And Finally....

Round 9, and I'm knackered, struggling to look at 64 squares and feel joy, not a pleasant experience. Though on the upside I've put myself in a good place to achieve my tournament goals and I'm in a good place in the rankings, compared to my starting position. I'm up against Jonathan McKay, again I'm out graded but this time I have White and I expected a KID set up against my London system. It was a largely enjoyable game after a few early nervous flutters and it appeared, once I'd got my bishop off h2, I started to outplay him. However, and I'll use tiredness and the clock as reasons, I couldn't see a clear way to convert the advantage, his Queen was menacingly placed too. Taking the offered draw seemed like the sensible step, though he was surprised when I agreed!

I'm happy with the commentary in the game so I'll not mention it any further. I do want to say a few words just to sum up the tournament experience to finish off this series of blogs. The writing of the blogs has been an unexpected bonus as well, not sure it is for you poor lot that are reading them! There will be more as I participate in more tournaments or want to comment on things happening in the chess world I feel worthy of discussion

In retrospect it was a hugely enjoyable experience, which I hope to repeat, and a significant step forward in my chess journey (I'll not say career!). GM Aagaard talks about fixed and growth mindsets and from a growth viewpoint it was hugely beneficial, not just in chess terms (mostly focusing on tactics, vision and awareness) but also socially. I feel like I've hit a milestone in taking part in the Open as part of the Scottish Chess community, which was not something I really appreciated until after the event.

Let's sum up the tournament:

2 solid wins against lower (using CS grades) opposition

2 draws against higher rated opposition (+150 points), includes the Rd1 graded friendly.

3 losses against higher rated opposition (+150 points) - so 4 decent results out of 7 played.

Points tally - 4.5/9, finished 33/60 starters, initial ranked position 45.

I expected to get a bit of a kicking at some point due to my rating, that was part of the aim of entering though, to learn from them. I was disappointed in 2 of those games to have contributed so easily to my losses however. I've already been working on the skill deficiencies highlighted by these losses, quite a reality check, and also that my then training methods were just not good enough.

Lastly, and most importantly, it has let me see who is there to support me on this journey. I would like to thank my wife Cristina for her limitless support, Jessie the dug (pre and post match walkies were very helpful), Colin my brother for pre and post match chats, all those at the Mighty Castlehill CC for giving me the chance to play through the season (and hopefully more to come!), Ed, Ian and the Arbiters, Tournament Organisers and Sponsors without which the whole thing would not have been possible.