Foxwoods Final
Submitted by
TimMoroney on Mon, 03/24/2008 at 12:04am.
A tall, black curtain closes as the sun takes its final bow here at Foxwoods. Artificial light commands the tournament stage where the players have since departed. There is no crowd. No call for a standing ovation. I think chess tournaments could do well to have illuminating 'applause' signs. The encore is held as a private party for the performers and goes by the title of a Blitz Tournament.
I was in no playing shape to join in the festivities, myself, but I did stroll into the room to witness the last couple of rounds. It was fascinating to watch, and I'll save some of my thoughts on it for another blog. For the factual record there were co-champions for the blitz event. Mark Paragua (2489) and Kazim Gulamali (2382) each finished 9-1, while managing to dodge each other in the pairings. I would have liked to see a match between them, because they both showed themselves to be far and above the competition during those final rounds in my opinion.
The main event saw five co-champions. Leading the field going into their game, GMs Alexander Shabalov and Yury Shulman took a quick draw to secure their shares of the top prize. GM Alexander Ivanov preferred to take a quick win for his cut, blasting GM Pascal Charbonneau in just 15 moves! IM Joshua Friedel's strong tournament performance was cut short of earning him a large prize thanks to the efforts of GM Julio Beccera, who sacked an exchange and then quietly waited fifteen moves before lashing out with minor piece activity, and earning his own spot in the prize pool. Friedel passed on an opportunity for a perpetual, which gave Becerra the time he needed to activate his slumbering forces. And the number five spot was taken by force by IM Robert Hess, defeating GM Alexander Stripunsky from the Black side of an Exchange Lopez! It's a game worth playing over as Hess patiently manouvered for a breakthrough until he found it. The final position looks to me like something you would find in a composition.
As for my event, I had another split result for the last day.
Round eight I played Mr. Dan Mayers (1944), who is, in his words "half blind, half deaf, and whole crazy!" I feel he passed a bit of that first trait on to me this game. After achieving a wonderful opening setup I hit hard with central pressure and tactics, winning a pawn and smoothly transition into a highly advantageous Knight and Pawn ending. Wanting to be sure no tricks would befall me with the stumbling steeds I calculated ahead nearly to the end of the game in each of my main candidate variations. Finding them satisfactorily safe I played my move. Shock and horror when he instantly replies with a ludicrously obvious immediate tactic, and suddenly I'm dead lost. He didn't have to nail the coffin shut - I buried myself.
Round nine I was playing on last board. I was in the middle of the group with 2.0, and everyone below our group had withdrawn by that point. My opponent was Nicholas St. John (Unr), a very friendly and well spoken college student from New Hampshire. Though unrated, he was certainly no slouch, opting to play in the Open section rather than the unrated division. We played an Advance French, and the most interesting game of my tournament experience ensued. I claimed a slight advantage fairly early on and managed to tightly hold it until tactics could complete my positional edge. Fritz thought I had a couple of places to try for play sooner, but I seriously doubt its long-term considerations on its suggestions. All I can think now is it will be interesting to battle out the position all over again with a tireless entity.
Final score: 3.0 of 9.0. In the decent range, though just slightly below my target of 3.5. Next year it goes to 5.0. Watch out Foxwoods.
The final turnout numbers, which I promised to update you on, was 556 entries for all sections. I was ranked 105 out of 121 in the Open section.
Sleep will be a welcome friend, but not for a while yet. I have to leave for the airport in a couple of hours and begin my journey back from whence I came. It's been a long tournament, but also an enjoyable one. I'm sorry to see it end as I could gladly spend a couple more days here. Alas, they need room for the poker tournament coming in tomorrow.Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!