World Open: Episode Two, The FM Menace
Submitted by
TimMoroney on Wed, 07/02/2008 at 11:43pm.
Yes, yes, I know that Star Wars: Episode Two was actually the Clone Wars and that I am in fact creating blog title references inaccurately. I am here for entertainment, not correctness. But to those who would seriously concern themselves with the issue, this blog could be alternatively titled "The Kopec Wars." My thanks to Grandmaster (GM) Alexander Shabalov, who made this tournament a worthwhile trip, if not for the sole reason of getting to see him play the Kopec System in his first round game. It's a shame he lost.
This blog marks the closing of day three here at the World Open. It appears to have been a challenging day for much of the younger crowd. I, myself, lost in a very challenging French Winawer middlegame against Mexican expert, Giovanni Carreto (2152). My other games included losses against Nigerian master, Chikwere Onyekwere (2260), and titled player, FM Zakhar Fayvinov (2215). Unfortunately I cannot offer much in the way of game analysis as the game uploader has not been co-operative with me this week. It erased three attempts at a game annotation last night before I finally decided sleep would be more beneficial than a wrestling match with my computer screen.
Continuing with my fellow young players:
Seth Homa (2234), a friend of mine from Michigan, received a tough pairing in the Open section, going up against IM Dean Ippolito (2504). Almost a 300-point rating difference!
Hana Itkis (2094) from New Jersey has been playing the board next to mine each round so far, thus I have been able to observe the mean-spirited nature of her opponents' play. She currently stands at 1/3.
Jonathan Hilton (2214) from Ohio, whom I have had the pleasure of developing a friendship with over the past several tournaments since our own matchup at King's Island last November, had one of the shortest decisive games I have ever seen from him. I hadn't even the opportunity to see him in the room before he had reported a loss on the scorechart. Hopefully tomorrow will see kinder results for him. If not, he and I may not need to wait until November to have our rematch.
The slow one-game-a-day schedule of this event is quickly finding a place in my heart. I have had more opportunities to stroll about the tournament site and converse with other players than ever before. It is turning out to be quite an experience learning the diverse backgrounds of all of these people who congregate to a hotel for a week in the name of chess. Each conversation brings with it golden nuggets of insight for me to take back into the world with me when I leave here. The World Open is truly turning out to be an opening of the world.
I brought a camera along with me for this trip. To this point I have focused its lense on the sights of the city and on the details of the surrounding environment, much like my own view has too often been at events like these. The mind is busy capturing the site itself, while people happen to stumble into the picture frame. Tomorrow, I think the polaroid eye will turn away from the halls and onto those who walk them. The smiles, the frowns, the deep thought that architecture cannot capture. I took a video recording of the nearly empty tournament hall. Perhaps it is now time to record the full one.