2023 Minnesota Open Tournament

Key Takeaways

Participating in the 131st Minnesota Open chess tournament was a unique experience for me. This is the third year in a row I’ve played this tournament. It was a challenging event with 6 rounds, though I opted for a bye, playing a total of 5 games. Initially, I was on a roll, feeling confident and relaxed during the first 3 games. I was able to spot some great tactical opportunities and took advantage of my opponents’ slip-ups.

However, the last 2 games were a different story. They took place on the final day of the tournament, and by then, I was struggling to keep my focus and concentration. I felt mentally drained and realized I was no longer playing to win.

Reflecting on this, I believe my struggles stemmed from not having a solid thought process in place for my moves, which led to using more mental energy to make decisions during the games. For more about that, check out Cultivating a Thought Process in Chess - Part 1.

Previous years:

Round 1 - Friday Night

I felt pretty good about this game. My opponent made a couple mistakes which I was able to spot. Then some nice tactics sealed the win. There may have been a faster way to get checkmate, but I wanted to play it safe and make sure I didn’t miss anything.

MM
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Matt
1. Nf3d52. g3Nc63. d4Nf64. Bg2Bf55. O-Oe66. c4dxc47. Ne5Be48. Bxe4Nxe49. Nxc4Nxd410. Be3Bc511. Nc3Nd612. Bxd4Bb413. Qa4+b514. Qxb4Nxc415. Qxb5+Kf816. Qxc4Qg517. Qc5+Qxc518. Bxc5+Ke819. Rfd1a520. b3h521. Rd4e522. Re4f623. Rd1c624. Rd6Ra625. Na4Kf726. Nb6g527. Rxc6g428. Rc7+Kg629. f3Kf530. Kf2a431. Nd5axb332. axb3Rd833. Ne3+Ke634. Re7#1-0

Round 2 - Saturday Morning

This game was a bit harder. I was inches away from a fork that would lose me my queen, but I managed to stay one step ahead. In the endgame it was pretty even and for a bit I was playing for a draw. My opponent really did not want a draw, which worked out for me. Instead he forced a move that ended up losing and I was able to stay calm and capitalize on it.

KE
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Matt
1. e4c52. Nf3d63. d4cxd44. Nxd4Nf65. Nc3g66. Bb5+Bd77. Bxd7+Qxd78. Bf4e59. Bg5Bg710. Nf3O-O11. Qd2Nc612. Rd1Rad813. Nd5Nxe414. Qe3Nxg515. Nxg5Nd416. Qd3Ne617. Ne4Nf418. Nxf4exf419. Qxd6Qxd620. Rxd6Rxd621. Nxd6Bxb222. Nxb7Bc3+23. Ke2Bb424. Rb1Be725. Na5Rc826. Kd3Rd8+27. Ke2Rc828. Kd2Rd8+29. Ke2Rc830. c4Bd831. Nb7Bb632. Nd6Rc633. Rc1Rxd634. c5Rc635. Kf3Rxc536. Rxc5Bxc537. g3fxg338. fxg3f539. Kf4Bd6+40. Kg5Kg741. Kh4Be7+42. Kh3h543. a4g544. Kg2Kf645. Kf3Ke546. Ke3Bc5+47. Kd3f448. gxf4+gxf449. Ke2Ke40-1

Round 3 - Saturday Afternoon

This game worked out, but I made a mistake in the middle (move 13) when I played too fast. I was able to build up an advantage in the endgame, and then my opponent blundered a rook on move 24. By that point it was over.

VS
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Matt
1. Nf3g62. g3e63. Bg2Nf64. O-Od55. c4Bg76. d4O-O7. Bg5Nc68. cxd5Qxd59. Ne5Qxd410. Nxc6Qxd111. Ne7+Kh812. Rxd1h613. Bxf6Bxf614. Nxg6+fxg615. Nc3Bxc316. bxc3e517. Rd5Re818. Rad1e419. Rd8Bg420. Rxa8Rxa821. Bxe4Bxe222. Rd7c623. Rxb7c524. Rc7c425. Bxa8g526. Rxa7Kg827. Bd5+Kh828. Rc7h529. Bxc4Bxc430. Rxc4Kg731. a4Kf632. h3Kf533. a5g434. hxg4+hxg435. a6Kg536. a7Kf537. a8=QKg538. Qd5+Kf639. Rc6+Ke740. Qe6+Kf841. Qf5+Kg842. Rg6+Kh843. Qh5#1-0

Round 4 - Sunday Morning

I had a hard time focusing during this game. I think I was a bit fatigued. It was pretty even up until move 21, when I tried to be clever but basically just blundered away the game. I spent time considering what turned out to be the best move there (Qxe4) but didn’t play it. I think my ability to calculate was strained by this point. After that I mentally gave up.

OM
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Matt
1. d4Nf62. c4g63. Nc3Bg74. Nf3O-O5. e3d66. Bd3c57. d5e68. e4exd59. cxd5Bg410. a3Bxf311. Qxf3Nbd712. Bf4Qb613. Rb1Rfe814. O-ONh515. Be3Ne516. Qe2Nxd317. Qxd3Nf618. b4Qc719. Nb5Qe720. bxc5dxc521. d6Rad822. dxe7Rxd323. Bxc5Rc824. Rfd1Rxd1+25. Rxd11-0

Round 5 - Sunday Afternoon

This game I was not fighting for a win. I played to trade off all the pieces and get a draw. My opponent did not seem to mind.

TB
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Matt
1. Nf3c52. g3Nc63. Bg2d64. O-ONf65. c4g66. b3Bg77. Bb2O-O8. d4Bg49. dxc5Bxf310. Bxf3dxc511. Nc3Qd712. Nd5Nxd513. Bxg7Kxg714. Qxd5Qxd515. Bxd5Rac816. Rad1e617. Bxc6Rxc618. Rd3a619. Rfd1b520. cxb5axb521. Rd6Rxd622. Rxd6Rc823. a4bxa424. bxa4c425. a5c326. Rd11/2-1/2

Results

I finished with 3 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw for 3.5 out of 5. Technically I took a bye and didn’t play Saturday night, so my actual score was 4/6.

My rating went from 858 to 881 gaining 23 points. Playing in the U1100 section is tough because I played against 3 people who were rated lower than me (all wins), 1 higher rated (loss), and 1 unrated (draw). The higher rated player went on to win the section. Maybe I should play up a section to get players with higher ratings? That might also get me some more difficult games which I could learn more from.

And to continue my trend of reporting on gender, of the 217 players there were 92% male and 8% non-male.