2009 Saskatchewan Open

Here are my initial thoughts on the tournament. I will update it later this week and post more comments and all my games. (Edited comment I've added my games now)

Round 1
Bye
I had known about the tourney for some time and had pre-registrared but I didn’t really decide until the vary last moment to go. I had been thinking about taking the whole family and staying in a hotel. That way the kids could play in the unrated active while I played in the Open section – heck, maybe even my wife could be convinced to play in the unrated. On Friday though, I found out the kids were not that keen on the trip, which is unusual since they always enjoy staying in a hotel. So it was on to option two, where I go by myself, but I would only do this if I had a place to billet, since I’m too cheap to spend $$ on a hotel by myself. Around midnight on Friday I sent an email to the organiser asking if there was a billet still available and went to sleep. When I woke up Tyler had replied they would find me a spot so I packed my bags and headed east at 10:00 am Alberta time. The first round had already started so I had to rush to make the second round. 0.5/1

Round 2
Black vs. Micah Hughey 2190
After arriving I had 15 minutes to see who my opponent was and prepare something plus I had to go to the bathroom. While sitting there thinking I decided not to play the line I had looked at two days earlier when I looked at my previous game with Micah and instead would play a Scandinavian. The reason was that with his superior opening knowledge, I thought it would be better to avoid openings with tons of theory and hundreds of possible traps to fall into. I have only played the Scandinavian in online speed games before and chose the Nf6 line rather than capturing with the Queen because it is rarer. It quickly transposed into a Caro-Kann and even though I was in uncharted territory for myself, I think I played a great game. I gradually took the initiative and I knew I had the advantage when he offered a draw. I didn’t think my advantage was decisive so I accepted because I felt a draw against a 2190 payer is a good start for the tournament. 1/2


2009-01-sask1 Micah.pgn



Round 3
White vs. Igor Moshynskyy 1490.
I didn’t know what opening to expect but he played a Philidor. He sacked a pawn in the opening but only had minuscule compensation for it. Eventually reached a B+6p vs. N+5p ending. Came up with a plan to exchange pawns on the kingside so that I could penetrate with my K and help my passed pawn queen. It worked but I’m not sure if it was the best plan as it’s usually better to have pawns on both sides of the board when you have the B. 2/3


2009-01-sask2 Igor.pgn



Round 4
Black vs. Jamin Gluckie 2103, (my nemesis)
Found out at the bar on Saturday night that he was my opponent.
I hadn’t prepared anything against Jamin before the tournament. In fact, the people that I did look at their games the week before (Keith, Roy, Micah) I either didn’t play or changed my mind at the last minute, so I spent 20 min preparing something before going to sleep. At the time I thought this was one of the best games I’ve played but after Fritz looked at it I'm not so sure.
Jamin missed a couple of moves. The first time was after several exchanges where I take a pawn rather than retreat my bishop. If he takes the B with his queen he’ll leave his own B hanging. He ended up with some compensation as my position was cramped and defensive for some time but eventually I was able to free myself and hang onto my extra passed pawn. The second time was my Qb3 move which attacked his a4 pawn but more importantly allowed me to put my rook on d1. When I saw this move I saw that if I wanted to I could force the exchange of all the major pieces and leave just a B+6p vs N+5p endgame. I thought my chances of winning that were pretty good and I would eliminate any chance of losing and remove the possibility of any perpetual checks with his queen so that’s what I did. I should have taken more time before exchanging the queens and I would have seen that he had no good move to make and I could have just started marching my passed pawn to it’s queening square. After exchanging queens I was unable to find a way to march my passed pawn with out letting his N ravage my other pawns so I repeated some moves and accepted his draw offer. After the game Jamin was pretty sure I could still win by triangulating my King and the manouvering him into Zugzwang I think he was right but I will check with fritz. 2.5/4


2009-01-sask3 Jamin.pgn


Round 5
White vs. Rick Pedersen 1908
Jamin decided to withdraw after the fourth round and that changed my pairing from a 1350 player to Rick. I also thought about withdrawing too but I have never played Rick before and since I was playing very well I figured I better keep going. I quickly looked up a few of Rick’s games on the database and saw that he played a Pirc frequently. I have never played against a Pirc before so I planned on playing solid moves and decided I would accept an early draw if it was offered. Unfortunately Rick was in the running for prize money and was out for my kings blood. I played too quickly, maybe because it was the final round, and too passively. Plus I made the mistake to castle long which didn’t match the passive way I played the game. I opened up a file for his rook and then was killed in a typical queen + rook + rook attack. I could see the end coming for quite a while but couldn’t find the moves to prevent it. The only good thing was that it was over quickly and I got home at a reasonable hour. 2.5/5


2009-01-sask4 Rick.pgn



Overall I was very happy with my play, except for the last game. I played new openings for me in almost every game and for the most part played them well. On the other hand I realized there is a couple of things I need to work on. I need to learn how to defeat high rated opponents when I have advantage. I am too willing to accept draws from experts in superior position. Plus I'm still too weak on my openings. Rp=1923 and new rating should be 1807 (back over 1800) but it should have been better.

Keith MacKinnon won the tourney with 4.5/5, his only blemish was aquick draw against his buddy Kevin in round 4. Therefore my first prediction for 2009 came true. A second prediction should also have come true if I would have been able to finish of Jamin when I had the chance. Rick Pederesen came clear second with 4/5.

Thanks to Igor for putting me up for the night and thanks to the Saskatoon Chess Club for hosting a very strong event.

2008 Battle at the Border

Round 1
Paired as white against Roy Yearwood (2158). Just before the game Tyler Janzen warned me to beware 1…Nc6 because Roy will play it against anything and sure enough 1.e4 Nc6. I never played the Nimzo before and chose to avoid theory with 2.g3?! I misplaced my knight early in the opening and Roy immediately attacked my king with h5!? I should have been down a pawn but Roy missed his chance and I then started to play more solid. He tried to create an advantage that wasn't there and I ended up 2 pawns ahead in a 2 rook ending. He offered a draw which I declined but then a few moves later after losing my weak front "b" pawn and trading a set of rooks I took the draw. I'm a little upset that I didn't continue playing because I think I still had good winning chances with very little risk.


Chaisson,Terry (1817) - Yearwood,Roy (2158)
2008 BATB Lloydminster, Alberta, 28.06.2008
1.e4 Nc6 2.g3 e5 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.Ne2 h5 5.d4 Nxd4 6.Be3



6...h4? ( lost all advantage, Qf6 was the correct play) 7.Nxd4 exd4 8.Bxd4 Bxd4 9.Qxd4 Qf6 10.Qxf6 Nxf6 11.h3 d5 12.exd5 hxg3 13.fxg3 Bf5 14.c4 0–0–0 15.Nc3 Rhe8+ 16.Kf2 Bd3 17.b3 b5? (giving away a second pawn for no reason)




18.cxb5? (18. Nxb5 is better since 18...Re2+ 19.Kg1 is not a great threat) Ne4+ 19.Bxe4 Bxe4 20.Nxe4 Rxe4 21.Rad1 Rb4 22.Rhe1 Rxb5 23.Re7 Rd7 24.Rxd7 Kxd7 ½–½

Round 2
Paired as black against Jamin Gluckie (2114). I played the unusual, but playable Budapest Gambit to avoid my normal openings that Jamin knows and has had no difficulty crushing. Although I didn’t have realistic winning chances for most of the game I think I defended with my N+B against his 2B’s very well. I created a passed “b” pawn and Jamin was forced to trade his passed “e” pawn in order to capture it. I hoped that I could race over and capture his g and h pawns and win but Jamin knew I would be one tempo short. Result another draw but very satisfying.

Gluckie,Jamin (2114) - Chaisson,Terry (1817) [A52]
2008 BATB Lloydminster, Alberta, 28.06.2008
A52: Budapest Gambit 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 Bb4+ 5.Nd2 Qe7 6.Ngf3 Nc6 (e5 is the focus of attention) 7.e3 Ngxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.Be2 0–0 10.0–0 Bxd2 11.Qxd2 d6 12.Rac1 Bf5 13.Qc3 Ng6 14.Bg3 Rac8 15.Rfd1 [15.c5 Rfd8 16.cxd6 cxd6±] 15...Rfe8 16.c5± dxc5 17.Qxc5 Qxc5 18.Rxc5 Be6

19.Rxc7 [19.Bxc7 Bxa2 20.Bb5 Re4±] 19...Rxc7± 20.Bxc7 Rc8 21.Rd8+ Rxd8 22.Bxd8 Bxa2 23.Bf3 b5 24.Bc6 Bc4 25.f4 f6 26.Kf2 Kf7 27.g3 Ke6 28.b4 Ne7 29.Bxe7 Kxe7 30.e4 Kd6 31.Be8 g6 32.Ke3± Ke7 33.Bc6 Kd6 34.Bb7 Kc7 35.Ba8 Kb6 36.Kd4 White prepares e5

36...a5 37.bxa5+ Kxa5 38.e5 [¹38.Kc5!? Bb3 39.Bd5±] 38...fxe5+= 39.fxe5 Kb6 40.Bd5 Bxd5 41.Kxd5 Kc7 42.Kc5 Kd7 43.Kxb5 Ke6 44.Kc4 Kxe5 45.Kd3 Kf5 46.h3 g5 47.Ke3 g4 48.hxg4+ Kxg4 49.Kf2 h5 50.Kg2 ½–½

So far so good. Two draws against 2136 average opponents. Tomorrow morning I'm paired against Micah Hughey (2210). I need to continue to play steady.

Day 2
After a very good day yesterday, today was a huge disappointment.

Round 3.
Paired as black against Micah Hughey (2187). We ended up in a tactical line of the four knights that I had seen once before in a book but I played some unnecessary moves to try to chase his queen of a diagonal and missed my chance to castle safely. I ended up in a lost position and then moved into a mate in one. I didn’t give Micah much of a challenge today. As an aside, I think Micah is the first person to beat me twice in regular rated games, which only shows that I haven’t played many rated games.
Game:
Hughey,Micah (2210) - Chaisson,Terry (1817) [C55]
2008 BATB Lloydminster, Alberta (3), 29.06.2008
position after 10.Qxd4 here I should have played the simple O-O

Qe7 11.0–0 Be5 12.Qd3 Qd6 13.Re1 Kf8 14.Qb3 Bxh2+ 15.Kh1 Bf4 16.Bxf4 Qxf4 17.Bxb7 Rb8? (17...Bxb7 18.Qxb7 Qh4+ 19.Kg1 Qe8 was the only slim hope) 18.Qa3+ Kg8? 19.Re8# 1–0

Round 4
I was paired as white against Josh Timm (1152). Obviously this kid was underrated as he had just drawn his game against Rick Pederson (1921). I was not happy with the pairing because so far I had a performance rating of 2020 and was hoping to finish the tournament with a Rp>2000 but now it was impossible - even if I won. I needed a pairing against someone over 1540 but those are the breaks – you get what you get. I don't think I played with the same enthusiasm that I did yesterday and we reached a very drawn looking closed position with an open e file that allowed for the exchange of all the major pieces. I tried to press for a bit with two B’s vs a B + N but I couldn't break through without improving his knight so end result - draw. He played very well. I kept expecting him to make a mistake that I could capitalise on, but he never did.

Chaisson,Terry (1817) - Timm,Josh (1152)
2008 BATB, 29.06.2008

17... Rxe1+ 18.Rxe1 Re8 19.Bh4 Rxe1+ 20.Qxe1 Qe8 21.f4 Qxe1+ 22.Bxe1 Nd7 23.Kf2 Kf8 24.b4 b6 25.b5 h6 26.h4 f6 27.Bd2 Kf7 28.Bh3 Ke7 29.Kf3 Kf7 30.g5 f5 31.gxh6 Bxh6 32.Bf1 Kg7 33.Kg3 Kf7 34.a4 Kg7 35.Bh3 Nf6 36.Kf3 Kf7 37.Bf1 Kg7 38.Bh3 Kf7 ½–½


Overall it was an OK result that could have been a lot better if I had kept my focus today. Rp = ~1800 and I will probably gain a half dozen CFC points. I might have had three games against FIDE rated players, but I’m not sure if Jamin is FIDE rated or not. As usual Jamin ran a smooth, well organized, and professional event.

2007 Alberta Open 2007-Oct

This 3 day event was held over the Thanksgiving weekend and had 50 participants. I yo-yo’d back and forth losing against higher rated opponent and then beating lower rated ones.

Round 1 was against Dale Hassel (2262). I completely mis-evaluated the opening and was crushed. After the game Dale explained that my whole plan to push f5 was faulty but at the time I had no other plan. 12...f5? [¹12...c6!?±] 13.dxe5+- dxe5 14.Rad1 Qf6 15.c5 Nd7 16.Nd5 Qd8 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Nh4 Nb8 19.Nb6 Qe8 20.Nxa8 then resigned on move 35 1–0

Round 2 was against Keith Aartsen (1447). Position after 7…h6?? I played 8. Bxf7! Kxf7 9. Ne5+! Ke8 10. Nxg4 and won the game after 32 moves.

Round 3 was against Micah Hughey (2113). He played some kind of pseudo-Marshall and used no time on his clock where as I used plenty of time in the opening. I saw a tactic for myself and couldn’t find a refutation at the board so I played it. 12.Bxf7+ Kxf7 13.Rf5+ Bf6 14.Rxf4 Qd3 15.Rf3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Qxf3 17.gxf3 Obviously he played this variation many times before and when he played the clamping Qd3 I new I was in big trouble. I sacked the exchange to try to free myself but it was too late. I lost after 47 moves when he sacked the exchange back and we would both queen but he would win my queen with a skewer check.

Round 4 was against young Jonathan Mrugala (1680). He played 30.Qh3+ which allowed me to play 30...Qh5+³ and then exchange off the queens 31.Qxh5+ Kxh5 and enter a minor piece ending. At this point we both believed we had the better position. 32.Bh3 Ne7 33.Kf3 Kg5 34.Kg3 h5 35.Be6 Ng6 36.h3 Nf4 37.Bc4 37...Ne2+ [¹37...h4+!? 38.Kh2 Kf6µ] 38.Kf2= Nc1 39.Be6?? I was too aggressive with my knight and if he had played [¹39.b4 cxb4 40.Ke1± I would have been in trouble] 39...Na2³ 40.Ke2 Kf4 41.Bf7 h4 42.Kd2 Nb4 43.c3? Nc6–+ 44.Be6 Ne7 45.b4 Kg3 46.Bd7? Ng6 47.bxc5³ bxc5 48.cxd4?? [¹48.b4 the only rescuing move 48...dxc3+ 49.Kxc3 cxb4+ 50.Kxb4µ] 48...cxd4–+ 49.Kc2 Nf4 50.b4 Nxh3 51.Kb3 Nf2 52.Kc4 Ng4 and I mated him on move 72. 0–1

Round 5 was against Vlad Rekhson (2175). The position shown was reached after exchanging queens on e4 with 26.Bc8 Qxe3 27.fxe3 Another knight vs bishop endgame but this one I mishandled and allowed him to get an outside passed pawn 27...Nd8 28.Kf2 a5 29.Kf3 b6 30.Ke4 Kf7 31.b4 axb4 32.cxb4 Nc6 33.c3 h5 [33...d5+ 34.Kd3=] 34.a4 h4? [34...d5+!? 35.Kd3 Ne5+ 36.Ke2 Nc4²] 35.Bb7± Ne7?? [35...Nd8 36.Ba8 Ke6+-] 36.a5+- f5+ 37.Kd4 c5+ 38.Kd3 bxa5 39.bxa5 Ng6 40.Kc4 Ke7 41.a6 1–0

Round 6 was against Mike Sekuloff (1614). I played the opening badly and once again he was looking to sacrifice but he missed his chance when he played 11...Be6 [instead of ¹11...Bxh3!? 12.Be3 Bg4µ] 12.Bg5 Bc7 [still 12...Bxh3 13.gxh3 Qg3+ 14.Kh1 Qxh3+ 15.Nh2=] 13.Qd2 Nd7 14.Bh4 Nde5? [¹14...Qf4!?² would keep Black in the game] 15.Nxe5+- Nxe5 16.Bg3 f6± 17.Nd4 Rae8 18.Nb5 Qd7 19.Nxc7 Qxc7 20.Qf4 g5? [¹20...Qc5= and Black is still in the game] 21.Qe3 Qd7 22.Bxe5 fxe5? 23.Qxg5++- Qg7 24.Qxg7+ Kxg7 25.Rxe5 1–0

Overall every game went as expected by ratings. I finished at 3/6 which was good enough for shared first in under 1800 with Vitaly Motuz and Allen Wu. Rp=1883 and brought my rating up to 1809.