Well, I managed to make a pretty decent showing this past weekend ...

2.0/4.0 ... There was no class prize so after my first loss I was playing for rating points. I beat Jerry Baker a Lexington expert in round two but in the final round I made a gross blunder in a winning position against near expert Billy Woodward (look up 'spilled milk' in any dictionary and you'll find this game referenced). Ah, well, there's always next time. Check out the tournament crosstable.

That's right ... I was the Assistant TD (thanks to a last minute recruitment from Jerry). I wonder what it takes now to bump my TD level to Local?

This weekend I'll be headed to a chess tournament and that can only mean three things ...

1. I'm looking for rating points.

2. I'm not worried about silly things like money.

3. As usual, I'll provide anyone who asks with my autograph.

Yesterday afternoon I played in the first $100 Gothic Chess Tournament that I was able to attend. Actually, I just heard about the weekly Monday tournaments last week so it was the first I even knew about. I'm pretty rusty at Gothic Chess but I did manage to make it to the final. Some chessplayers are outright hostile to variants but I invite all variants because I think we can learn more about chess through them. Anyway, here is my game from round one ...

Crock(me) - zoine(opponent)
gothic-chess.com
Monday Tournament(G/15+15) Round 1
July 21, 2008

1.d4 Nh6 2.Nh3 g6 3.i3 d5 4.Bi2 Nc6 5.c3 e5 6.e3 exd4 7.exd4 Cxe1+ 8.Qxe1 i6 9.f3 Bi7 10.Af2 Bf5 11.O-O Ne7 12.Bf4 j5 13.j4 Qd7 14.Ng1 Bxi2 15.Nxi2 Nhf5 16.Bxi7 Axi7 17.g4 Ng7 18.Ae3 Axe3 19.Qxe3 O-O-O 20.Na3 a6 21.Rae1 Rje8 22.Qh6 Ne6 23.Qxh7 Nf4 24.Rhg1 Ng8 25.Nc2 Nf6 26.Qh6 Qd6 27.Nh4 Rh8 28.Qg7 Nh3+ 29.Kh1 Nxg1 30.Kxg1 Qf4 31.Re7 Rhe8 32.Ng2 Qc1+ 33.Re1 Rxe1+ 34.Ncxe1 Nd7 35.Qxf7 g5 36.Qxd5 Nb6 37.Qf5+ Kb8 38.Qc2 Qa1 39.Kf2 Re8 40.Nd3 Qh1 41.Ne5 Qxh2 42.Qg6 Rh8 43.Qxg5 Qh7 44.Qf6 Qi7 45.g5 Rh2 46.Kg3 Qh7 47.Nh4 Rxb2 48.g6 1-0

Well, I've been mulling over an idea given to me by another chess blogger. Namely, running an improved version of the 'Chess Blog Carnival'. A few months ago I hadn't even heard of a Blog Carnival but this subject came up at a time I had been looking into it and I see it as a sign. I'm going to be looking further into this topic but past chess blog carnivals have failed for one big reason ... participation. I know I'm dependable ... but what about other bloggers? I'll be looking into it.

The best players in the state of Kentucky are mostly experts. That's a sad state of affairs but it's the 'meta-game' I'm living in today. Maintaining my 1800 rating has been somewhat of an uphill battle (mostly consisting of me losing rating points to 1600s and beating or drawing experts in alternating events). As B.Bell said ...

Lower rated players may not play well but their ideas can be just as profound as the masters.

Source:Chess Samizdat

That phrase applies to every player here in Kentucky. They may not have high ratings but they certainly have some profound grasp of chess that a player who wishes to beat them must overcome. I've always done better in national tournaments than at home and I plan on making a run for master in the near future. Now that Kentucky's players are rising in rating somewhat due to the efforts of Davis Whaley I think other players, such as myself, have a better chance at the title. Go Davis!