The good news is I’ll be spending Sunday with my friend Scott, and we’ll be dropping in to the tournament site to catch the big match-ups during the final championship rounds.

And… he’s going to cook up some home-made vegan chili (starting with dried beans) for lunch at his place. Should be a fun day, and I think it’s supposed to finally stop raining and warm up around here. Woohoo!

I’ll see if any of the guys would be willing to send me a game or two for the blog after the event. <fingers crossed>

My last round game was a quick “grandmaster draw” assuring me of at least a piece of the cash, so let’s have a look at the far more interesting third round. I woke up with a migraine, due in no small part to the grueling effort the previous evening, and it was definitely a factor in my draw offer at the end. We were pushing a late lunch at that point, and I wanted to conserve energy. Indeed, I almost withdrew after this game to curl up in a ball in the dark at home, but somehow managed to at least sit at the board to vie for a portion of the U2000 prize. I’m glad I did, but ouch…

Quick poll: Is it more painful to discover in post-mortem a winning move you missed entirely or that one of those you considered but ultimately rejected was a winner? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Maybe it’s because of how more frequently the latter occurs that it definitely has my vote. Maybe it’s because it feels like a sort of chessic cowardice to have not played it; you saw so many of the good lines arising out of it yet still couldn’t muster the courage.

Yes, I’m frustrated by this game.   I was happy to have built up a position that reminded me of Botvinnik-Capablanca. I felt I was on my way to a beautiful middlegame squeeze capped by a grinding endgame. To have ruined it with unplayed-but-seen moves leaves me baffled for an explanation and saddened by the missed opportunity.

The field in the open was small, but very strong. The New Hampshire players were outnumbered by visitors, mostly from Massachusetts, including GM Alexander Ivanov and IM Igor Foygel. Also represented was California, and there was even an international flare with Denys Shmelov from the Ukraine, as well as my last round opponent, here in the states while studying in New York. The good news is they don’t qualify for the title.

My last serious game was against Curdo, final round of the Queen City Open in February. Caissa must have a good sense of humor because John was first up here too. Certainly a better pairing than my usual debut matchup versus Braden Bournival or fellow New Hampshirite Sherif Khater’s draw, which saw him battling top-seed Ivanov. While I feel I do well against Curdo, I’ve yet to nick him for more than a draw, and this time was no different. He easily took advantage of my sloppy play and coasted to victory with the Black pieces.
No, you won’t see that one here.  

In between rounds, I checked in to the hotel room, which I think I could’ve actually got for free! Well, probably not, but here’s why I say that. You know those room rate cards they have you sign, the one where you provide your license plate, initial the rate and signature your commitment to pay for any damages? Mine showed a rate of $0.00/night. Of course, I corrected her and a new card was printed with the $80 group rate (+$6.40 taxes). My question to the lawyers in the house is how binding is this little contract in reverse? If I’d signed the original, would they have been obligated to comp me the room gratis?

Lunch was another travel idea I was trying out. The night before, I’d cooked up a batch of kidney beans, split it up into four sizeable portions, and froze overnight in freezer bags. I didn’t bother bringing the hot plate, so had the first log-shaped serving as a “bean popsicle.” As the weekend went on the others thawed to a more familiar consistency. I also packed the now standard gallon-sized bags of greens, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, onion, garlic, etc.. As well as fruits, a banana per game, plus randomly consumed apples, oranges, and berries. Oh yeah, and a few squares of 100% cacao and a mini (6 oz) bottle of red wine. This latter worked out well, as it doesn’t require cooler space as beer does.

OK, OK, show me some analysis already!  

Seeing as the blog was featured in the latest NH Chess Journal, where it was remarked that you could discover what all those weird things Erin’s always eating at tournaments are, I just had to share. Which leads me to a tip about over-the-board food. I find bananas and chocolate to be perfect; they’re energizing and QUIET! Sure, I’ve brought little baggies of roasted soynuts before, but I make sure to leave the room to munch them. Crinkly bags of chips and loud crunching are no-no’s, and yet there’s inevitably someone who seems not to notice the ruckus he’s causing with his impolite snacking. I won’t name any names. The rest of us know who you are.

Round 2. All the favorites had won their first games as expected, save for Brad who was unexpectedly held to a draw (we’ll see how I fared against the same potential spoiler in Part 2). So, now, with the crosstable split in half by rating, I was pared against a teenager only 100 points higher. It was to be my only game as Black and my only win!

Perhaps not a spotless game, but I’m really proud of this effort due to its fighting nature and extremely difficult defense. It took almost the entire six hours allotted and pushed dinner to 10 PM. The game with Curdo had been the first to complete in the Open section. I believe this was the last in the 2nd round. There was another board still going in the room housing the upper boards, but I think they were in the U1900 section.