Tuesday, October 26, 2010

US Game/60 Tournament

I had a little success this weekend in the US Game/60 Tourney scoring 3/4 to tie for third in the Reserve section (U1800). It's always nice to get a check at the end of a tournament. I went up to Illinois to visit the family and decided to spend a day playing. As a bonus I ran into a group of guys my age who spent some time reminiscing about all the old clubs and chess haunts of our youth. The tourney facilities were okay. I'm at that age where good lighting is getting more important. Right after the start of the 2nd round the folks in the banquet room next door to the tournament room started their "Tribute to Barry White" with a booming bass line. Perhaps the hotel personnel need a future reminder that chess tournaments and music festivals don't mix well. Best of all I picked up just enough rating points to sneak back over 1700 to 1701.

The Saturday before last I had played in the Austin Kids Tourney and flamed out badly. I dropped almost 40 points to 1690. Hopefully just an off day but they seem to be occurring more frequently as of late. Last year around this time I had just punched through the 1800 barrier and was sitting on 1803. My goal for 2011 is to play much more often, preferably in slower time control events and regain the 1800+ level.

I'm back to skipping between about half a dozen books and magazines instead of concentrating on my list. Time to buckle down and prepare for 2011.