In Summer 2011, I'd been working hard with two part-time jobs besides chess. Taking advantage of school break, I tried to get involved in any chess activities as much as i could. One of the most intensive event was that I had a great opportunity to participate in Mechanics chess club summer camp leaded by GM Nick de Firmian (3-time US Champion) and IM John Donaldson (US Olympic Team Captain) in San Francisco. The camp was great experience! Thanks to John and Anthony! :-)
By the way, another awesome event was IM John Donaldsan invited me to participate GM Akobian's lecture in Berkeley chess school. Here is the link about that lecture in Dana's blog. /http://www.danamackenzie.com/blog/?p=1118/ "Perhaps the most interesting participant was Uyanga Byambaa, who is originally from Mongolia but now going to college in the San Francisco area. She has been recruited by John Donaldson to play for the San Francisco Mechanics in the US Chess League! Her rating is still in the expert range (perfect for a fourth board in the US Chess League) but Robin tells me she is improving rapidly. Specifically, he said, she loves to attack. “If you ever play her, trade queens,” he advised.'"(Master class article by Dana Mackenzie).

With that great experiences, I played in 2011 MI (Mechanics Institute) Round Robin, organized by Antony Corrales, in top seed Sevan Buscara (2258 fide) from France with couple National masters and several strong Experts. I did pretty good performance by 5.5 out of 9 games and reached my Fide rating (international rating) 2125, which was my highest.

Right after I played my last match of this tournament, I flew to New York to play Manhattan open. I didn't even plan to play this tournament because of being so busy with work. Coincidentally, one of my cousins, Tuya Batkhurel, who is Mongolian and student from Japan just graduated master degree in University of Florida and moved to NY and invited me to hang out with her there. That was so great news that I was looking forward to see my lovely cousin in one of the most fantastic cities in the world, New York city.

Manhattan Open 2011

"The Manhattan Open was held from August 17-21, 2011 at the New Yorker Hotel, 481 8th Ave at 34th St. (across from Penn Station), New York, NY.

IM Vladimir Romanenko and GM Alex Shabalov finished tied at the top of the Open Section, both finishing with an unbeaten 7/9. Romanenko led the tournament from start to finish and was only caught by Shabalov after he drew his final game with GM Giorgi Kacheishvili and Shabalov beat GM Alex Lenderman." (Continental Chess Association website)

Please visit the following links for more information regarding the Manhattan Open: http://chesstournamentservices.com/cca/manhattan-open/

First Day in Manhattan open: (Section Under 2100)

Ready to play my first round /U2100/

Round 1 /two lefties lol/

Byambaa, Uyanga (2070) vs Cartase, Anthony (1945)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Bd3 Nf6 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Be3 Bd6 9.Nxc6 dxc6 10.f4 e5 11.f5 b5 12.a3 Bd7 13.Qf3 h5 14.h3 Rb8 15.Qg3 Kf8 16.Rfd1 a5 17.Qf2 c5 18.Bxb5 Rxb5 19.Rxd6 Qxd6 20.Nxb5 Qc6 21.Bxc5+ Kg8 22.Nc3 Nxe4 23.Nxe4 Qxe4 24.f6 Rh6 25.fxg7 Rg6 26.Rd1 Be6 27.Rd2 Kxg7 28.Re2 Qd5 29.Rxe5 Qd7 30.Bd4 Kf8 31.Rxh5 Bd5 32.Rh8+ Ke7 33.Bc5+ Ke6 34.Qe3+ Kf5 35.Rh5+ Kf6 36.Bd4# 1-0

I was happy that I finished my first game without any trouble and still there was a plenty of time until my next round. So, I started to hang out and tried to use my time effectively but this wasn't a really good idea. I should've taken it easy lol. Despite the fact that, my cousin and I were going to exciting sightseeing places in NY and had a super fun!


after the first round, on top of the Empire State Building

A view from the Top of the Empire State Building, NY, Manhattan

After I had great time, I realized that I was so tired. From back in California, I'd been staying up late at night so often, playing tournaments while working without day off, plus, pretty long flight from SF to NY made me really exhausted. This New York trip was actually good opportunity for me to take a vacation to my cousins without worrying anything in CA. But playing tournament is always stressful. I was worried, especially my next round that I was almost falling sleep during the game.
Round 2:

(2) gandhi,ashon (2036) - byambaa,uyanga (2070) [A80]
Manhattan open (2), 19.08.2011

1.d4 f5 2.c3 Nf6 3.Bg5 g6 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.Nd2 d5 6.e3 Bd6 7.Ngf3 c6 8.Bd3 Be6 9.Qb3 Qc7 10.Rc1 Na6 11.0-0 g5 12.e4 f4 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Rfe1+ Kd8 15.c4 Bf7 16.Bf5 b5 17.Be6 Rb8 18.c5 Bxe6 19.cxd6 Bxb3 20.dxc7+ Kxc7 21.Nxb3 Nb4 22.Nc5 Rbe8 1-0

Very disappointing loss. But I had to pull myself together to be ready for next two days. All I needed was go to home, which was in Queens, NY /I was staying with my cousins/ and good sleep. Unfortunately, I couldn't get home until 3 a.m in the morning due to subway problem that first time New Yorkers faced. New place is always adventurous, no complain about it! Next day, I felt comfortable traveling alone in NY and went to tournament by myself.

Second day August 20, 2011 Round 3:

(3) byambaa,uyanga (2070) - a hidalgo,julio(1900) [B04]

Manhattan open (3), 20.08.2011

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 g6 6.Bc4 c6 7.Qf3 Be6 8.Nc3 Bg7 9.Ne4 Nd7 10.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.Nc5 Qd6 12.c3 Bc8 13.0-0 0-0 14.Re1 b5 15.Bxd5 cxd5 16.Bf4 Qd8 17.Qe2 e6 18.Qxb5 Qb6 19.a4 Rd8 20.Red1 Bf8 21.Qxb6 axb6 22.Bc7 bxc5 23.Bxd8 cxd4 24.Rxd4 Bg7 25.Rb4 Bf8 26.Rb6 Bd7 27.Bf6 Bc5 28.Rb7 Bc8 29.Rb5 Bd6 30.a5 Ba6 31.Rb6 Bc5 32.Rc6 Bf8 33.b4 Bb5 34.Rb6 Bc4 35.a6 resign 1-0

Trying to ignore my tiredness and drinking coffee like water, I managed to win the round 3. My opponent was pretty solid player but after losing the exchange, his position was hopeless. Now I got 2 out 3, still had a chance to have a good tournament. Until my next round, I took 30 min walk to the beautiful "Central Park" from "New Yorker hotel", in which tournament held, and did some shopping on the way to get some gifts for my roommates, coworkers and friends in CA. In nice environment in Central park, after enjoying my lunch that I brought, tasty Mongolian food /khuushuur/ made by my cousin, Tuya /thanks for the fabulous lunch you prepared for me/, I took a nap. When I woke up, I was nervous. I overslept. Luckily, I ran fast /even faster than subway lol/ I was late just a little bit.
Round 4:

Position after 24....Rf5

(4) e weiss,loran (1985) - byambaa,uyanga (2070) [A25]
Manhattan open (4), 20.08.2011
1.c4 e5 2.g3 f5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.d3 Nc6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Nd5 0-0 7.Nxe7+ Qxe7 8.Bd2 d6 9.b4 Rb8 10.b5 Nd4 11.e3 Ne6 12.Ne2 f4 13.0-0 Nh5 14.exf4 exf4 15.Nc3 Qf7 16.Bf3 Nf6 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.Bxd5 c6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Bxc6 f3 21.Re1 Bb7 22.Bxb7 Rxb7 23.Be3 Qh5 24.Kh1 Rf5 25.Rg1 Qxh2+ resign 0-1

Pretty good compensation for a pawn. I sacrificed my pawn on queenside to idea of pushing the pawn f4-f3. Therefore, white had a serious light squares problem on his kingside. After few moves, game finished off by cute Queen sacrifice, which forced to mate.

After the game finished of the day, my old friend who lives in NY from California called me up and wanted to see me. It was hard to say to my good friend /we used to work together at restaurant in Berkeley/ whom I haven't seen him a long time "No, I have chess game tomorrow." He understood me very well and we postponed our meeting on the last day of the tournament. Important decision!

Third day, Round 5, August 21, 2012: Had a good sleep and happy!

Postion after 16.Qb7

(5) byambaa,uyanga (2070) - minkin,daniel (1936) [B12]

Manhattan open (5), 21.08.2011

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 [5...Bb4+ 6.c3 Ba5 7.0-0 Ne7 ; 5...Nd7 6.0-0 h5 (6...c5 ) 7.Nc3 Nh6 ]

6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 [7...Qxb2 8.Qb1 Qxc3+ (8...Qxb1+ 9.Rxb1 b6 10.Nb5 Kd8 11.dxc5 bxc5 12.Nd6 Bxd6 13.exd6 ; 8...Qb6 9.dxc5 (9.0-0 c4 ; 9.Bb5+ Nc6 10.0-0 ) 9...Bxc5 10.Bb5+ Kf8 11.Na4 ) 9.Bd2 Qxc2 10.Qxb7 ]

8.0-0 c4 9.Bxc4 dxc4 10.d5 Qxb2 11.dxc6 bxc6 [11...Rd8 12.c7 ]

12.Qd4 Bb4 [12...Bxc2 13.Qxc4 Ne7 14.Nd4 Rd8 ]

13.Rfd1 Qxc3 [13...Kf8 ]

14.Qd7+ Kf8 15.Bd2 Qa3 16.Qb7 resign 1-0

When you have a good sleep and happy, you can crush your opponent like that!

4 out of 5. Not so bad so far. All I need to do was win my last round. Between the round, I was trying to get myself relaxed to get ready for the next round. Learning from my bad experience on the first day, my cousin and I just went to "Bryant part", only 10 min walking distance from hotel, and enjoyed our time. Most chess players would study between the rounds, prepare against their opponents and look up some lines in opening etc. That's something I should consider and learn without any doubt. Frankly speaking, I never studied chess and I didn't even have any chess program on my computer. In addition, I had a very poor knowledge about opening as well as endgame.

That's how I prepared for my decisive last round. I know, I'm a terrible chess player!

Round 6:

last round, toughest one

In last round, I paired against player who had 4.5 out of 5. For him, if he won the game, he would won the tournament with big prize. So, this game worth him like $5000. For me, I've already lost my chance to won the tournament on round two but big hope for tied for second.

Position after 30....Bf5

(6) perry,malik (1926) - byambaa,uyanga (2070) [A87]
Manhattan open (6), 20.08.2011
1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.b3 d6 7.Bb2 c6 8.Nbd2 Qe8 9.c4 h6 10.Qc2 Na6 11.Rae1 Ne4 12.a3 Nxd2 13.Qxd2 e5 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Qc3 Nc5 16.Nd2 Ne6 17.e4 f4 18.c5 Ng5 19.h4 Nh3+ 20.Kh2 fxg3+ 21.fxg3 Nf2 22.Nf3 Ng4+ 23.Kg1 g5 24.hxg5 Qh5 25.Qc4+ Kh7 26.g6+ Qxg6 27.Nh4 Rxf1+ 28.Rxf1 Ne3 29.Qf7 Qxg3 30.Rf6 Bf5 31.Rxf5 Qxh4 32.Rxe5 Qe1+ 33.Bf1 Qg3+ 34.Kh1 Rf8 35.Re7 Rxf7 36.Rxf7 Qh4+ 37.Kg1 Qg5+ 38.Kf2 Nd1+ resign 0-1

At the end of the game, we were both in time trouble and position was complicated enough to make any mistake for either side. Funny enough, part of developing move 30......Bf5, putting my bishop on square that enemy's three pieces /pawn, rook and knight/ can capture, saved my game. After the game, I was so happy about my victory and trying to hide showing my pure ecstasy that I won the game when I was seeing my opponent cry. He said, "I was playing perfectly until this, Congratulations!, You are good player". Even though he lost, he still won some prize though. Overall, in my section, the guy who beat me on round two won the tournament. Congratulations Ashok Gandhi! Here is the final standing:

Manhattan Open 2011 Standings – Under 2100 Section

Final Standings

#	Name	Rtng	St	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Tot	Prize
1	Ashok Gandhi	2038	NJ	W47	W3	W13	D9	W19	W12	5.5	$3500.00
2	Michael L Adarlo	2070	NY	W40	W42	W37	W20	D4	D6	5.0	$882.00
3	Uyanga Byambaa	2070	CA	W77	L1	W71	W54	W22	W11	5.0	$882.00
4	Andrew Liu	2046	MA	W23	D49	W28	W26	D2	W20	5.0	$882.00
5	Michael A Benz	2036	PA	L42	W84	W78	W49	W21	W19	5.0	$882.00
6	Avery Chen	1990	CT	D50	W72	W67	W24	W27	D2	5.0	$882.00
7	Michael Layevskiy	2078	NY	W43	D25	W38	D11	D10	W23	4.5	$175.00
8	Igor Dayen	2060	NY	W44	W36	L20	W39	H—	W26	4.5	$175.00
9	Marc A Jimenez	2039	TX	W84	W78	W57	D1	L11	W27	4.5	$175.00
10	Chen Shijie	1989	CA	L73	W91	W47	W13	D7	W25	4.5	$175.00
11	Malik Perry	1926	NY	W35	W33	W15	D7	W9	L3	4.5	$175.00
12	Kevin L Zhou r/e	1891	VA	H—	W17	W53	W57	W32	L1	4.5	$175.00
13	Gaibo Yan	2095	PA	W75	W34	L1	L10	W54	W39	4.0
14	Will Del Castillo r/e	2070	FL	L19	W46	L42	W73	W43	W41	4.0
15	Nigel Bryant	2051	NY	W91	W18	L11	W64	L20	W28	4.0
16	Edward P Kopiecki	2046	NY	X—	W71	L32	L22	W55	W40	4.0
17	William Graif	2007	NY	D46	L12	W45	H—	W49	W44	4.0
18	Derek H Lyon	1986	IL	W93	L15	L30	W78	X57	W47	4.0
19	Jeffren Viera	1961	NY	W14	W52	W31	W32	L1	L5	4.0
20	Marc Widmaier	1955	NY	X—	W59	W8	L2	W15	L4	4.0
21	Pedro M Perdomo	1947	NY	H—	W81	H—	W60	L5	W37	4.0
22	Daniel Minkin	1937	NY	L59	W86	W33	W16	L3	W38	4.0
23	Frank R Paciulli	1928	NY	L4	W75	W35	W61	W37	L7	4.0
24	Luke Pettersen	2055	NY	H—	W45	W55	L6	H—	D30	3.5
25	William A Turner	2027	OH	W66	D7	W41	L27	W30	L10	3.5
26	Andre E Harding	2006	NY	D72	W76	W51	L4	W48	L8	3.5
27	Roberto Dominguez	2000	NV	D29	W79	W73	W25	L6	L9	3.5
28	Michael Alex Kats	1919	NY	W68	D60	L4	W67	W29	L15	3.5
29	Thomas Knoff	1839	NY	D27	L41	W76	W36	L28	W53	3.5
30	Hal Rives	1778	NY	D39	D64	W18	W62	L25	D24	3.5
31	William S Arluck	2093	NY	H—	W82	L19	W68	H—	U—	3.0
32	Fritz P Gaspard	2079	NY	X—	X61	W16	L19	L12	U—	3.0
33	Zhao Yang Luo	2050	QUE	W74	L11	L22	W75	D42	D45	3.0
34	Alexander Spinnell	2046	NY	X79	L13	H—	L41	W73	D48	3.0
35	Zachary H Cohn	2033	NY	L11	W70	L23	W77	L47	W66	3.0
36	Danilo Concepcion	2025	NY	W56	L8	H—	L29	W71	D50	3.0
37	David Asunc Apelo	2011	NY	W65	W48	L2	W42	L23	L21	3.0
38	Rob Feldstein Esq r/e	2000	NY	H—	W85	L7	W51	D41	L22	3.0
39	Yefrem Zats	1984	NY	D30	W50	D60	L8	X58	L13	3.0
40	David Miller	1972	PA	L2	L69	W65	W74	W59	L16	3.0
41	Aravind* Kumar	1963	NJ	D51	W29	L25	W34	D38	L14	3.0
42	Michael Ainsworth	1959	NY	W5	L2	W14	L37	D33	D51	3.0
43	Ethan R Segall	1953	CT	L7	W66	D58	D59	L14	W60	3.0
44	Serge Adelson	1944	NJ	L8	W56	D59	D58	W60	L17	3.0
45	Gennadiy Reznikov r/e	1937	NY	H—	L24	L17	W56	W68	D33	3.0
46	Alanna Katz	1936	NY	D17	L14	W84	H—	D53	H—	3.0
47	Josh E Conley Sr	1903	PA	L1	W77	L10	W63	W35	L18	3.0
48	Jacob Berman	1886	NY	B—	L37	W63	H—	L26	D34	3.0
49	Eric Zhang	1867	NY	W86	D4	D61	L5	L17	W63	3.0
50	Taner Ture	1831	NY	D6	L39	W79	D53	D52	D36	3.0
51	Oliver P Lombardi	1644	PA	D41	X—	L26	L38	W75	D42	3.0
52	Alex Eydelman	2071	CT	W69	L19	L54	H—	D50	H—	2.5
53	George Olte r/e	2011	CT	X—	D55	L12	D50	D46	L29	2.5
54	Loren E Weiss	1985	NY	L57	W65	W52	L3	L13	D55	2.5
55	Daniel Kostovetsky	1890	NY	W87	D53	L24	H—	L16	D54	2.5
56	Zachary Tanenbaum	1890	CT	L36	L44	H—	L45	W72	W74	2.5
57	Daniel Vulis	2096	NY	W54	W62	L9	L12	U—	U—	2.0
58	Shaun M Smith	2081	NY	D64	D73	D43	D44	U—	U—	2.0
59	Joel A Pena	2057	NJ	W22	L20	D44	D43	L40	U—	2.0
60	Nallus Velmurugan	2050	NJ	W70	D28	D39	L21	L44	L43	2.0
61	Edward A Frumkin r/e	2038	NY	W89	H—	D49	L23	U—	U—	2.0
62	Oswaldo Fernandez	2000	CT	W92	L57	W69	L30	U—	U—	2.0
63	Joseph W Lux r/e	2000	NJ	H—	H—	L48	L47	W65	L49	2.0
64	Max Steinberg	1967	NY	D58	D30	W74	L15	U—	U—	2.0
65	Paul R Joseph r/e	1940	NJ	L37	L54	L40	W72	L63	W75	2.0
66	Edgar Cimafranca	1924	NY	L25	L43	L77	B—	X76	L35	2.0
67	Geronimo Albano	2053	NY	W90	H—	L6	L28	U—	U—	1.5
68	Ilan Kreitner	2000	NY	L28	H—	W72	L31	L45	U—	1.5
69	Jack Hutton	1972	NY	L52	W40	L62	D71	U—	U—	1.5
70	Anthony F Greco	1939	NY	L60	L35	L75	H—	W79	U—	1.5
71	Julio A Hidalgo	1900	NY	W88	L16	L3	D69	L36	U—	1.5
72	Harrison M Smart	1849	NY	D26	L6	L68	L65	L56	W80	1.5
73	Chris Chanin	1789	NY	W10	D58	L27	L14	L34	U—	1.5
74	Timothy C Hoang	1779	NJ	L33	W90	L64	L40	H—	L56	1.5
75	Matthew Masino	1958	NY	L13	L23	W70	L33	L51	L65	1.0
76	Marian Waxman	1955	NY	D81	L26	L29	D79	F66	U—	1.0
77	Anthony Cortese	1943	NY	L3	L47	W66	L35	U—	U—	1.0
78	Jasmine Chen	1924	NY	W83	L9	L5	L18	U—	U—	1.0
79	Eve V Litvak	1919	NJ	H—	L27	L50	D76	L70	U—	1.0
80	Gerald Yellen	1610	NY	H—	H—	U—	U—	U—	L72	1.0
81	Will Del Castillo	2070	FL	D76	L21	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.5
82	John Mich Curcuru r/e	2000	NC	H—	L31	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.5
83	Joseph W Lux	2000	NJ	L78	H—	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.5
84	Brandon Nydick	1960	NY	L9	L5	L46	H—	U—	U—	0.5
85	Robert A Denunzio	1866	CT	H—	L38	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.5
86	George Olte	2011	CT	L49	L22	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.0
87	John Mich Curcuru	2000	NC	L55	U—	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.0
88	Robert A Feldstein Esq	2000	NY	L71	U—	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.0
89	Rob Feldstein r/e	2000	NY	L61	U—	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.0
90	Paul R Joseph	1940	NJ	L67	L74	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.0
91	Gennadiy Reznikov	1937	NY	L15	L10	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.0
92	Kevin L Zhou	1891	VA	L62	U—	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.0
93	Thomas S Levine	1866	NY	L18	U—	U—	U—	U—	U—	0.0