U.S. Junior Open
Submitted by
TimMoroney on Mon, 07/28/2008 at 9:03pm.
This weekend I competed in the 2008 U.S. Junior Open, held in Lindsborg, Kansas, alongside the Anatoly Karpov International School of Chess. It held a certain magic for me for a number of reasons, one being that it was the first tournament I had attended in the blissfully quiet state; two, because this is likely to be the last "youth" event I will ever be eligible to compete in (unless the universe decides its tired of watching things move ever-forward, and instead it would be amusing to watch life play out in high-speed reverse); and three, because this was the first event in almost two years which my Mother, my lifeblood of support through my active (and expensive) scholastic chess career, was able to attend with me. She and I tag-teamed the 15-hour drive down South, reminiscing about olden times. Being able to relive those moments with such an important figure in my life has made this one of the most memorable experiences of my chess life.
The tournament room was a high school gymnasium, where, running the length of two full walls, hung the championship banners of the many teams that had made their way through the school's corridors over the years. Dating all the way back to the mid-1960s, it was obvious we were in a room filled with history. An inspiring site for a mighty chess brawl. We were all in good company. I seem to have found a habit in identifying myself with an object within the tournament sites, in this case the object was the 1997 Championship banner which hung over my board 2 spot. Over a decade old now, I wanted to remind it, and myself, what a youth championship title felt like. Up for grabs was one other thing I deeply wanted, the winner of the event was to receive an invitation to the 2009 U.S. Junior Closed Championship, known to be an elite youth event and a slaughterhouse to the lowly expert who might happen to wander into the gladiator's arena. All in all, an experience I was excited to try my hand at.
In the end it was a fair success. I finished the tournament tied for first with expert Maxx Coleman (2161), both with 5.5/6 in the Under 21. However, only one seat was being offered to the Junior Closed, and we weren't allowed to split a cushion. Turn we now to the highly controversial world of tie-breaks (particularly in Michigan, where tie-breaks have not often treated our young players kindly). Maxx and I showed ourselves to be fierce competitors to the very end, as we hunted through the first 4 tie-break systems only to find ourselves with even scores in each. Finally it came down to a matter of color, as Maxx played four of his games with the black pieces, compared to my three. With that he earned the invitation to the U.S. Junior Closed, but was likewise penalized with the requirement of carrying home the heavier first place trophy. My congratulations to Maxx for his performance, it was a pleasure playing beside him and against him, and I wish him the best of luck in next year's U.S. Junior Closed.
Also, be sure to check out pictures and coverage of the other sections of the event at the following links!
Jennifer Shahade's CLO Article: http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8579/468/
Karpov International School of Chess -- Pictures, Crosstables, and Games: http://www.anatolykarpovchessschool.org/2008usjropen.html
Following are several of my games from the event.
I would also like to take this moment to recognize the Michigan representatives in this year's Polgar and Denker tournaments. Ashley Carter is once again competing in the Susan Polgar Invitational for Girls, currently running. And Andrew Schilleman competing for his first time in the Denker Tournament of Champions. Best of luck to both of these players!