State No. 30 - Minnesota + Bonus Trip for the 50th World Open

This was an interesting trip. Normally, I fly out Thursday, do sightseeing Thursday/Friday, Play Friday (if necessary), Saturday, Sunday, & then fly home Monday. However, I opted to fly out Friday & do the majority of my sightseeing between the rounds on Saturday/Sunday & then all day on Monday. 

I opted to stay at a Marriott a distance away from the chess playing hotel rather than the chess playing hotel (Cambria) itself. On these trips, it tends to be the flip of a coin whether the chess hotel will be a good one or not. I try to stay at a Marriott when possible so I can eventually reap a Marriott reward, & my Marriott account was started in 2016 when the US Chess Federation gave the players 800 reward points as partial compensation for the terrible dorm-like but worse hotel rooms in Indianapolis at the US Open. (See my 2016 Indiana trip post for further explanation) 

However, this was a terrible decision. I happened to pick a Marriott that was in the middle of a renovation. The faucet knob was switched (cold was hot & hot was cold) & the telephone in my room never worked! I had to call the front desk from my cell phone, & they ignored my problems for a couple of days. 

I did get to see one of my friends in town. I know him from playing pickup Ultimate Frisbee in Van Saun & Weehawken & I think even played in the same Cranford Ultimate Frisbee Association Summer League at least once. We went to Guavas Cuban Cafe to catch up on various matters. The food was pretty good, I would repeat the visit. Then, he & his girlfriend drove me around Lake Nokomis on the way to ice cream. Lake Nokomis appears to be approximately 2.8 miles in circumference, and a characteristic of many of the lakes in this state is that one can do all sorts of activities - swimming, kayaking, paddling, etc. in the lake. We saw all those activities, along with people doing early evening picnics & early evening alcohol consumption as we drove/rode around Lake Nokomis. 

We then drove to Pumphouse Creamery to get ice cream. I tried their Five Flavor Flight, & they had an interesting way of showing the ingredients on the board.

Cookies & Cream, Fresh Banana, Strawberry, Madagascar Vanilla, & Chocolate

They had an interesting way of showing the ingredients on the wall.

I opted to visit Mall of America between rounds as much as possible as I could cover both quick eating & sightseeing in multiple trips, doing roughly a floor between rounds. Mall of America was huge, with a miniature golf course & a Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park on the interior & three full floors of stores with a partial fourth floor for more stuff.

Rare to see the Masters as a side event in a Chess Tournament,

Decorative Mall of America Display

Getting into MOA by foot isn't straightforward.

A sign that tells you how many parking spaces are available.

Random shot of the interior.

At the beginning of the long underground walkway from the transit area of MOA.

I suspect the Hammer Brothers Family would approve of this store.

The TMNT Framed Picture.

I went mini-golfing between Rounds 4 & 5 at Moose Mountain Adventure Golf.

I lipped out a hole-in-one on this hole.

Just like in the Bugs Bunny episode "My Bunny Lies Over the Sea", I tried a cue shot when my ball landed in front of the left wheel with the hole on the other side. I lipped that shot in the hole of 6 lol.

I somehow still met the speed limit lol.

This was the first time I saw a store for anime fans.

I believe similar to laser tag, though I did not have time to confirm.

This game is from my fourth round game at the US Amateur North.  This was the only game I won, but I think I proved to myself that I can still attack when I recognize the opportunity is there.

[Event "US Amateur North"] [Site "Minneapolis"] [Date "2022.06.26"] [Round "4"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Khachatryan, Gabriel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1800"] [BlackElo "1624"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.06.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 {It's been a long time since I could enact a 4-3 queenside majority in the Caro-Kann, so I opted to go for it without hesitation.} 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. Nf3 (6. Bf4 Qb6 {exposes White's premature development of his dark Bishop.}) 6... Bd6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. O-O Re8 9. h3 Nd7 10. c3 Nf8 11. Be3 a5 12. Qd2 b5 13. Bb3 Ba6 {I didn't get ...Ba6. I thought his Bishop was better served at b7 or e6} 14. Rfe1 Qc7 15. a3 {I had a gut feeling that f7 was where the action was going to be.} Rad8 16. Rad1 f5 17. Qc2 {provide space vs. the ...f4 trap of the dark Bishop.} f4 18. Bc1 c5 $2 ( 18... h6 {stops all the Ng5 to f7 nonsense.}) 19. dxc5 Bxc5 20. Ng5 {I just got a sense that I could win this game now & opted to pursue a king attack rather than patiently angling for an endgame. The next few moves are messy, but it is harder to defend than attack.} Rxe1+ $2 (20... Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Re7 { & I don't have access to d8. Fritz prefers Nxf7 while I prefer Qf5} {Fritz 11 SE: 1)} 22. Nxf7 ({Fritz 11 SE: 2)} 22. Qf5 Bc8 23. Qxf4 Qxf4 24. Bxf4 h6 25. Rd5 Re1+ 26. Kh2 Bxf2 27. Nf3 Re4 28. Bd2 Be6 29. Rxb5 Bxb3 30. Rxb3 Ne6 31. Rb7 a4 32. Rd7 Re2 {0.92/19}) 22... Rxf7 23. Qf5 g6 24. Bxf7+ Kg7 25. Bxf4 gxf5 26. Bxc7 Kxf7 27. Bxa5 Bb7 28. Bb4 Bxb4 29. cxb4 Ke6 30. f3 Ng6 31. Kf2 Bd5 32. Ke3 f4+ {2.14/20}) 21. Rxe1 Rd7 {Re8 is open when I need it.} 22. Qf5 Ba7 23. Bxf4 Qb6 $4 (23... Qb7) 24. Bxf7+ $1 Kh8 (24... Rxf7 25. Qxf7+ Kh8 26. Qxf8#) 25. Be3 $4 {I am annoyed that I missed the checkmate, but absent of the immediate checkmate, stopping enemy counterplay isn't a bad idea when ahead.} ( {This is the continuation I referred to in my instagram post that I totally missed as I can force checkmate now.} 25. Qxh7+ $3 Nxh7 26. Re8+ Nf8 27. Rxf8#) 25... Qd8 $2 (25... Qf6 $1 26. Qxf6 (26. Qg4 Rxf7 27. Nxf7+ Qxf7 28. Bxa7 Qxa7 29. Re8 Qf7) 26... gxf6 {keeps Black alive, even though White still has an advantage.} {Fritz 11 SE: 1)} 27. Be8 ({Fritz 11 SE: 2)} 27. Be6 Nxe6 28. Nxe6 Re7 29. Bxa7 Bc8 30. Bd4 Rxe6 31. Bxf6+ Kg8 32. Be5 Kf7 33. f3 Bb7 34. Kf2 Bd5 35. g4 Re8 36. f4 h6 37. Rd1 Rd8 38. f5 {2.77/21}) 27... Re7 28. Nf7+ Kg8 29. Nd6 b4 30. cxb4 axb4 31. a4 Ng6 32. Bb5 Bxb5 33. Nxb5 Bc5 34. Kf1 Re5 35. g3 f5 36. Bxc5 Rxc5 37. Nd6 Kg7 38. Kg2 f4 39. Ne8+ Kh6 40. Nd6 fxg3 {2.92/22}) 26. Bxa7 h6 (26... Rxa7 27. Re8 {sets up both Rxf8# & Qxh7#. I don't think Black can defend both.}) 27. Re8 Rd1+ (27... Qxg5 28. Rxf8#) 28. Kh2 Qd6+ 29. f4 hxg5 30. Qxg5 (30. Bg6 $1 Kg8 (30... Qxf4+ 31. Qxf4 gxf4 32. Rxf8#) 31. Qf7+ Kh8 32. Rxf8+ Qxf8 33. Qxf8#) 30... Kh7 31. Bd4 {Once you're winning, there are usually multiple ways to win. I chose to use all my pieces.} ({Fritz 11 SE:} 31. Rxf8 Qh6 32. Qf5+ g6 33. Bg8+ Kh8 34. Qf6+ Qg7 35. Qh4+ Qh6 36. Qxh6# { #6/13}) 31... Ng6 (31... g6 32. Rxf8 Qxf8 33. Qxg6#) (31... Qh6 32. Qf5+ Ng6 ( 32... Qg6 33. Bxg6+ Nxg6 34. Qh5#) (32... g6 33. Bg8+ Kxg8 34. Rxf8+ Kh7 (34... Qxf8 35. Qxg6+ Qg7 36. Qxg7#) 35. Rh8#) 33. Bg8+ Kh8 34. Bxg7+ Kxg7 35. Qf7+ Kh8 36. Bh7+ Qf8 37. Rxf8+ Nxf8 38. Qg8#) 32. Qh5# 1-0

This game is from my fifth round game at the US Amateur North.  For those of you from my instagram page, see the position after my 51st move.

[Event "US Amateur North"] [Site "Minneapolis"] [Date "2022.06.26"] [Round "5"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Wasserman, Edward"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C60"] [WhiteElo "1800"] [BlackElo "1984"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2022.06.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 {I lost a previous game to veteran Fred Wilson after he turned a Ruy Lopez to a King's Indian Defense.} 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 d6 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 8. d5 Nce7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. Qd3 Nf6 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Be3 c6 13. dxc6 bxc6 14. Rad1 Rfd8 15. Bd4 (15. h3) 15... Qb7 {this move changes the complexion as the pin is removed & now my d-file tactics are gone.} 16. b3 Rac8 17. h3 a5 18. Rfe1 Qb4 19. Qe3 c5 20. Bxf6 {I don't mind this trade as I don't think he can generate enough with Queen + Bishop vs. my Knight vs. Bishop.} Bxf6 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 a4 {If I can trade all the queenside pawns off, my Knight's Endgame should get stronger.} 23. Red1 axb3 24. axb3 Re8 25. Rxd6 Rxe4 26. Qd3 Bg7 27. Qd5 {looking at f7 again, & maybe c5.} Rce8 28. Rd7 R4e6 29. g3 (29. Ng5 Re1+ 30. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 31. Kh2 Qf4+ 32. g3 Qxf2+ 33. Qg2 ({Fritz 11 SE:} 33. Qg2 Qe3 34. Rd8+ Bf8 35. Rd2 Qxg5 36. Re2 Rxe2 37. Qxe2 Qd5 38. Qe3 Bd6 39. h4 Kg7 40. Qc3+ Qd4 41. Qxd4+ cxd4 42. Kg2 f5 43. Kf3 Kf6 44. Kf2 Ke6 45. Kf3 { -5.96/21}) 33... Qxg2+ 34. Kxg2 {where Black is up a pawn.}) 29... h6 30. h4 ( 30. Kg2) 30... Qe4 31. Qxe4 Rxe4 32. R7d5 (32. Rc7 Bd4 33. b4 {looks right.} ({ Fritz 11 SE:} 33. Kf1 Rb8 34. Rd3 Rb5 35. Kg2 Rb8 36. Nxd4 cxd4 37. Rc4 Kg7 38. b4 Rd8 39. Kf3 f5 40. b5 Rb8 41. Rb4 Kf6 42. b6 Rb7 43. Ra3 {0.17/18}) 33... Rd8 34. Nxd4 Rdxd4 35. Rxd4 cxd4 36. Rc4 Re1+ 37. Kg2 d3 38. Rd4 Rb1 39. Kf3 d2 40. Rxd2 Rxb4 {is drawish, so my game move was probably better.}) 32... c4 33. bxc4 Rxc4 34. R1d2 {I am trying to swap Rooks to achieve Knight vs. Bishop position, buyt my pawns on dark squares are a concern.} Rc1+ 35. Kg2 Re7 36. Rd7 Rxd7 37. Rxd7 Rc2 38. Rd2 Rxd2 39. Nxd2 f5 40. f3 Kf7 41. g4 {I am trying to place my pawns on light squares. I also want to split the f & h pawns so that I have a Knight takes f-pawn sacrifice for an easy draw. Black should be trying to trade h-pawns somehow.} Ke6 42. Kg3 Be5+ 43. Kh3 Bf4 44. Nb3 (44. Nf1 {traps the Knight.}) 44... Kd5 45. gxf5 gxf5 46. Na5 Bc7 47. Nb3 Kc4 48. Nc1 Kd4 49. h5 {This is critical to force Black's King to take the h-pawn.} Ke3 50. Kg2 Kf4 51. Ne2+ Kg5 52. Nd4 $1 {I offered a draw here.} Bb6 (52... Kxh5 53. Nxf5 {and Only White has practical winning chances, if any.}) (52... f4 $4 53. Ne6+ Kxh5 54. Nxc7 {And White is just plain winning.} Kg5 55. Ne6+ Kf5 56. Nd4+ Ke5 57. Ne2 {Black can't leave defense of the f-pawn, where White can swallow the h-pawn first & then tag team the f-pawn.}) 53. Nxf5 $1 Kxf5 54. Kh3 Kg5 55. f4+ Kxf4 56. Kh2 Kg4 57. Kg2 Kxh5 58. Kh1 1/2-1/2

I then went to one of the restaurants of Top Chef Justin Sutherland called the Handsome Hog.  It is an interesting place with his spin on southern cooking. I thought the food tasted good & his special butter for the muffin had a bit of hidden flavor (& spice) to it. I think it is worth a visit to try it out.

If nothing else, Combo #5 reminded me of the parody of Lou Bega's Mambo No. 5

Combo #5, with KEC's FAD as its drinking partner.

I did a lot of walking on Monday, even though there were a few ubers, a few buses, & even a train mixed in. I first found my way over to Minnehaha Falls.

Minnehaha Falls

& pass through a frisbee golf course

F. Golf Basket #7 for Kevin

Ford Dam on Mississippi River, view from Ford Parkway

Ford Dam on Mississippi River, view from Mississippi River Boulevard at Ford Dam Scenic Overlook in St. Paul

There were a lot of Sparky Statues.

I wonder if there was a hunt for the Sparky Statues available similar to the Hunt for the Garfield Statues, the Ndy Statues, & the Cowboy Boot Statues, because there were a lot of these around.

There was a Minneapolis River Walk Self-Guided Audio Tour Available, but I didn't bring my headphones on the walking trip, so I skipped the audio portion & just kept walking. Found some cool things along the way:

I would eventually walk across the Stone Arch Bridge.

on the St. Anthony Falls Dam Site looking at the Stone Arch Bridge

On the Stone Arch Bridge

I eventually crossed back on the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, & eventually found a bus to take me to the Uptown District, where I ate at a little french restaurant called Barbette. I had the Croque Monsieur sandwich (Beeler’s ham, Mornay, Gruyere), which tasted good & gave me enough time to rest for the final walk.

I walked over to the eastern part of Lake Bde Maka Ska.  There is another name for this lake, but I didn't remember it at the time and I'm not going to cheat by looking it up now. This is I think the largest lake in Minnesota, 3.1 miles around, enough to do a 5K run. Unfortunately, since I had already tacked on over 9 miles at this point in the day, I didn't think I had enough energy to walk the circumference & the remaining 1-2 miles to my last walking stop.  So, I just quickly walked the northern edge of the lake, & then continued northward around the western edge of Lake of the Isles on my way to Birchbark Books.

By the way, I did not expect to see so many signs for the Cedar Lake Trail Detour Path. This could also have been a hunt for these signs, as I feel like I saw 20 between Lake Bde Maka Ska & Birchbark Books.

After picking up 4 Books (The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart; The Fault in Our Stars - John Green; How to Resist Amazon & Why - Danny Caine; & Counting by 7s - Holly Goldberg Sloan), I arranged for either an uber or lyft to take me back to the hotel, which ended up being highly convenient as I attempted to do the Deck of Cards Fitness WOD while watching the old men from Pardon the Interruption. (One hour back of Eastern Standard Time does wonders for timing.)  By the way, Deck of Cards did not go too well - I guess over 11 miles of steps does have an effect on athletic activities.

Being in Minnesota, I learned about the local food favorite, the Juicy Lucy, & was directed by my friend to go to Matt's Bar & Grill. This place advertises itself as the originator of the Juicy Lucy & to distinguish itself from other places, they spell theirs Jucy Lucy.  

Because I was foolish & forgot to take a picture of my dinner, you'll just have to read my description. The Jucy Lucy is a burger with two patties & a slice of cheese in the middle. Be very careful as the middle cheese is HOT!!!  I almost burned my thumbs while eating this. That being said, this was extremely delicious & I highly recommend you visit if you can.  Please note that Matt's Bar & Grill takes cash & local checks only, no credit cards. There is an ATM on site.

Got an end of trip scare when I thought I lost my sunglasses as I did not have them for the Monday Walk Minneapolis Trip. I tried to contact the chess hotel, my hotel front desk, & the Handsome Hog. Luckily, I recovered the fumbled sunglasses when I got home as I had inadvertently packed them into the large suitcase.

That concludes State No. 30 - Minnesota.

#fiftystatesofchess

As this post is late in publishing (We're already past July 10), I decided to add a few tidbits from my trip to the 50th Annual World Open.

The World Open has improved its Round Starting Times from years (a decade, almost) ago. 

The air conditioning in the main playing hall was malfunctioning & there was a ban on spectators for the first 4 hours in Rounds 7 & 8.  

Just like in other World Opens, if you try to leave your hotel room with less than half an hour before the round, the elevator may be full.

This was my second round game at the World Open, under the G/60 D10 time control.

[Event "World Open"] [Site "Philadelphia"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "2"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Wang, Bohan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "1800"] [BlackElo "1628"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.06.30"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {I really like this Bishop check as it alters the position of the Sicilian defense immediately.} Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. Re1 g6 7. b3 {This is an idea I don't try often...fianchettoing my Bishop vs. his Bishop.} Bg7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. c4 {I am fairly certain he's not playing ...e5 as that kills his dark Bishop.} a6 10. Nc3 e6 11. d4 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nb6 13. Qd2 d5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Rad1 (15. exd5) 15... dxe4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Rxe4 Qf6 { The pins on the d4-knight are annoying.} 18. Qe1 Rad8 19. Re2 Qf4 20. Nf3 Rd5 ( 20... Rxd1 21. Qxd1 {& I think I will be okay with control of the d-file.}) 21. Rxd5 Nxd5 22. Re4 Qc7 23. Ba3 {I thought this was forcing as Black has lots of problems here.} Bc3 (23... Rd8 24. Re8+ Bf8 25. Bxf8 Rxe8 26. Qxe8 Qc1+ 27. Ne1 {As Bh6+ either wins the Queen or forces checkmate, & Black has to try a Queen trade to go into an ending only down a piece.}) 24. Qe2 Rd8 25. Re8+ Kg7 26. Bf8+ Kf6 27. Qe4 {I played most of the rest of this game looking for the checkmate. I wanted no business of trying to convert a single pawn up endgame or similar.} Rxe8 28. Qxe8 Ba5 29. g3 Qc3 30. Qe4 Nc7 31. Qe7+ Kf5 32. Qxf7+ ( 32. Nh4+ Kg4 33. Kg2 Qc6+ 34. f3+ {if I had seen this move during the game, I would have led this variation.} Kh5 (34... Qxf3+ 35. Nxf3 Ne6 36. Qxf7 Ng5 ( 36... Nxf8 37. Qf4+ Kh5 38. g4#) 37. Qf4+ Kh5 38. Qxg5#) 35. g4#) 32... Ke4 ( 32... Kg4 33. Qf4+ Kh5 34. Qh4#) 33. Qf4+ Kd3 (33... Kd5 34. Qd6+ Ke4 35. Ng5+ Kf5 36. Qf4#) 34. Qe3+ Kc2 35. Nd4+ Kb2 36. Qe2+ Kb1 37. Nf3 Nb5 38. a4 Nd4 39. Qd1+ Kb2 40. Qxd4 Kxb3 41. Qd1+ Kc4 (41... Qc2 42. Nd4+) 42. Bd6 Qb3 43. Ne5+ ( 43. Qd4#) 43... Kc3 44. Qd3+ Kb2 45. Nc4+ Ka2 46. Qe2+ Kb1 47. Nxa5 Qxa4 48. Be5 Qc2 49. Qxc2+ Kxc2 50. Nxb7 {I actually apologized to my opponent for not finding the mate sooner, but time pressure wasn't my friend. I knew for certain that an endgame up two pieces with pawns for me still on the board means I will most likely win, so he resigned here.} 1-0

I didn't play very well here either, blowing a pawn up position in the Ruy Lopez (& then losing) & then giving up a draw in the 8th Round when I could have won the position had I not traded the second pair of Rooks. Oh well, see you after my next state!