Last game for a while...

Official game, at least. I may post some ICC games if I play any worth showing. This is the game that put me over 1800. Also another successful outing for the Krasenkow variation (sort of, technically it was an Old Indian not a KID, but very similar play and themes), which I've just picked up. My opponent was game, but he missed the strong 23. Qg5 and after that he was in trouble. This game was also notable for me because I spent about 30 minutes on one move (26. Qf6), which is by far the longest I've ever taken on a single move. It felt great when I got home and Fritzed it and the computer confirmed my OTB analysis. I spent most of the game way up on time, but by the end we were both low and scrambling a bit. Here it is:

Rampley-1615.pgn


So this is probably my last post for a while, at least about chess. My family arrives tomorrow, I have pre-surgical consultations Thursday, and then Friday's the big day. I have to be there at 5:30 a.m, but at least I'm the first one of the day. Shouldn't be any delays.

Hopefully by early next week I'll be eating again. The hospital's very boring, so I may post something in a Demerol haze just for kicks. As I often tell people (truthfully) on ICC, don't judge me; I'm wasted.

It's Official...

I'm over 1800. I played my first chess tournament in January of 2007. I think that's decent progress. I ended 2008 at about 1700 and my goal for 2009 was to reach 1800. I guess now I just have to maintain it. In fact, I expect that I'll lose some points soon since this point gain was largely based upon favorable pairings and one draw that I should have lost. Even so, I'm playing my best chess ever.

Unfortunately, I have to take a forced break due to a major surgery I have coming up. I'm writing this post on my wife's computer so I can't post my last game from the SFCC tournament, though I will at some point because it had a cute finish. Wish me luck at the hospital. I go under the knife Friday.

Last thing: I have to wonder how much of this is regional differences in relative rating strength. I've basically gained 100 points since moving to Florida.

And So It Goes...

First lost in Florida. I got into a very tactical position against a teenage master. I'll let you guess what happened. I got to learn me some English theory, because I was in trouble pretty early. I played all right, but I was simply outclassed. It never ceases to amaze me how much more masters see than class players. A large part of this is because they look.

If that sounds trite, it's not meant to be. Just look at the differences in time usage between D players, B players, and Experts/Masters. The higher rated players take so much more time than the lower rated ones, and GMs take even more. It never ceases to amaze me when I read that some GM (Ivanchuk being a good example) is in time trouble on move 25, especially considering that many games at that level are theory until move 15 or beyond. That means that they are spending about 12-15 minutes on average on each move. That's a lot of time. At first I assumed it was because strong players look deeper, but the more GM annotations I read the more I came to think it's that they look more broadly. In my game, for example, I looked 4 or 5 moves deep several times, and then my opponent played a move I hadn't considered. Good moves, too. Moves I should have considered. I correctly calculated the lines I looked at (based on Fritz analysis), but I didn't look at enough lines. I ignored some viable options of my opponent, as well as viable options of my own. Only two or three moves were my downfall in this game, and I didn't even look at any of them. That's not to say I wouldn't have lost anyway, but it would have taken longer. Probably until I overlooked another move. With all that preamble, here the (short) game.

2250-Rampley.pgn


So there it is. My first Florida loss. Bound to happen eventually, and at least it wasn't to another B player, or worse, someone lower rated than I. And hey, now I have some directions for my studies. So it goes.

And by the way, congrats to Karjakin for playing some fighting chess at Corus. Bravo. I hope the invite Dominguez next year as well. And how about our boy Caruana, doing the Carlsen and going from the C group to the A group in two years. I hope he's ready by the time he gets there (though he is higher rated already than all three Dutchmen who performed just fine this year).

The Streak just keeps rolling, sort of...

I did draw another game at the Boca Chess Club, but I was busted the whole time. Still, i'll take it.

1819-Rampley.pgn


So that was that game. That's some bullshit, frankly, I felt bad for my opponent but what the hell. So it goes some times. As it happened, I went to a quick tournament the next day and went on complete tilt. Lost the same way in the opening in the first round of that tourney as I got busted in the above game. I lost to an unrated guy who lied about his abilities, but even worse I lost to like a 1200 player because I was so frustrated. Horrible. I'm drunk now, so that's fine, and my regular rating went from 1708 to 1772 from the Boca tourney. Not so bad for one tournament. The quick one was a side show, but it still hurts. I hate losing like that. In other news, surgery AGAIN on the 20th, hopefully after that I'll be done with all these intestinal problems. Eventually I'll have to start searching for a job in earnest. C'est la vie. Be well.

What do you know? I won again...

...against another 'A' player. I was told that both the one I beat tonight and the one I beat Wednesday are both just returning to chess, but I really don't care too much. There are always mitigating circumstances for a loss, right? I'm pretty sure it was Tal who said 'I've never beaten a healthy opponent'.

In any case, after three rounds I'm +3=0-0 in the BRCC tournament. Pretty good stuff so far. This game I played tonight may be the best one I've ever played, and it almost didn't happen. When the King's Indian came onto the board, I couldn't decide if I should play the Bayonet, which I've played unsuccesfully for a while but know pretty well, or the Krasenkow variation, which I've been studying and want to pick up but have never played. I went with the Krasenkow, and it was a beautiful game. Here it is.

Rampley-1856.pgn


So there it is. I feel like I'm playing the best chess of my life here in South Florida. The two long games a week are just the right amount, much better for development than 5 games in a weekend tournament. Being unemployed and studying a lot help too.

Just for a bonus, and because he asked me to post it, here's a game I played at the SFCC a few weeks ago against a dangerous 'C' player. I was lucky to draw this one.

1551-Rampley.pgn


So that one wasn't so great for, but at least I didn't lose it. Keep your eyes on Corus. The games in the lower groups are often more fun to watch than 2700+ guys drawing each other.

The Streak Continues...

...despite mounting opposition. I am still unbeaten in rated games in Florida. Today I beat a strong A-player rated 1956. I think this is the biggest upset of my short chess career. I played well with only a few major errors. Here's the game:

1956-TR.pgn


So I still haven't lost in Florida. This can't go on, and since I will play players stronger than me in the next round of both club tournaments I don't think it will unless I've made some quantum leap in strength (this is unlikely since I am still inhabiting only my own body. Hah.). Did I mention my opponent tonight was the 1st seed in the tournament? A good victory, though winning on time is not as satisfying as mate or a resignation (though I suppose time wins often are the equivalent of a long, drawn out resignation like tonight's game was). I hope this train keeps on rolling.

Finally, a New Post (with a new game!)

So guess what? I won a big $10 in Boca Raton playing chess. I sometimes tell people I'm semi-professional, which is technically true since I play for money. That's how I get them to leave me alone when I study at Panera. I did get to play a Cuban guy (at random) who was not bad, we played some blitz and I think it was +2=3-1 for me. I feel like I'm getting better. Lots of studying. It's funny, in most things I find that getting good is not a question of figuring out some 'secret', but rather of taking the time to learn a whole lot of individual aspects of a topic. In chess for instance, there's not some magic prescription for excellence. You just learn a lot of openings, lots of typical middlegames, lots of endgames, and that's how you get good. Music is the same way. You just learn a lot of songs, progressively raising the difficulty, and 'BOOM' you're good. That's what it means to be good. Just like in chess, being good isn't abstract. You learn how to play a shit ton of different positions, and that IS being good. I'm not really good yet, but I'm getting better. Here's a game I played this week in Boca. It was my first game against an opponent of my level in Florida, but I maintained my unbeaten streak in this state. Next week I think I'll get fed to an A player, and that will probably be the end of that little run. Look through the game and you'll see why I was so pleased with myself after it.

Klionsky-TR.pgn


So there you go. I played hard, and even though I blundered and gave away a pawn I didn't give up. I've been a lot better since I started concieving chess as a fight rather than an art. All I have to do is play better than my opponent. Perfection is great, but not necessary. When you stop expecting perfection, you're results improve. Maybe it's just me.