State No. 42 - Arkansas + Bonus Trip

The 2025 Arkansas State Chess Championship was a fun event to play in.  It was held in Jonesboro at Arkansas State University from Friday August 22 to Sunday August 24.  Chief TD Jerika Eppel of the Scarlet Chess Club did a very good job of hosting this event.  The rooms were well lit, the parking was easy to find, the rounds started on time, & they managed to secure a partnership with chess.com to give each tournament player a free diamond membership for 45 days on chess.com.  (I blacked out the code on the instagram photo so that others can't use it.)

Chief Jerika made timely announcements about pairings, round times, prize categories, & other pertinent information.  There was a funny moment where she asked if I was eligible for the Under age 20 prizes of the tournament.  I laughed, pointed out that I am 41, & there was clear understanding a moment later when I took off my hat.  I did enjoy the fact that spectators were not allowed in the room, so the rooms were spacious & really quiet.

I played average in this tournament, going 2 wins, 2 draws, & 2 losses, & my rating dropped from 1858 to 1848.  My wins & losses were not upsets in either direction, & my rating drop occurred because my upset draw in the lower direction was a bigger rating gap than my upset draw in the higher direction.

I am going to showcase my 5th round draw right now.

[Event "2025 Arkansas State Chess Championship"] [Site "Jonesboro, AR"] [Date "2025.08.24"] [Round "5"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Mehlhaff, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Chen, Kevin E."] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1858"] [BlackElo "1871"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2025.08.22"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.14"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 {I have been a fan of the exchange variation, getting away from prepared French lines my opponent expected to play. Now it's a question of which player can play better from an equal position.} exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. dxc5 ({Explore} 6. b3 {as it gives me a chance to wreak havoc on the long diagonal.}) 6... Bxc5 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc3 h6 9. h3 Nc6 10. Bf4 Re8 11. Re1 Be6 12. a3 {stops Bb4 pin} Rc8 13. Qd2 a6 14. Rad1 b5 15. Ne5 Qb6 {I thought for a long time, but with everyone pointed kingside & Black deflecting her majesty queenside, I thought this was the right time to strike before he mounts something on the queenside.} 16. Bxh6 Bxf2+ (16... gxh6 17. Qxh6 Bf8 (17... Nxe5 18. Rxe5 {looking at Rg5+}) 18. Qxf6 Bg7 19. Qg5 f6) 17. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 18. Kxf2 gxh6 19. Nxc6 Rxc6 20. Re2 Rec8 21. Rde1 Nd7 22. Rd2 Kg7 $2 (22... Nc5 {not giving me time to redeploy the knight to d4 was better.}) 23. Ne2 {with the Knight no longer threatening Ne4+ for the moment, I can improve my knight's position to d4, blockading the d-pawn} Nc5 24. Nd4 {I don't fear the Knight for Bishop trade as I can get all my pawns to dark square & render his cleric to be a partial ghost.} Nxd3+ 25. Rxd3 {this is now part of my dream ending. If only I can get rid of the Rooks...} Rb6 26. c3 Re8 {this self-pin is going to make things harder for him.} 27. Rde3 Kg6 28. Re5 Rd6 29. h4 {removing a pawn from a square in reach of the Bishop.} Kh7 (29... f6 $2 30. Rxe6 Rdxe6 31. Rxe6) (29... Kg7 $2 30. Nf5+ Bxf5 31. Rxe8 {gives me an exchange advantage in the ending}) 30. g3 {just supporting the h pawn & getting the g pawn out of reach of the Bishop.} Kg6 31. R1e3 Rb6 $2 32. g4 $2 {my idea was to restrict Black further & try to limit his Bishop & Rooks & maybe win a pawn or two doing so. Unfortunately, I didn't do a good job the rest of this ending & had to take a draw.} ({I totally missed that I can just take the d pawn right now.} 32. Rxd5 $1 Bxd5 33. Rxe8) 32... Rd6 33. Kg3 Rb6 34. Kf4 (34. Rxd5 $1 {also works here}) 34... Rd6 35. Re2 Kh7 36. g5 h5 {I disagree with this move for Black as I thought he should be trying to trade pawns.} 37. R2e3 (37. Rf5 Bd7 (37... Bxf5 38. Rxe8 Bg6 39. Ke5 {and now I am getting the decisive penetration with the King I am looking for.}) 38. Rxf7+ (38. Rxe8 Bxe8 39. Ke5 Rd7 40. Rf6 {& Black's pawns are starting to fall.}) 38... Kg8 39. Rxe8+) 37... Kg6 38. Re1 Kh7 39. Nf5 {I wanted to reposition the knight to f6, but based on how the game turned out, this was the wrong idea.} Rd7 40. Rd1 Red8 41. Rd4 Rb7 42. Ng3 Kg6 43. Ne4 Rc7 44. Nf6 Rc4 45. Ke3 Rc5 46. Kd2 Rc4 47. Kd3 Rc5 48. a4 {this pawn advance is wrong, but I ran out of ideas at the time during the game} Rc4 49. b3 ({Stockfish 16:} 49. a5 Rxd4+ 50. cxd4 Rd6 51. b3 b4 52. Ke3 Rd8 53. Kf3 Rd6 54. Kf4 Rd8 55. Re2 Rc8 56. Ke5 Rc3 57. Nxd5 Bxd5 58. Kxd5 Rh3 59. Kc5 Rxb3 60. Rf2 Rh3 61. Rf6+ Kg7 62. Rxa6 Rxh4 63. Rb6 Rh2 64. Kc4 Rc2+ 65. Kxb4 {3.43/33}) 49... Rc5 50. axb5 Rxb5 51. b4 a5 52. bxa5 Rxa5 {Now that the Black Rooks can be activated, I believe the draw is relatively easy.} 53. Ke3 Rc8 54. Nxd5 Bxd5 55. Rexd5 Rxc3+ 56. Kf4 Rxd5 57. Rxd5 Rc4+ 58. Kg3 1/2-1/2

And that concludes the chess portion of State No. 42

On Thursday afternoon, I went to Garvan Gardens.  I posted some pictures on my instagram, but here are a few additional pictures of the place.

It was fascinating to see the beautiful plant life all throughout & even the chapel at the end.  

After I was done, it was late in the day on Thursday, so I didn't have time to go on the trails in Hot Springs National Park, but I did manage to make it to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower & take a look at the beautiful views from the Tower.

It was really beautiful see views from up high, looking out in all different directions.

Traveling note: It is a winding road up to the tower, & there may be joggers on the road.  Please drive slowly as you go up.

On Friday midday, I went to Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.  This was the site in 1957 where nine African-American students entered the previously all-white school under federal troop escort, three years after the Brown vs. Board of Education case where the Supreme Court had declared racial segregation in public education was unconstitutional.

While going through the visitor center, I was horrified but not surprised to learn that people within the school that wanted to cause trouble actually figured out the schedules of these 9 students & seemingly distributed copies to other troublemakers so that they could harass these students at every possible chance.  Throughout this visit, I tried to imagine how I would have fared if I was a student facing overwhelming hatred from all sides, with the verbal & physical harassment coming from any direction.  That would have been very scary to attend school under those conditions.  

There's an old gas station, the Magnolia Mobil Gas Station, at the corner opposite of the school & the visitor center.  It was one of the few businesses with a pay telephone on site, so all media types at the time (journalists, radio correspondents, tv reporters) converged on this site.

There were some interesting traffic conditions along my travel.  Now since I was traveling alone, I did not take live pictures of these signs you will see, but I will describe these unusual traffic conditions as best as I can.

From Hot Springs, traveling Eastbound on US Business 70, there are 6 exits on a divided highway & then it transitions into a 5-lane highway with a two-way left turn lane.  The speeds are so high that the advisory speed sign for curves was 55 miles per hour.  (Picture screenshot from Google Maps Street View)  I can't imagine, as a NJ person, advisory signs of 55 miles per hour, so I had to save this photo.

There was also a warning sign I had never seen before accurately depicting the lane options as you travel eastbound on I-630 towards I-30. (Picture screenshot from Google Maps Street View)

And here's a state route sign for Arkansas

And a sign (color a bit faded) on the Arkansas State University Campus

Traveling Little Rock to Jonesboro on Friday, I had to come to a complete stop on I-57 as a maintenance worker ran across the road to pick up a tire piece lying on the left shoulder.  I don't blame him for doing so, but that was really scary.  I had already moved over to the left lane where the maintenance vehicle was on the right shoulder, so him running across was unexpected.  I was glad I saw him & able to stop.  After he crossed back, I continued along my way.

Food.  There were a few places that stood out to me.  Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen was so good I visited the Orlando location during the bonus trip down below as well.  Huddle House had a great waffle breakfast I enjoyed & the service was able to pivot me to a different table as they noticed the original table they assigned me was still dirty.  Shipley Donuts looked like an interesting place to eat donuts from, but I never got to do so.  The Maui Magic Pizza from Hideaway Pizza was very good.  However, I had a slight service issue at the location I visited & the management has offered to send me some coupons for a future visit.

Mandarin Oranges & Pineapples, yum yum!  I am giving that cup & a similar cup to some younger relatives of mine.

That concludes the non-chess for State No. 42.  #fiftystatesofchess

After the Chess Tournament, the Bonus Trip for me was traveling to Super Nintendo World at Universal Epic Universe in Orlando.  (Why the only reasonable flights available timewise from Little Rock had layover stops in Chicago or Houston I will never know)

I wanted to drop in at the crossfit place I visited in 2014.  However, since they were now closed, I had to pivot, & so I dropped in at CrossFit Broken Chains in Orlando on Monday.  I bring this up because the coach of my class was familiar with Arkansas State University & Jonesboro & is familiar with Cherry Hill.  (Yes, you may cue the "It's a Small World After All" song).  Class was very good, she was a very good coach, & the other athletes there were engaging & fun to talk with before during & after class.

Tuesday was my day visit to Super Nintendo World.  I had a lot of fun there representing #TeamToad  There were noticeable similarities & differences between Super Nintendo World in Universal Hollywood & Universal Orlando as follows:

1. At Universal Hollywood, you have to reserve a time for Toadstool Cafe in 2023, where at Universal Orlando, you just line up & they will find a table for you eventually.  (Easier if you are a smaller party)
2. The 8-bit Mario pushbuttons are not mapped out in Universal Orlando, so you really have to look far & wide for them.  I missed 1 of the 8-bit sticker buttons.
3. There are more achievements in Universal Orlando, 200 to 132.  (Approximately 29 of the 200 are in Donkey Kong Country)
4. The Games with keys are closer together in Universal Orlando.
5. The Yoshi's Snack Island had a good apple melon smoothie.
6. Not a lot of Daisy presence in either location, which was disappointing as a Daisy fan.  This is actually true of Pauline & Rosalina as well, though seeing Rosalina through the binoculars is achievable according to the app.
7. Getting stamps on the binoculars can be hit or miss.  I got some things but not others.

#TeamToad

Nostalgia for Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's Island

After defeating Bowser Jr.

And finally, here are my maps for #fiftystatesofchess

Until next time, have fun my friends! 

State No. 41 - Nebraska

You may be aware of the airport issues in Newark Airport.  We were delayed probably around 30 minutes.  Unfortunately, my scheduled connection in Charlotte had a layover of only 30 minutes.  The only reason I made my connection was my connecting flight was delayed itself - & I still had to run & hear the gate agent call my name as I approached.  At least the flight attendant let me sit in the wrong seat (I was scheduled for 21D, but it was occupied on a partially empty flight, so she just said, "sit here so we can take off.") & I got to enjoy an empty half row sitting in 20D.

Once I got to Omaha, I noticed that there was construction everywhere.  I found out earlier today from my friend (who is from Nebraska) that there are two seasons: Winter Season, & Construction Season.  And since it was 80 degrees with lots of concrete pavement, it was construction virtually everywhere, even the airport!!

Friday

On my way to Breakfast at Good Lookin', I parked right in front of Great Harvest Bread Co.  After finishing my salmon sandwich, I picked up a few scones so I could eat small in case I didn't get to eat lunch properly.

I made my way over to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.  It's a fascinating pedestrian bridge connecting Omaha Nebraska & Council Bluffs Iowa, & I got some really good pictures on it.

From the Ground

Looking at the Nebraska Side

Shading the look to the Iowa side

to the Iowa side, South

to the Nebraska side, south

Straddling the border between the two states

There was chalk at various points near the bridge, so I figured I would sign it with my online username.

I ate one of the scones while walking through Gene Leahy Mall (& playing pickup ping pong with random people as there were a pair of outdoor tables there).

After that short stop, I went to Lauritzen Gardens & walked all over most of the place.  There were a lot of nice plants & plant structures there.

They also snuck in some model trains here.

You better believe I had some flashbacks to the bison in the Dakotas!

There was an oddity at the Lauritzen Gardens Cafe in that the credit card machine was not working.  All those people who didn't have cash on hand had to give their credit card information to be charged later.  Good thing I saw this & kept my lunch small (soup & water bottle) so I could pay in cash.

After Lauritzen Gardens, I visited a few more random places including Old Candy Shop & took a few more pictures before going to Crossfit at FitFarm Omaha.

From Old Candy Shop - Chocolate shaped as Nebraska

Joslyn Castle

I actually took this while standing in Council Bluffs, but I figured a Nebraska guide sign welcoming you is a good one to take.

The Nebraska State Route sign, an emergency snow route sign, & some dude in sunglasses you might know.

So I visited FitFarm Omaha the previous day, & it was open gym.  But the coaches & a few other members were very welcoming, & I was lucky to come back on Friday for class.  I enjoyed both their day-after-Murph WOD (plus my own 12 minute every 45 seconds on the 45 seconds strength piece) on Thursday followed by the Elizabeth WOD plus bonus jumping on Friday.

Tuesday's (5/24) WOD during Thursday's (5/26) open gym

Intermediate was jumping ring dips, but we also had a skill component afterward.  I reached 27 inches (Toads can jump?)

At some point afterward, I visited the Drover to eat some steak, something Omaha is known for.  I was hesitant to visit initially as it was mentioned in a food review portion of a visitor's brochure & I distrust professional review pieces after finding out one of them rated a place in Hoboken as a great place when I disliked that place's food immensely.  (No, you're not getting the name of that place from me online officially.  I am giving it the Voldemort treatment of not saying its name.).  However, a few locals I ran into & worked out with gave positive word of mouth mentions, so I figured I would go.  I really enjoyed the steak I had, but the picture I took of it was terrible.  (Remember, I am only good at taking pictures of signs & traffic signals.  Pictures of everything else are subject to meh.)

The tournament occurred in Lincoln on Saturday & Sunday, so I was driving from Omaha to Lincoln & back each day.  On Sunday early morning, I discovered that my charging cable broke (phone connected to the rental car's USB wasn't charging), so I had to make a trip to Walmart to buy a new one.  I missed parts of the lecture on the history of the US Open from 1975, but was able to participate when they talked about a certain chess player infamous in my time that also played in that tournament.  They did talk about players from that tournament, including Pal Benko & Joel Benjamin, & Yasser Seirawan, & they went over one or two games that I didn't catch until the endgame.  

Aside: I perked up at the brief discussion of these three players as I remember reading Benko's endgames in Chess Life a few decades ago & I was lucky enough to see Benjamin a few times at NJ Opens & the US Amateur Team East.  Seirawan authored Winning Chess Strategies, a book I read that started my journey from the 1100 to the 1300 ratings in the 2000 years before discovering the two Comprehensive Chess Course series books from Lev Alburt.  

I had some strange tournament play.  I won Rounds 1 & 3 against lower rateds, lost Rounds 2 & 4 versus Masters, including Round 4 when I had an active chance at winning the game in an unbalanced position, & then drew Round 5 against a lower rated.  (Post Tournament Rating Change = -9)

Additional Oddities: 

• Round 1, for the first time in a long time (ever?) I failed to hit the clock after making a move.  This cost me a few minutes, but I eventually caught on.
• Round 3, I forgot for a few minutes how to execute the Lucena position. I will show this game in a moment & you will see my round trip before my brain turned back on.
• Round 4, I accidentally distracted my opponent during his move, something I never did before & I am embarrassed about to this day.  
• Post tournament: Board signing frenzy was in effect.  Picture eventually to follow.

Despite my roundabout trip late in the game, I think you will enjoy the Rook ending I have for you.

[Event "Hall of Fame 50th Anniversary of the 19"] [Site "Lincoln"] [Date "2025.05.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Koppinger, Matthew"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Chen, Kevin E."] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "1866"] [BlackElo "1616"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2025.05.31"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.14"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 {I don't see this as often, so I will have to look at other variations here.} 3. Bf4 Bg4 4. e3 e6 5. Be2 Bd6 6. Bxd6 Qxd6 (6... cxd6 {is an interesting alternative here.}) 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. c4 b6 $2 {He was afraid of c5, but I was planning to open the c file. This move weakened c6 & c7.} 10. Rc1 e5 $2 {I sensed this was too early for Black, but my reply wasn't as sharp as it could have been.} 11. dxe5 ({Stockfish 16:} 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. Qa4 Bd7 13. Bb5 Nde7 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Bxd7 Qxd7 16. Qxd7 Nxd7 17. Rxc7 Rfd8 18. Rfc1 Nd5 19. R7c4 g6 20. Kf1 Nc5 21. Ke2 Re8 22. g3 Rad8 23. Nb1 Rd7 24. Nc3 Nxc3+ 25. R1xc3 Rdd8 26. Rd4 Rc8 27. Nd2 Kg7 28. Rdc4 Rcd8 29. b4 Ne6 30. Rd3 Rxd3 31. Kxd3 a5 32. bxa5 bxa5 33. Nb3 Ng5 34. Ke2 Ne4 35. f3 Nf6 36. e4 Nd7 37. Nxa5 {2.19/38}) 11... Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe2 13. Qxe2 Qxe5 14. Nf3 Qe7 15. cxd5 Nxd5 16. Qc4 Qe6 $2 {it was better to develop the Rook to defend the knight, though he is still in trouble.} (16... Rfd8) (16... Rad8) 17. Nd4 {I thought harrassing the opposing lady right away was correct, but there was apparently a better variation. Still, the opponent is in trouble as I am eyeing a Qxd5 & Ne7+ combo.} ({Stockfish 16:} 17. Rfd1 c6 18. Nd4 Qe8 19. Qxc6 Nf6 20. Qxe8 Rfxe8 21. Kf1 a5 22. Rc6 Rab8 23. Ke2 h5 24. g3 Kf8 25. Nb5 Re5 26. Nc3 Re6 27. Rdd6 Rxd6 28. Rxd6 Ke7 29. Rc6 Kd7 30. Rc4 Re8 31. f3 Re5 32. f4 Re6 33. e4 Rc6 34. Rxc6 Kxc6 35. e5 Ng4 36. h3 Nh6 37. Ke3 Nf5+ 38. Kf3 b5 39. g4 hxg4+ 40. hxg4 Nh6 41. Nd1 f6 42. exf6 gxf6 43. Nf2 {2.49/37}) 17... Qe4 (17... Qd7 18. Nc6) (17... Qe5 $4 18. Nc6 Qe6 19. Qxd5 Qxd5 20. Ne7+) 18. b4 (18. Nc6 {messes up some development, but there is a queen trade.}) ({Stockfish 16:} 18. Nc6 Qxc4 19. Rxc4 Rfe8 20. Rd1 Nf6 21. Rd3 Re6 22. f3 Kf8 23. Kf2 Rd6 24. Rdd4 Rxd4 25. Rxd4 a5 26. g4 Rc8 27. h4 Ke8 28. g5 Nd7 29. f4 Nb8 30. Ne5 b5 31. Kf3 a4 32. h5 f6 33. gxf6 gxf6 34. Ng4 Nd7 35. Re4+ Kf8 36. Rb4 c6 37. Nh6 Nb6 38. Nf5 Nd5 39. Rd4 a3 40. bxa3 Ra8 41. Rd3 Ne7 42. Rd6 Nxf5 43. Rxf6+ Ke7 44. Rxf5 Rxa3 45. Rg5 b4 46. Rg7+ Kd6 47. Rxh7 {0.96/44}) 18... Rfd8 19. Rfd1 Rd7 20. Nc6 Qxc4 {I think this is Black's best response, as everything else loses material.} (20... Qe6 21. Rxd5 Rxd5 22. Qxd5 Qxd5 23. Ne7+) 21. Rxc4 Nxe3 22. Rxd7 Nxc4 23. Rxc7 Re8 24. g3 a5 25. Nxa5 {I did not want to enter the Rook ending, but I had no idea how to proceed otherwise.} bxa5 (25... Nxa5 26. bxa5 bxa5 27. Ra7 {wins the a pawn due to back rank mate.}) 26. Rxc4 axb4 27. Rxb4 Re1+ 28. Kg2 Kf8 29. Kf3 Ra1 {[#] What's interesting is the difficulty of Rook endings. This is personally my hardest ending to win. My idea here is to use the Rook to guard the a pawn, but keep the a pawn unmoved as much as possible in order to not give Black's Rook further moves on the a file.} 30. Ra4 Ke7 31. Ra6 {cutting off the King and keeping the a pawn parked so Black has no moves along the a file for as long as possible. Goal is to win a pawn on the kingside & use the a pawn as a decoy.} h6 32. h4 g5 33. hxg5 (33. Rxh6 gxh4 34. Rxh4 Rxa2 {didn't seem easier.}) 33... hxg5 34. Kg4 Rf1 35. f4 ({Stockfish 16:} 35. f3 Rg1 (35... f5+ 36. Kxf5 Rxf3+ 37. Kg4 Rd3) 36. Ra3 f6 37. Rc3 Kf7 38. a4 Ra1 39. Kf5 Kg7 40. Rc7+ Kh6 41. Rc4 Ra3 42. f4 Rxg3 43. Kxf6 Rf3 44. f5 Kh5 45. Rc8 Kg4 46. Rc5 Kh4 47. Kg7 Rf4 48. a5 g4 49. f6 g3 50. Rc1 g2 51. Rg1 Kg3 52. Rxg2+ Kxg2 53. f7 Rg4+ 54. Kh6 Rf4 55. Kg6 Rf3 56. a6 Rg3+ 57. Kf6 Rf3+ 58. Ke7 Re3+ 59. Kd6 Rd3+ 60. Ke5 Rd8 61. Kf6 Ra8 62. Kg7 Ra7 63. Kg8 Rxa6 64. f8=Q Ra2 65. Qb4 Re2 66. Qf4 Re1 67. Kg7 Rf1 68. Qd2+ Rf2 69. Qd5+ Kg3 70. Kg6 Rf4 71. Qd1 Kh4 72. Qh1+ Kg3 73. Kg5 Rf2 74. Qd5 Re2 75. Qd4 Kf3 76. Qf4+ Kg2 {2.91/40}) 35... gxf4 36. gxf4 Rg1+ ({Stockfish 16:} 36... Rc1 37. a4 Rc5 38. Kf3 Rc4 39. Ra8 Rd4 40. Kg4 Rd5 41. Rc8 Kf6 42. Rc6+ Ke7 43. Kf3 Ra5 44. Rc4 Kd6 45. Rd4+ Kc5 46. Re4 Kd6 47. Kg3 Kd7 48. Rd4+ Ke6 49. Kg4 Kf6 50. Kf3 Kf5 51. Rc4 Kg6 52. Ke3 f5 53. Kd4 Kh5 54. Kc3 Ra8 55. Kb4 Rb8+ 56. Ka3 Ra8 57. Rd4 Kg4 58. Kb4 Rb8+ 59. Kc5 Rc8+ 60. Kb6 Rb8+ 61. Ka7 Rb1 62. Ka6 Rb8 {0.07/48}) 37. Kf5 Ra1 38. Ra7+ Ke8 39. Kf6 Rf1 40. f5 Kd8 {[#]} 41. Ra5 $4 ({I moved too quickly & missed that I could eat the f7 pawn with my Rook!!} 41. Rxf7 {I believe he could resign here.}) 41... Ke8 42. Re5+ Kf8 43. Rb5 Ke8 44. a4 Ra1 45. a5 Ra4 46. Rb8+ Kd7 47. Kxf7 Rxa5 48. f6 Rf5 49. Rb1 Rf2 50. Rd1+ Kc7 51. Kg7 Rg2+ 52. Kf8 Rf2 53. f7 Rf3 {[#]} 54. Rd4 Rf2 55. Ke7 Re2+ 56. Kf6 Rf2+ 57. Kg7 $4 (57. Ke6 {is what I intended, but I brain farted & forgot that} Rf3 (57... Re2+ 58. Kf5 Rf2+ 59. Rf4 {is what I remembered from the Lucena position}) 58. Rd5 {completes the bridge.}) 57... Rg2+ 58. Kf8 Rf2 {I paused for a few minutes before resuming} 59. Ke7 Re2+ 60. Kf6 Rf2+ 61. Ke6 Kc8 62. Rd5 {Now Rf5 is set up.} 1-0

This is my game play summary:

Round 1, my opponent overlooked a simple fork, letting me win an exchange.

Round 2, I got caught with a piece out of play for the majority of the game.

Round 3 was the Lucena position with temporary Forgetful Jones striking.

Round 4 was a missed move in a double open king position.  (I am still analyzing this, but I am certain it might be published by Nebraska State Chess Association.)

Round 5 I couldn't get a forced win out of the ending after my opponent tried to do nothing aggressive early.

I did have a nice chat after Round 4 with my opponent about that game, & he actually shared stories of his earlier tournament playing days (pre-computer), including adjournments.  So I never grew up on adjournments, having always had sudden death time controls in chess.  (I have joked with others in the past especially during arguments that I grew up with football (NFL), chess, & smash brothers & they all had sudden death.  The game will end.)  My new friend told me about an adjournment where his first round was adjourned (he wrote his move in a sealed envelope) & he couldn't resume the game until after the 3rd or 4th round.  Had sudden death time controls existed back then, he likely would have won the game.  But given days to study, his opponent was able to study the position more & won the game upon resumption.

Also interesting is that many players in other states that I have talked to that played in the US Amateur Team East Tournament in Parsippany loved their experience playing in it.  Hearing the positive reviews of this tournament makes me thank my lucky stars every year that I live only 25 minutes away from it & can play in it every year.

After I finished Round 5, two of the grandmasters at the tournament signed as many boards as they could before leaving on a plane to their next stop, India if my ears overheard correctly.  The other two grandmasters were there & also signed the boards.  I mentioned the board signing because two kids started trying to get people besides the grandmasters to sign their boards.  The chief TD signed their boards, then the kids asked me to sign their boards, as well as my 5th round opponent.  Of course I obliged, & I got the two kids to take a picture of me after I signed their boards.

Proof that the cosplay streak for chess tournaments is still alive.  Originally done waiting for A Video Game Con to return to a full convention.  Now just doing the streak for fun.  This is Hint Toad getting a quick selfie.

I felt like a celebrity for a hot 90 seconds lol.  I signed it with both my real name & my online screen name, why not?

I had some more air travel issues, this time at Dallas Fort Worth.  According to my fellow passenger, before I arrived, the connecting flight to EWR was in Terminal D.  When I arrived, it was Gate C8, then C7, then C6, then C7.  While waiting, it changed back to D18!!  But at least I made it home.

Here are the updated maps of my journey.

I guess it's time to sign off.  Until next time, enjoy this latest #fiftystatesofchess blogpost.