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| A view from the hotel room on 15th floor of Sands regency |
I'd highly recomment everyone to read Lisa, a chess novel. It's a great book. I really loved it.
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| Lisa, a chess novel on my lap :) |
To Uyanga
who inspired me with a chessboard
in the basement of Berkeley Public library!
Jesse Kraai
When Lisa studied with Igor secretly using the money she won from the tournament, it reminded me that I used to go to chess club secretly in Mongolia when I was in middle school because my parents wouldn’t let me pursue chess. I'd pay my teacher using the lunch money I saved everyday instead of eating lunch at the school.
I finished the tournament very poorly, scored 3 out of 6 in the expert section. Here is some of my games of the tournament.
Round 1: SAMIR ALAZAWI (2003) - UYANGA BYAMBAA (2075) 10/18/13
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| Position after 26. Bd3 /Find the best shot for black/ |
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 Kings Indian main line, classical variatian 7.0-0 [7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Nxe5 Nxe4 Note that 10.Nxf7 impossible because of 10...Bxc3+] 7...Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 There are many possible moves here for white. The most common are b4 or Nd2 9...Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 Nf6? I already made a serious mistake giving up the c5 square too early. 13. g5 supposed to be played. 13.c5 g5 14.Rc1 Ng6 15.cxd6 cxd6 Houdini proves that white already have decisive advantage (+-1.45) 16.Nb5 Rf7 17.Qc2 Ne8 Not the best defense. 17...b6 is neccessary stopping Nxa7. I didn't think losing a7 pawn was a big deal. Certainly, this wasn't the case in which typical KID black launches kingside attack whitout caring the a7 pawn. Unfortunaly, my queenside fell apart too fast even before my kingside attack starts. 18.Nxa7 Bd7 19.Qb3 g4 A little hope! Seeking for some kind of counterplay. 20.fxg4 Nf6 21.Bb6 Qb8 22.Nb5 Nxe4 Still white has +-(2.00) advantage according to Houdini. 23.Bc7? almost any move is good, but this wasn't accurate. 23...Qc8 24.Qc2 Bxb5 25.Bxb5 Rxa2 Make sense to gain my pawn back and get rid of his passed pawn. However I completely missed 25..f3! idea [25...f3 26.Qxe4 (26.Nxf3 Qxg4 27.Nd2 Nxd2 28.Qxd2 Nf4+/=) 26...Rxc7] 26.Bd3? Gives me chance to equalize! 26...Nf6?? I was thinking about 26..Nd2! a long time. For some reason I rejected it and played this horrible move instead :( [26...Nd2! 27.Bf5 (27.Qxd2 Rxc7; 27.Rf2 e4 28.Rxd2 Rxb2 29.Bxe4 Rxc2 30.Rdxc2 Qxg4=/+) 27...Rxc7 28.Bxc8 Rxc2 29.Rxc2 Nxf1 30.Kxf1=] 27.Bxd6 We both missed crushing 27.Bf5 black would have completely lost after that. 27...Qxc2 28.Rxc2 Nxg4 29.Ba3? I was somehow releaved. I equalized it. [29.Rc8+ Nf8 30.Nf3+/-] 29...Ne3 [29...e4 30.Bxe4 Bd4+ 31.Kh1 Ne3© Nice compensation for the pawn.] 30.Rc8+ Bf8 31.Nc2 Nxf1 32.Kxf1 Kg7 33.Bc4 Rxa3 34.Nxa3 Ne7? Bad move caused by miscalculation. [34...Bxa3 35.bxa3 Much better than what I did! Position is totally equal. The reason I didn't play is maybe I was scared to draw. I just hate draws. That's obvoisly not good attitute if the position calls for a draw. Overaggresiveness is what kills me the most. Once i know I equalized the position, I start thinking about winning. Not good!] 35.Rc7 Rf6 36.Nb5 Kh6 37.Rxb7 Nf5 38.b3 Crazy, houdini thinks after this move white doesn't have any advantage. I had no idea that i still had some chance to save the game. 38...Ne3+ 39.Kf2 e4? Last serious mistake that caused to lose. [39...Rg6 40.Kf3 Rxg2 Unbelievable, this is pretty close to draw.] 40.Nc3 He eventually went on and win the game. The endgame was tough to hold. *
No fun to began the tournament losing the first round, but it was quite a fighting game. I fought back hard untuil I blundered the equal endgame.
Round 2: UYANGA BYAMBAA (2075) - RANDALL D HOUGH (2033) 10/18/13
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| Position after 32...f6 |
We reached this interesting endgame after move 32. My evalution of the postion was favorable for white until I realized his passed pawn on the queenside can be very dangerous.
33.gxf6+ Kxf6 Oh boy! He's gonna have a passed pawn supported by his rook and king. I don't think i have a way to stop that except I could sacrifice one of my miner pieces. 34.Nd2 Not the best! 34.Bd7 is more accurate! 35...g5 3.hxg5+? Again, 35. Bd7 is almost stops blacks's dangerous pawn. Now black has a good chance to win. [35.Bd7 gxh4 36.Nf3=] 36...Kxg5 36.Bd7 Now, it's a little too late :( 36...Kf4 37.Bf5 h4 38.Kc2 h3 39.Nf1 h2 40.Nxh2 Rxh2+ 41.Kb3 Re2? [41...Ke3 wins] 42.a4 ba 43.ab Rxe4 44.Bxe4 Kxe4 45.Kc4 rest is forced draw. *
A perfect example of how rook can dominate two miner pieces. it's amazing how this position can be turn around and white is the only one who fights for the draw.
In Round 3, I won with white scoring my first full point.
Round 4: PHILIP IRWIN (1905) - UYANGA BYAMBAA (2075) 10/19/13
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| Position after 39. Qg6+ |
Tip: Don't go into the king and pawn ending unless you are hundred percent sure that you'll win.
After the game, I was really disappointed with myself. I could've played much better the entire time. Due to my laziness, carelessness and impatience, I threw the win away. I was really upset. Perhaps I let my emotions effect my performance in the next round which resulted in a loss. Overall, 2 losses, 2 draws and 2 wins, which cost me (-30) rating points.
In the Open section of Western State Open, GM Jesse Kraai, GM Alexander Ivanov, GM Melikset Khachiyan, GM Sergey Kudrin, GM Enrico Sevillano, and FM/SM Ronald Cusi scored 4.5 out of 6.
Congratulations GM Jesse Kraai who won the playoff!
Also, congratulations to my friend Cailen Melville who won the B section!
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| Cailen /left/, Bryon /right/ |
My Reno tournament experiences go way back. For some reason, I have always had a bad tournament in Reno although I enjoy going every time. Sadly This Western State open may be my last tournament in Reno even though it has been a great tournament and a great place!
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| The first time in reno, October 2011 |
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| Larry Evans memorial, April 2013 /Playing against 6-time US Champoin GM Walter Brown/ |
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| Enjoying the beautiful Lake Tahoe |
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| Enjoying the view of the Lake |
