Evan won 2nd Place in his section!
- Jul 20, 2014
- 2 min read
Wow, today was a great day. I woke up feeling really crappy. I had a headache and was not looking forward to playing two long chess games. I was still feeling defeated from yesterday. But, I tried to study a little this morning and although I was not in the mood, I was going to make the best of it. I must have done something to get some good karma coming my way.....because when I got to the tournamnet and looked at the pairings, I saw that I was getting a full point bye. Phew! Man I was off the hook and I was able to get Timur a point for our mixed doubles team. I was so relieved. I really was in no state of mind to play. I was happy because it also gave me some time to socialize with some of the other chess moms out there.
Evan finished his game. He won. We had time to drive home and have lunch. We went to the pool with our friends and were able to enjoy the weather outdoors. When it was time to go back to the tournament, we were both refeshed and ready.
I got paired with someone who also had zero points. That gave me my confidence back a bit. I was black and was planning to use some openings and traps that Evan had taught me, but my opponent played the English, a line I had never seen. I was able to stay focused, take my time and stick to the basic principles of chess. And lo and behold I was able to find a good attack King side and followed through with my game flawlessly. I have never played a game I was more proud of. I have won games before, but usually part of it was luck when my opponent blundered or didn't see something and I somehow checkmated without even realizing it. This time, I actually thought every move through and took my time and it paid off. I won my game giving me 2 points for my team. How nice it is to end on a high note. Much different than I felt last night.
And then Evan finished his game winning him 2nd place in the U1500 section. Wow, he won $700. A lot of cash for a 9 year old. The good news is that he will be able to pay off his portion of the Millionaire Chess Open event in October. I had agreed at the last Western Open that if he came up with 1/2 I would match him for the registration. He was estatic. I took him out for sushi to celebrate.
So all's well that ends well.
Here are a few photos from the tourament of my chess friends.
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