wanted to quit. Chess was a dumb game, and I clearly wasn’t any good at it. My losing streak was mirroring my recent online losing streak; no end in sight. Maybe today just wasn’t my day. I was ready to withdraw and go home early. But I didn’t. I wallowed in self pity, while continuing my doodle. I hadn’t even bothered to take my ear plugs out, preferring the silence. The pizza box near me made my stomach rumble, but I just kept on doodling. Die another day.

Round 3
For the only time of the tournament, I was facing a kid. I had the bad luck of seeing his much higher rating, but I didn’t let it faze me. He played what I’m told is a London, which is silly because that’s a city. But, like all London players, he preferred his memorized development, and didn’t give much thought to locking out his dark square bishop, or my queen on b6. I sacrificed development to get him out of his comfort zone, causing him to eat up a lot of time. After every move he’d jump up and wander around the room, waiting for this stupid 1400 to discover she’d been beat. 

But I hadn’t been beat. If I had just lost two games, so had he, and he was clearly more tilted about it than me. Experience has taught me to never underestimate your opponent, no matter her rating.  He long neglected the critical push in the center, and allowed me to untangle myself. Soon enough, his passive pieces ran out of options, and more importantly, his clock ran low. I allowed him to panic into a mistake. To his credit, he played out the endgame, surviving on only seconds and his delay. He took the loss well, and my losing streak was broken. 

Round 4
This round started at 8 pm, which meant I wasn’t getting home until almost 11 pm. My opponent played fast, so I did too. He opted for an unusual line, which allowed me a central passed pawn in exchange for a 2v1 majority on the queenside. If he wanted to quickly trade down into that endgame, fine by me. He let me blockade his pawns, which freed my rook from pawn duty to attack his king. I sacrificed Abby (my A pawn) for a rook on the 7th. The coup de grace came a few moves later, when my opponent, with still ⅔ of his time on the clock, blundered a mate in 1. It was the same mating pattern that I blundered (but wasn’t punished for) during a simultaneous game at White Oaks Elementary this past week. I not only finished with a respectable 2.0/4, but also clinched my highest rated win yet. 

Losing hurts. There’s no other way to put it. Some losses hurt worse than others, and some still sting to this day. But every lose is another’s win, and Caïssa blesses those who can endure her ire. The only way to win is to lose. So, I won’t be quitting chess today, and you’ll see me in my next blogpost.

Results from the first Bishops+Beers Blitz Tournament, Nov 7th

Nearly every Tuesday over the past year, the U.S. Chess Center has hosted Bishops and Beers at Silver Branch Brewery, an evening event for our grown-up clientele to gather in downtown Silver Spring for some good food, good company, good potations and good chess.

The first week this month, we added a competitive element, with the first Bishops + Beers Blitz Tournament kicking off at 6:30 p.m. on November 7. Our instructor Riley Dosh was on hand to make up the pairings, tally the results, and generally help facilitate the fun.

The tournament was well-attended with 16 total players, and the excitement also hooked in a few spectators. Don McLean (pictured below, right) won convincingly with 7.5/9, Christian (pictured middle) came in second place with 6/9, and Jason (pictured left) came in third, losing on tiebreaks to Christian.

Given the general success of the tournament, we’re looking into running more blitz events at future Bishops & Beers outings. If you haven’t come to downtown Silver Spring on Tuesday night (and you’re at least 21), come join the fun!

Chess as a “Senior”

“Competitive chess is for the young,” a chess master once told me. Looking at the top players in the world, one might suspect this to be true. Carlsen, Liren, Nepomniachtchi, So, Caruana are all in their 30s and of course have been playing chess for many years. I began playing competitive chess at an “advanced age” (over 45) and wondered if this statement might have some validity to it. I decided to speak to several “senior” players and get their takes on this theory. 

Most older players relayed to me that they felt there were two areas where younger players had an advantage. They included memory and processing speed. From a personal standpoint, I might agree that memory does seem to diminish as we get older; however, it is not necessarily a given. With enough repetition and practice, older players can improve their ability to remember openings, strategies, etc. In terms of processing speed i.e. the ability to make and spot a strong move more quickly, this could be dependent on the amount of time a player has to practice and study and how long they have been playing. (For the most part my experience with younger players has been that they tend to move very quickly, but often their move is not the optimal one.) 

As we age, it is a known fact that our brains shrink and learning new skills may take more time; however, it is also a known fact that older adults can still learn new information and should do so in order to keep their brains healthy. This concept is called neuroplasticity or the forming of new neural pathways.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a well-known neurosurgeon, medical writer and journalist says in his book Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age that reasoning and problem solving are “key to building cognitive reserve” (brain resiliency). He goes on to say that the greater one’s “cognitive reserve”, the more likely we are to “stave off the degenerative brain changes” associated with many of the common brain diseases including dementia.

Even though we may not have any illusions about becoming chess masters, playing competitive chess can be a wonderfully challenging brain building activity. At the very least it is definitely a cognitively stimulating activity that I am sure Dr. Gupta would approve of. I would encourage anyone, including seniors, to give it a try. After all, who knows for sure what the long-term benefits may be!

Bishops & Beers Is Now Every Tuesday

Even with the inclement weather in Silver Spring, Bishops & Beers still brought out chess enthusiasts on Tuesday night.  Players turned up to Silver Branch Brewery for some good drinks, good food and good games of chess.

Moving forward, our meetings at the brewery will be a weekly occasion, beginning at 6 p.m. every Tuesday.  The next event will be the evening of June 19.  Whether you’re a seasoned tournament player or still learning the ropes, we hope you’ll come join us (as long as you’re over 21).  Our Meetup group has more information about Bishops & Beers and our other regular activities open to the public. 

Pictures from Bishops & Beers on Tuesday Night

Bishops and Beers kicked off Tuesday, June 7 at Silver Branch Brewery in Silver Spring. A wide range of players, from novices to experts, showed up to socialize and play. 

Silver Branch provided a great atmosphere to meet up with old friends and make new ones over the board, and we’re already looking forward to the next event.  To stay abreast of future meetings and see more of the photos from Tuesday night, you can join our Meetup group.

Come Play Chess at Silver Branch Brewing Company on June 7

The Chess Center invites all of our grown-up patrons (over 21 years of age) to join us the first Tuesday of each month for Bishops and Beers at Silver Branch Brewing Company.  

Starting June 7, participants will be able to come out and play chess while enjoying the beverage offerings at one of Silver Spring’s finest local production breweries.  One of our certified U.S. Chess Center instructors will be hosting proceedings.  Board, sets, and some clocks for those who wish to play rapid and blitz games will all be provided.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned master, you’re welcome to come play with us.

Registration is available here: https://chessctr.org/play/bishops-and-beers/.