Today we had a very relaxed tournament, with 34 participants split into 8 sections. Because we only had one Game 45 section, the spotlight was on our less experienced players. This will not be the case next week, however, as many of our players will either be returning from nationals in Baltimore or will be returning to make their monthly appearance in the ICA Open. But today, we have two submitted games to display from two decisive players. In addition, we have full commentary from a debutant about the tournament experience as a whole.
Our first set of winners were James Kim, Pranav Dalal, and Mason Chang. While James and Pranav each won 2/3 in Section 8, Mason won all three games in Section 6! Both players felt the tournament was well organized as each match proved to be a challenge. In addition, James wrote a brief report about his experience with the help of Mason, who actually recommended the tournament to him:
Although James’s first match was intense, he was able to get the upper hand and win the game. In the 2nd match, however, he bottled a game in which he was up a full bishop: a costly mistake led to a mate in one. This meant all of the players were tied on one point each. As a result, a win for any player would earn them $30, while a loss would mean they go empty handed. So naturally, after James was losing the whole game, his opponent blundered checkmate! This moment, combined with Pranav’s win in the other match, meant the prize was shared between the aforementioned players! We are happy to report James enjoyed the tournament and will definitely come back again!
Meanwhile, after navigating his way through the first two matches, Mason walked his knight right into a fork in the decisive game against Jude! According to Mason, “That’s when his self-esteem decreased and his confidence went from 7 to 0.” After lots of moves of low-self esteem chess and simplification, Mason set up a pin with 26. Qa3. Jude easily evaded the pin by moving away both the queen and the knight. However, Jude found the wrong square for the knight: after taking the pawn on c4, Mason responded with 30. Rxc4. On the surface, it seems he blundered the exchange. However, if the rook were to take back, Qf8 is checkmate. So Mason was able to use this leverage to get his queen in enemy territory and pick off the a and b pawns. After it was clear nothing would stop the two passed pawns, Jude resigned, giving Mason the victory!
Our final game was submitted by Section 4 winner Kahan Shah, who has lots of history in my recent reports: the first time he won all three games, he submitted his game to me, assuming I would shower him with praise. However, I would end up publicly bashing his match in my report for all my readers to see! He and his father wound up enjoying the brutal analysis, so it would become tradition that Kahan would submit a match whenever he won all three, and I would publicly criticize him. In this decisive match against Maxim Swinton, however, I have nothing negative to say about Kahan.
Kahan won a pawn by move six after playing the four knights, followed by black’s variation of the Ruy Lopez. As many players know, losing a pawn early on in the Ruy Lopez means nothing in the greater context of the match - permitted both players play well. Max, however, put himself in deep trouble by taking his pieces on a safari. First, every move from 8 to 10 was with the light squared bishop: it went to d3 to attack the knight, then back to c4 to retreat, and all the way to e2 to retreat again! Meanwhile, Kahan was able to gain complete control of the center - all while up a pawn. Max then took his knight on a safari - moving it from f3 to g5 to the dreaded h3 square. After Max offered a bishop for knight trade, Kahan used his extra tempos to create a checkmate threat and move his pieces closer to the exposed white king. Finally, the pressure gave out and mate was unstoppable.
A special mention goes to Section 7 winner Benjamin Gorenberg. After winning all three games, rather than giving a profound interview like the other players in my report, he jokingly demanded his money right away in cash! Maybe we will have to wait for him to get older until he talks more during the interview instead of during the match!
Congratulations to all winners: click HERE to view rating reports!
Our next Quads will be held next Saturday, May 20. Click HERE to register!
In addition, the Dr. David Ostfeld Memorial ICA Championships at Bergen County Acadmies will be returning on June 4! Click HERE for more information!
Lastly, we will be hosting the ICA Open Championship next Saturday! Click HERE to register!
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