Round 8 of the Hive Chess tournament went pretty well considering my challenging circumstances. After a long and hectic day, I decided to take a two-hour nap before the game. Unfortunately, about 30 minutes into my sleep, it started to rain heavily. Whenever it rains here, the network becomes even more unreliable than it already is. So, I just waited, enjoying my sleep and hoping that the rain would stop before the tournament began. Luckily, it did for about a few minutes. So, I grabbed my umbrella, wore thick clothes, and headed outside to my usual spot for chess. Despite the heavy rain, I played some nice games. Although I lost some games, I played fairly well. At least, better than my last two rounds- rounds 7 and 6. As usual, I’ll review my game in this post.
My first game was against @masterswatch. Masterswatch and I have played 5 times since we started this tourney. Out of those 5 times, I have won three times which puts me in the lead. We both developed strong openings, but as soon as he started playing really offensive, attacking with his bishop and knight, I had to go defensive, putting my King in a tight spot. I had 8 inaccuracies, 1 mistake, and 3 blunders. He had 2 inaccuracies, 2 mistakes, and 1 blunder. He delivered a nice checkmate which I knew was inevitable. I lost my first game of the night to Masterswatch.
Next, I got paired with Kon, a lower-rated player. He didn’t move, so I won the game.
Next, I got paired with Tortyllan, a higher-rated player. Out of the 15 games I played in yesterday’s tourney, 4 of them were with Tortyllan. As a higher-rated player, it is expected that he’d win more games. I tried my best, but he was obviously stronger. He besrked all his games against me. I’m pretty sure if he hadn’t, I probably would not have won any.
Next, I got paired with lighteye, my first “real” win of the night. I made sure I played carefully, yet steadily. We both committed blunders. He had 5 inaccuracies, 4 mistakes, and 3 blunders, while I made 6 inaccuracies, 0 mistakes, and two blunders. Unfortunately for him, he lost on time.
Next, I got paired with @olujay. I played The King’s Indian Attack. Everything was going well for him until he blundered his knight (he left it hanging) and I took advantage of it. He also made a huge bishop sac, swiftly, I capitalized on that and he was forced to resign. My 6th game was against Stranger27. He would’ve won if he hadn't lost on time. Next, I played Tortyllan. As usual, he berserk and still won.
After my games against Yinjuolu, I realized that I have to really work on my end game. I played two games against him and lost both. I started my games well- built strong openings and controlled my pieces carefully. I had the upper hand in both games, but my end game was so poor and he capitalized on it.
Yesterday, I got paired with the host, @stayoutoftherz after a very long time. One thing about his game is that once you commit a blunder, be ready to pay for it. I tried not to, but I guess it was inevitable. I checked our all time games and it appears that we have played 15 times in total, with 14 wins to him.
In summary, although I lost some games, I think I played fairly well. Despite my poor environment, I won many games and secured good points. See y’all next week.