The Chess Engineer: State No. 47 - Alaska + The Bonus Trip

So, my 47th different state that I played a chess tournament in was Alaska. I gotta say, airline flight patterns are strange...how else do you explain a flight going Newark to Anchorage via Dallas??

Normally, I would fly into a new state on Thursday, do the sightseeing before the tournament, & play in the tournament before flying either home or to the next destination. However, due to New York Comic Con being on Thursday, I ended up flying to Alaska on Friday.

I got to Alaska...& it was warmer than expected. The temperature was generally in the 40s & the snow hadn't hit yet in Anchorage. The tournament was held at the Lakefront Anchorage, but since I was staying an extra night to do sightseeing, it was cheaper for me to stay at a Marriott a few miles away.

A strange thing happened when I got to the tournament. Apparently I did not pay my entry fee previously. So when I registered in February, there wasn't a link to pay, but I kept forgetting about it & I missed all the windows to pay reduced entry fees, because I kept thinking that I already did because I registered. Ultimately, it is my own fault for not double checking that. However, in the future, all tournament organizers should have the payments options ready when tournament registration opens.

Once I paid the tournament fee, I checked out the main tournament room. It was a really nice setup. See the sixth picture in this instagram post. The rows were spaced nicely & there were only 4 boards to combination tables. The top board in the open section had the privilege of playing on a DGT board, which allowed the game to be broadcast live.

The bottom picture was a scoresheet for beginners I noticed. This looks like a fun scoresheet for beginners to use in their first tournament.

In talking to the players, the players play a lot online, mostly because it is hard to invite players from other states. I hope other players get to come up and visit, they deserve more visiting chess players. Alaska players have chess.com ratings (I also play on chess.com, thekecmaster) that are higher than their over the board ratings. Now, this has been increasingly common over the last several years in other states, but the difference here feels like it is higher than most other places. Almost everyone I talked to here has chess.com ratings that seem significantly higher than their over the board ratings, like 700-800 rating points higher. For comparison, my chess.com rating is lower than my over the board rating, so I find this comparison interesting and amusing.

Speaking of ratings, I found out before my trip that I was the top-rated player in the tournament, & there were no late entries that affected that status. So I ended up playing on Board 1 three times, Round 1, Round 2, & Round 6. With all the available rating information painting different stories, I just ignored the ratings & focused solely on playing the games over the board.

There was something strange in the second round - someone (not naming him) opted not to play his second round after realizing he was going to play an 1800-rated player. I have never seen that before in all of my travels. It was really disappointing as it gave the 1800-rated player a free point. I hope that never happens again. If he saw what Murdy did against me, he would be kicking himself.

The tournament was well run, the TD staff was very organized, & every round was pretty much run on time. I have decided to publish Rounds 1, 4, & 6 with just quick commentary on Rounds 2, 3, & 5. Round 2 was my only draw, I won all the other rounds.

[Event "2026 Alaska State Championship"] [Site "Anchorage, AK"] [Date "2026.10.10"] [Round "1"] [White "Evans, Colton"] [Black "Chen, Kevin E."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "1446"] [BlackElo "1857"] [PlyCount "40"] [EventDate "2026.10.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.02.28"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 d5 5. Nbd2 Be7 6. Bd3 (6. Nxe4 dxe4 7. Qxd8+ Bxd8 8. Nd2 (8. Ng5 Bf5) 8... Bf5) 6... Nc5 7. Nb3 Nxd3+ (7... Nxb3 {was briefly considered to avoid developing the Queen}) 8. Qxd3 O-O 9. h4 f6 10. Bf4 Nc6 11. a3 $2 {[#] he was afraid of ...Nb4, but the Bf4 was the more immediate threat.} (11. Bg3 fxe5 12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Bf5 14. Qc3 Bf6 {& I only have a slight advantage.} 15. Qxc7 $2 (15. Bxc7 $4 Bxc3+ 16. bxc3 Qxc7) 15... Bxe5 16. Qxe5 Re8) 11... fxe5 12. Bxe5 Rxf3 13. gxf3 {I understood he wanted to attack down the g-file, but castling long may have some big risks here as my Bishops may have open lanes there.} Nxe5 14. Qe2 Bf6 15. Nd2 Bf5 16. O-O-O Qe8 17. Rhe1 Qc6 18. Nb3 Nxf3 $3 {[#] stops the Nd4 solidifying defense & White is in big trouble.} 19. Rh1 (19. Qxf3 Qxc2#) (19. Rd2 Nxe1 20. Qxe1 Re8) 19... Re8 20. Na5 {I was looking for the checkmate folllowing ...Rxe2 during the game. I didn't see it, so...} Qa4 (20... Rxe2 21. Nxc6 (21. Rd2 Qxc2+ 22. Rxc2 Rxc2+ 23. Kd1 (23. Kb1 Rxb2+ 24. Kc1 (24. Ka1 Rd2#) 24... Rb1#) 23... Rd2+ 24. Kc1 Bxb2#) 21... Rxc2+ 22. Kb1 Rxb2+ 23. Ka1 (23. Kc1 Rb1#) 23... Rd2+ 24. Nd4 Bxd4#) (20... Qa4 21. Nb3 (21. Qxe8+ Qxe8) (21. b3 Qxa3+ 22. Kb1 Qa1#) 21... Rxe2) 0-1

There was something weird that happened in Round 2. After dropping the exchange 27. R1xd4 cxd4 28. Rxd4

Someone's cell phone went off with an ESPN Update Ringtone! I immediately thought of the mid-2000s ESPN Ad where Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander slips in his kitchen & falls down, and then you hear the voice of John Clayton saying, "Breaking news, Shaun Alexander is questionable with a foot injury." The ad concluded with Shaun Alexander ducking beneath his counter & looking around to see how they knew about his slip so quickly.

I survived this position after my opponent botched a chance to set up a double rook linear mate & forced a repetition of position, securing a Round 2 draw.

I won Round 3 by winning an exchange after exposing the c-file & my doubled rooks. (23. Rec1 was a mistake, almost any reasonable other move should be okay, though he is two pawns down.)

[Event "2026 Alaska State Championship"] [Site "Anchorage, AK"] [Date "2026.10.11"] [Round "4"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Zicari, Brett"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Chen, Kevin E."] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "1857"] [BlackElo "1723"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2026.10.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.02.28"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 b5 9. Bd3 a6 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Qe2 c5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 {[#]} 13. Bc2 ({I usually play} 13. Rfd1 {hoping for quick development, but it hasn't worked out recently, so I opted to retain the Bishop for future activity.}) 13... Bb7 14. Rfd1 Qb6 15. Rac1 b4 $6 {he did not like this move after the game.} (15... Rfd8) 16. Na4 Nxa4 17. Bxa4 Nd5 (17... Rfd8) 18. Ne5 {I am fine with the knight for Bishop trade as I thought Black's knight was the best piece on the board with Black's Queen having no direct access to c6 or d5.} Nxf4 19. exf4 Qa5 (19... Rfd8 {last chance to avoid some immediate tactical messes in my opinion.}) 20. Bc6 {[#]} Bxc6 (20... Qxa2 21. Bxb7) (20... Qc7 21. Rd7 {and I might be able to pick up both bishops.}) 21. Nxc6 Qc7 22. Rc4 {I don't think the b4-pawn ever stays alive in any variation, so I use some time to build up along the c-file in case my opponent tries the same rook stack trick my Round 3 opponent did.} Bf6 23. Rdc1 a5 24. Nxb4 Qb6 {if I am allowed to play Nc6 again with Rooks & Queens on the board, my winning chances have to be very high.} 25. Nd3 Rab8 26. b3 {no more b-pawn target.} Rfd8 27. Nc5 Be7 28. g3 h6 (28... Bxc5 29. Rxc5 {was probably Black's best chance, getting rid of the Knight.}) 29. Na4 Qd6 30. Rc7 Rd7 31. Rxd7 {I thought letting Black keep the stack on the d-file more dangerous, so I traded to reduce the stack there.} Qxd7 32. Qc2 Rd8 33. Nb6 Qd2 34. Nc4 Qxc2 35. Rxc2 Rd1+ 36. Kg2 Bd8 $2 (36... Rd5) 37. Rd2 $1 {[#] this forces the Rooks off & leaves me in my favorite knight vs. Bishop ending.} Rxd2 38. Nxd2 Kf8 39. Kf3 Ke7 40. Nc4 f6 41. Ke4 Kd7 $2 (41... g6) 42. f5 exf5+ (42... e5 43. Kd5 {Black is close to zugzwang here.}) 43. Kxf5 g5 (43... Ke8 44. Kg6 Kf8 45. Nd6) 44. g4 Kc6 45. Ke6 Kc5 46. Kd7 Bb6 47. Nxb6 Kxb6 48. Ke6 Kb5 {[#]} 49. a3 $1 {forces Black's King to take the long way} (49. Kxf6 $2 Kb4 50. Kg7 Ka3 51. Kxh6 Kxa2 52. Kxg5 Kxb3 53. Kf5 a4 54. g5 a3 55. g6 a2 56. g7 a1=Q 57. g8=Q+ {is still winning but messy and definitely avoidable.}) 49... Kc5 50. Kxf6 Kd4 51. b4 axb4 52. axb4 1-0

In Round 5, my opponent in a rough position cut off his back rank defense (25. ... Nd6-c8??) & allowed a winning deflection (26. Nc5-a4!).

There's no way to save the Queen & stop 27. Rd8#

So the stage was set for Round 6. My opponent was playing very well (+189 on his rating increase after this tournament!!), sitting at a perfect 5 points (out of the previous 5 rounds) & I was the only 4.5 point player. Winner wins the tournament, & if a draw occurs, he wins the tournament outright.

[Event "2026 Alaska State Championship"] [Site "Anchorage, AK"] [Date "2026.10.11"] [Round "6"] [White "Molla, Mykyta"] [Black "Chen, Kevin E."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Chen, Kevin E."] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "1588"] [BlackElo "1857"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2026.10.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2026.02.28"] {This was the perfect 5 score (White) vs the only 4.5 score (Black)} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bb5 {I have not seen this move before, & my opponent admitted after the game that this may not have been so good.} O-O 5. O-O c6 {to deflect the Bishop to attackable squares.} 6. Ba4 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Nxe4 8. Re1 (8. Nxe5 $2 Qa5 {forking the two pieces.}) 8... Nc5 {no time to capture on e5 due to the hanging Bishop.} 9. Bb3 (9. Ba3 Nxa4 10. Bxf8 Qxf8 11. Nxe5 {is an unbalanced middle game but I think I prefer to play Black's position here. I did win a game earlier this tournament with the two pieces versus the Rook, so I would have had no problem here.}) 9... e4 10. Ba3 exf3 11. Bxc5 Qg5 {[#] Qxg2# & Qxc5} 12. Qxf3 Qxc5 13. Re8 {I played a similar game years ago where White had this & I eventually gave up my Queen for insufficient material. I couldn't find it, unfortunately.} d5 (13... Rxe8 $2 14. Qxf7+ Kh8 15. Qxe8+ Qf8 16. Qxf8#) (13... h6 14. Qxf7+ Kh8 15. Rxf8+) 14. Rae1 Be6 15. Rxf8+ Qxf8 (15... Kxf8 $4 16. Rxe6) 16. d3 Nd7 17. c4 dxc4 18. Bxc4 Bxc4 19. dxc4 Re8 {[#] I am fairly confident that the counterplay is rapidly disappearing now.} 20. Rb1 Qc5 21. h3 (21. Rxb7 $4 Re1#) 21... b6 22. Rd1 Nf6 23. Qf4 h6 {That was his last best chance. Now that the luft is created, I should be able to slowly improve my remaining pieces & trade heavies or attack the king} 24. g3 Qe7 25. Qd2 Qe2 26. Qd6 Ne4 (26... Ne4 27. Qd4 (27. Qd7 Qxf2+ 28. Kh1 Nxg3#) 27... Nxf2 28. Qxf2 (28. Rf1 Nxh3+ 29. Kh1 Qxf1+ 30. Kh2 (30. Qg1 Qxg1#) 30... Re2+ 31. Qf2 Rxf2#) (28. Ra1 Nxh3+ 29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kh2 Re2+ 31. Kxh3 Qg2+ 32. Kh4 f5) 28... Qxd1+ 29. Kg2 Re2) 0-1

With that last round win, I improved to 5.5 & won the tournament! I did tease a secret about a hat I acquired recently in one of my instagram posts. I will say that in the 6 games I have worn this hat (last two at NJ Open, last four in Alaska), I have 0 results with the 12th letter of the english alphabet, & 0 results with the 4th letter of the english alphabet. If you figured out which hat it is, I will say it feels nice to have a little bit of this coincidence after suffering so many 12th letter results with a certain other kind of hat, especially down I-95 south in a certain city that definitely does not welcome that kind of hat. I am sure a result in the 12th & 4th letters will eventually happen with this teased hat, but these are goose egg stats I plan on enjoying for as long as possible. (Speaking of streaks, no losses in two straight over the board tournaments (12 straight otb games). Both have to be firsts/career highs, but shhh....)

So, after my Round 6 game, I rushed back to my hotel to pick up an extra sweater for my northern lights tour scheduled after the tournament & then I went back to the Lakefront Anchorage. It was fun to see the award ceremony (the first picture is me with the trophy) and see all the different trophies players earned, including the Alaska State Champion (the top playing Alaska Resident, which I am not eligible since I don't live in Alaska).

They gave me a trophy as well as a box for the trophy to travel home in as well as an envelope that had the prize money in it. I was so glad because I had two flights before coming home. (My carry on had a hard time staying closed lol). I also waited until I got home to see what the prize amount was. I am not required to disclose that online, so I won't.

I went on the Northern Lights Tour that night (got picked up from the Lakefront Anchorage). Parts of the sky were clear & we were able to see stars, but the part where the northern lights would have been visible from were obscured by clouds, so that was disappointing.

Next morning, I went on the glacier & wildlife tour, & that was a lot of fun.

After the glacier & wildlife, our driver took us to

and we got some interesting views

Warning: the Virgin Creek Falls Trail is narrow, & the lower level near the falls is hard to get to. Only three of us max got to that lower level.

After the tour, a couple of people gave me a few additional suggestions, & I ended up eating at Bear Paw & Grill where I had Alaskan Meat Lovers Pizza (Reindeer Sausage, pepperoni, hamburger, mozzarella and marinara sauce.) It was delicious!!

Bonus food in Anchorage. The tour guide & other visitors suggested Orso, which I had earlier in the trip with the alaskan salmon & the glacier brewhouse cream soda. Fantastic food and drink!

Here are the updated maps for my journey

And that concludes State No. 47 - Alaska for #fiftystatesofchess!

I took the Bonus trip to Los Angeles after my adventures in Alaska. I will try to keep this brief, but if you want to skip it, go ahead. Do note that I probably posted other pictures both of Alaska & the Bonus trip on my instagram page thekecmaster.

After flying out of Anchorage, I flew to Los Angeles via Seattle. There was a medical issue with one of the passengers. He fainted in the row opposite of me. The strange thing was, there were no medical personnel amongst the passengers, so the flight attendants were calling their respective offices to try to treat him. They took him to another row where he laid down for the rest of the flight. As I left the plane, I expressed my wishes that he gets better soon. Last I heard, he was okay, just weak and clammy.

On Wednesday, I took a Lyft over to Super Nintendo World at Universal Hollywood. On this visit, I purchased a Daisy band and played on Team Daisy. Daisy is one of my favorite characters, having first been introduced to her on Mario Kart Double Dash, and I am hoping she gets her own game in the future. (The Toads have their own game, Captain Toad Treasure Tracker)

I knew I had to move fast, as the only way to earn a Princess Daisy crown in the hourly team competition was to do it in the morning before the ratio of Princess Daisy players to other players got huge.

Pardon the timestamp, I took the screenshot just now & the time shown is eastern standard time. I actually earned this at 346pm that day

The disparity of Princess Daisy players is huge - I reached #1 early before being passed by the couple (1 & 2 overall were dating) and relegated to #3. But even when I was #1 overall briefly, the next princess Daisy player was #18, & the next daisy player was in the #50s.

I made sure to pick up a replacement Hogwarts hat. I was initially looking for a Black Ravenclaw hat, but I didn't see it there, so I picked up a gray four house hogwarts hat that can also double as the backwards gray hat for Dry Bones for when I cosplay a variant of him based on the Koopa Troopas from Mario Kart Tour.

I was meeting up with my cousin for dinner, so in between Super Nintendo World & dinner, I walked part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame trying to get pictures of the stars I wanted to capture. I also captured many more star square during the walk, so I didn't quite finish. I am obviously not posting all 227 star squares I took pictures of, but I did find a few that I will post here.

MacCaulay Culkin

Angela Lansbury

Now, this is my third visit to LA, but this was the first time I took a Lyft & my driver acted in a movie I had seen - Legend of the White Dragon. I thought that was pretty cool & it was fascinating to hear him talk about the acting industry. I hope he does well and gets picked up for future projects.

I went on the WB Studio Tour the next day & saw a lot of fun things

Bat Signal

Superman Pretzel

Big Bang Theory set

Michael Jordan Tune Squad Uniform

Full House Facade

Friends Couch & Fountain

Looney Tunes Painting

WB Studio Tour Building

Triwizard Cup

I took a quick detour to Burbank High School. If you never watched the Victorious show, you'll see why I took a picture of the pillar structure below.