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!

State No. 29 - Maine

I took a short trip to Maine to cover my 29th State. Unlike most state trips on the #fiftystatesofchess journey, I drove to Maine, as it seemed taking an airplane or train ride was too inconvenient. The Maine State Open was played in Waterville, Maine, about 90 minutes north of Portland. For possible additional pictures please see the two instagram links below. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdAPB98MGRx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CdAPcSIskfC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

So on Thursday, after running into a few traffic pockets & stopping at the wrong welcome center (I stopped at the New Hampshire Welcome Center rather than the Maine one) out of necessity, I took a detour to the Portland Lighthouse (officially the Portland Head Light) at Fort Williams Park (in Cape Elizabeth, Maine). If you see postcards from Maine, many of them contain a picture of this lighthouse. It was windy & cold, & definitely not near sunrise when I went. But I knew in the back of my head I might not make it back here, so I made sure I took a few pictures of it.

After that, I took a trip to Becky's Diner. Somehow, it was the second-liked place for lobster roll in Portland according to Trip Advisor, but I guess my taste buds just don't like lobster roll.

They do have a nice chocolate cream pie, so be sure to get some! 

I had talked with a parent of one of the players in between rounds. On the last day (Sunday) of the tournament, this parent mentioned a two-cent bridge within the town boundary that might be worth checking out. Since my 4th round on Sunday ended really quickly, I opted to make a quick trip to the Two-Cent Bridge.

It was built & washed away several times, & the toll to get across between 1903 & 1960s was two cents, which is how it got its name. They added some bicycle racks that they designed in the shape of the bridge, which was a really nice touch. 

I played acceptably in the tournament. I struggled against two of the three lower rated players, but won all 3 games, & lost against both higher rated players. Since the rating spread of the lower rateds was very high, it wasn't enough to outweigh the losses & my rating dropped to my floor of 1800. 

I had the pleasure of playing the tournament organizer & current Maine Chess Association president Michael Dudley. He's a good person & is really passionate about promoting Chess in Maine. Very friendly & welcoming, I hope to return at some point in the future! 

Below is our third round game.

[Event "Maine State Open"] [Site "Waterville, ME"] [Date "2022.04.23"] [Round "3"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Dudley, Michael"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B44"] [WhiteElo "1804"] [BlackElo "1541"] [Annotator "Chen,Kevin E."] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.04.22"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceVersionDate "2022.03.05"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Be2 {I am not sure if I have ever played this variation before, but I have struggled using the Bind recently & I would rather try something different.} Nf6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bf3 Qc7 8. O-O Be7 9. Re1 d5 10. exd5 {This is simply so I don't have to be stuck guarding the e-pawn.} cxd5 11. Be3 Bd7 12. Nc3 O-O 13. Qd2 Rac8 14. Rad1 Bb4 (14... Rfe8 { Based on his admittance in the post-mortem that this two move Bishop shuffle wasted time, this preparatory move first is better. Bonus if he can ever play . ..e5 without losing the ...d5 pawn.}) 15. Bd4 Be7 {The d5-pawn now hangs because an e6-pawn capture exposes the unprotected Be7.} (15... Qd8) 16. Nxd5 { I chose this move because I thought the two Bishops would be better in the open position than the BIshop & Knight.} (16. Bxd5 exd5 (16... Nxd5 17. Nxd5 exd5 18. Rxe7 {is even better as the path to g7 is even clearer if Qg5 is allowed.}) 17. Rxe7) 16... Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Qxc2 18. Qxc2 Rxc2 19. Bb3 (19. Be4 Rcc8 (19... Rc7 $2 20. Be5 {hits both the c7-Rook & the d7 Bishop.}) 20. Bxa7 { is even better than the move I originally saw in the game.} (20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Rxd7 {wins a pawn but I have to be careful about how I trade pieces as opposing bishops now lurk.})) 19... Rc7 20. Be5 Rb7 21. Re3 a5 22. Red3 Bb5 23. Rd4 Rc8 24. h3 {Some luft in case I get careless about my first Rank.} h5 25. R1d2 Bc5 $2 26. Rd8+ Rxd8 27. Rxd8+ Kh7 28. Bc2+ f5 ({I take no objection to} 28... g6 $4 29. Rh8#) (28... Kh6 29. Bf4+ g5 30. Rh8+ Kg7 31. Be5+ f6 32. Rh7+ Kf8 33. Rxb7) 29. g4 hxg4 30. hxg4 Kg6 (30... Rd7 {may be Black's best chance here.}) (30... Bd7 $2 31. gxf5 exf5 32. Rxd7 Rxd7 33. Bxf5+ Kg8 34. Bxd7) 31. gxf5+ exf5 32. Rd5 Be7 33. Bc3 Bd7 34. Rxa5 Bb4 35. Ra6+ Kh7 36. Bxb4 Rxb4 37. Bb3 Rg4+ 38. Kh2 (38. Kf1 $4 Bb5+) 38... Rf4 {he offered a draw here} 39. Kg3 Rg4+ 40. Kf3 Bb5 41. Rd6 Bf1 42. Bc2 Bg2+ 43. Ke3 g6 44. Rd4 Rxd4 (44... Rg5 { gives slightly better chances for survival, but not much.}) 45. Kxd4 Kg7 46. Ke5 Kf7 47. f4 {Not allowing any ...g5 counterplay later.} Ke7 48. Bb3 Bc6 49. Bc4 Bb7 50. b4 Bc6 51. b5 Bb7 52. a4 Bf3 53. a5 Kd7 54. Bd5 1-0

I also got to talk to Chief TD Alex Relyea in between Rounds. I have a feeling that since I have not yet played in Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, & Massachusetts, I will happily see him soon. 

Interesting tidbits: The son of one of my prior opponents has won this tournament a few times, & I faced last year's champion Max Berube in the last round. 

That concludes State No. 29. I hope to see Michael & Alex soon, & you will see State No. 30 later this year. 

#fiftystatesofchess

State No. 28 - North Carolina

Well, I don't think anyone could have predicted what happened over the last year & a half.  With the pandemic affecting everything in life, it's been hard for a lot of us to do even "normal" things, let alone other stuff.

I had originally planned to travel to Arkansas last March for State No. 28, but with the pandemic raging, I opted to cancel my trip & wait for a better time period to travel.  I personally waited until I was vaccinated before I started planning this trip.

It should be noted that even for vaccinated people, masks are still required at airports, public transportation systems, private shared ride services (e.g. Lyft, Uber, etc.), & random private businesses.

I first traveled to the Carolina Raptor Center on Thursday, June 17.  Through this area, you get to see several different birds of prey & learn about fascinating things & how the volunteers here are trying to keep them going through conservation, education, & rehabilitation of the various birds.  Unfortunately, I didn't really get any good pictures, so I can't show any on this blog.

I next traveled to CrossFit Eternal to do my road drop-in to a crossfit affiliate.  Coach Dell was pretty good, & I saw him interact with others & myself, giving tips on our techniques as we were performing our strength movements & then the metabolic conditioning piece.  The place is well sized & there were boxes (outlined with tape) for each athlete to stand in to leave their stuff & do the workout.  I took a few pictures of the walls & the setup, really nice art they have that you can see here: IG Pic Post of the space & the WOD.

The next day, I walked the majority of the Charlotte Rail Trail from south to north, which included a slight detour stop at Paper Skyscraper.  Here are some photos, more in a bit.  It was a nice scenic walk that included quite a few art pieces as you traveled parallel to Charlotte's Blue Line Lynx system.  They did include on the trail a series of colored poles on each side.  It was called Color Forest, but someone graffitied the description, so I have no idea why they built it.  As you walk from one end to the other, the colors change aesthetically.

After the Charlotte Rail Trail, I continued up to the Mint Museum.  I thought it was going to a museum about the science of breathing or money, but it was neither.  I did stumble on a few cool pieces though, & you can see them in my instagram post right here.

That was practically it for sightseeing, as my first round started later that Friday evening at 6:30pm & I wanted to shower & rest up before then.  It was interesting to see the precautions the tournament organizers took, 

I only took video of the top playing room, but you can see it through my IG Post here.  They put two tables together, but only one game per table, so there was plenty of room & space.  It felt nice that they extended this perk to all the players, not just the top boards in the open section.  Masks were advertised as required, so you did have to wear your masks at all times in the tournament playing hall or the tournament corridors.

6/29 Addendum Note: You might see me rocking some #cosplay outfits, whether full or partial.  This is to make up for the fact that my favorite video game convention is delayed until 2022, I intend to dress up as at least one character (most likely Super Mario Franchise character) in each tournament until the next A Video Game Con occurs.

This is my third round game, where my engine didn't keep up with my endgame play for some reason.

[Event "Carolinas Classic"] [Site "North Carolina"] [Date "2021.06.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "Carrasco, Christian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C63"] [WhiteElo "1860"] [BlackElo "1727"] [Annotator "Chen, Kevin E."] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2021.06.18"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nxe5 Qd4 6. Nf3 (6. Qh5+ $2 g6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 {& the Qd4 protects the Rh8, but this is a trap I saw in a Bruce Pandolfini Chess Openings Traps and Zaps book, so I immediately discarded it.}) 6... Qxe4+ 7. Qe2 Qxe2+ 8. Kxe2 Nf6 9. Re1 Bd6 10. Kf1+ Kd8 11. Nc3 Re8 12. Rxe8+ Kxe8 13. d3 h6 14. h4 Nd5 $2 {while this undoubles his queenside pawns, his unopposed light bishop will have future endgame problems.} 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Bd2 Kf7 {Draw offered} 17. Re1 Bd7 18. Bc3 Re8 19. Rxe8 Bxe8 20. Be5 $2 { Rushed} (20. g3) 20... Bxe5 21. Nxe5+ Ke6 22. d4 f4 23. Ke2 Kf5 24. f3 c5 25. c3 cxd4 26. cxd4 Bb5+ 27. Kf2 h5 28. Nf7 Kf6 (28... Ke6 29. Nd8+ Kd6 30. Nxb7+) 29. Ne5 Kf5 30. g3 {I had to try to win this game somehow.} fxg3+ 31. Kxg3 Bc4 32. a3 Bb5 33. Nf7 Kf6 34. Nd6 $5 Bc6 35. Kf4 g6 {This seems to eventually trap the Knight, but I think it can live long enough for me to do something.} 36. Nc8 a5 37. b3 b5 38. Nb6 a4 39. b4 Ke6 40. Kg5 Be8 ({Fritz 11 SE: 1)} 40... Be8 41. Na8 Kd7 42. Nb6+ Kc6 43. Nc8 Kd7 44. Nb6+ {0.00/36}) ({Fritz 11 SE: 2) } 40... Kf7 41. f4 Kg7 42. f5 gxf5 43. Kxf5 Be8 44. Nxd5 Bf7 45. Nf6 Kf8 46. Kg5 Ke7 47. Nxh5 Bg8 48. Nf6 Bc4 49. h5 Bd3 50. Nd5+ Kd6 51. Ne3 Ke6 52. Kf4 Kf7 53. d5 Kf6 54. Ng4+ Ke7 55. Ke5 {4.39/35}) 41. f4 {I was laughing because the engine never considered this continuation after initially looking after white's 40th move, but once Black plays the ...Be8, it changed the evaluation from = to 2+!!} Bf7 42. Na8 Kd6 (42... Ke7 43. Nc7 {I can either escape with Na6 Nc5, take whichever pawn the Bishop doesn't guard, or trade knight for Bishop at e8 & eat the g6-pawn.}) (42... Kd7 43. Kf6 Be8 (43... Bg8 44. Kxg6 Kc6 45. f5 Kb7 46. f6 Kxa8 47. f7 Bxf7+ 48. Kxf7 Kb7 49. Ke6 Kc6 50. Ke5) 44. Nb6+ {double threat - Nxd5, or Nc8-Ne7}) 43. Kf6 Be6 (43... Be8 44. Nb6 Kc6 45. Ke7 {& the Bishop is actually lost for Black, and with that the game.}) 44. Nc7 {I had foreseen that this works & had enough reservations about eating the g6-pawn, so I went with it.} (44. Kxg6 {is actually faster.} Kc6 (44... Ke7 45. f5 Bg8 (45... Bc8 46. Nb6 Bb7 47. Kg7 Bc6 48. f6+) 46. Kg7) 45. f5 Bg8 46. f6 Kb7 47. f7 {does also work & may be faster than the game continuation}) 44... Bd7 (44... Kxc7 45. Kxe6) 45. Na6 Bf5 46. Nc5 {Not only does the Knight get to an outpost, Black can't guard e6 & d3 simultaneously. This should be an easy win for me now.} Bc2 47. Ne6 Kd7 48. Nf8+ Ke8 49. Nxg6 Be4 50. Ne5 Kf8 51. Ke6 Kg7 52. f5 Kf8 53. f6 Kg8 54. f7+ Kh7 {[#]} (54... Kf8 55. Nd7+ Kg7 56. f8=Q+) 55. Kf6 {The Bishop can't check me, & nothing stops f8Q & Qg7#.} (55. f8=Q Bf5+ 56. Kxf5 $4 {is a stalemate.} (56. Qxf5+ {avoids the stalemate, but I decided on a unique approach to avoiding stalemate.})) (55. Kf6 Bd3 56. f8=Q Bg6 57. Qg7#) 1-0

And this is my last round game, where I missed a win on the 27th move.

[Event "Carolinas Classic"] [Site "North Carolina"] [Date "2021.06.20"] [Round "5"] [White "Chen, Kevin E."] [Black "MacCaulay, Daniel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C68"] [WhiteElo "1860"] [BlackElo "1725"] [Annotator "Chen, Kevin E."] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2021.06.18"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d4 {Playing for the endgame immediately.} exd4 6. Qxd4 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8. O-O O-O-O 9. Be3 Ne7 10. Nc3 Ng6 11. f3 Bd6 12. Rad1 c5 13. Nde2 f5 14. Rd2 (14. exf5 Bxf5 15. Ne4) 14... f4 15. Bf2 Ne7 16. Bh4 Rdf8 $6 17. e5 Nf5 (17... Bxe5 18. Bxe7 Re8 19. Bxc5) 18. exd6 Nxh4 19. dxc7 Bc6 (19... Kxc7 20. Nd5+ Kc6 21. Nexf4) 20. Nd5 g5 (20... Bxd5 21. Rxd5 Kxc7 22. Rxc5+) 21. Nec3 h5 22. Ne4 Bxd5 23. Rxd5 g4 24. Rxc5 Rh6 ( 24... Rf7 $4 25. Nd6+) 25. Rd1 Nf5 26. Rdd5 Ne3 {[#]} (26... Rhf6 $4 27. Rxf5 Rxf5 28. Rxf5 Rxf5 29. Nd6+) 27. Rxh5 $4 (27. Nd6+ Kd7 (27... Rxd6 28. Rxd6 { should be enough for me to convert.}) 28. Ne8+ {I missed this move in the game. I Queen the pawn with either check or saving the d5-rook with a Re5+. Black should be lost now.} (28. c8=Q+ $2 Rxc8 29. Nxc8+ Nxd5 30. Rxd5+ Kxc8 31. fxg4 hxg4 32. Rf5 Rc6 33. Rxf4 Rxc2 {was sadly all I saw in the game.}) 28... Kxe8 ( {Fritz 11 SE: 1)} 28... Ke7 29. Rd7+ Ke6 30. c8=Q Nd5 31. Qxb7 Rxe8 32. Qc6+ Kf5 33. Rdxd5+ Re5 34. Rxe5# {#6/7}) ({Fritz 11 SE: 2)} 28... Nxd5 29. c8=Q+ Ke7 30. Qxb7+ Ke6 31. Qxd5+ Ke7 32. Rc7+ Kxe8 33. Qd7# {#5/7}) 29. c8=Q+ Kf7 ( 29... Ke7 30. Rc7+ Kf6 31. Qxf8+ Ke6 32. Qd6#) 30. Rc7+ Kf6 31. Qxf8+ Ke6 32. Qd6#) (27. Rd6 Rh7) 27... Rxh5 28. Rxh5 Kxc7 29. fxg4 Nxg4 30. h3 Ne3 31. Kf2 $2 Nd1+ 32. Kf3 Nxb2 33. Nc5 Rf6 34. Rh7+ Kc6 35. Nxb7 $6 (35. Nd3) 35... Nc4 36. Nd8+ Kd5 37. Rd7+ Ke5 38. Rd3 Rg6 39. Nb7 $4 ({Fritz 11 SE:} 39. Nf7+ Kf5 ( 39... Ke6 40. Rd4) 40. Rd5+ Ke6 41. Rd4 Na3 42. Rxf4 Nxc2 43. g4 Rg7 44. Nd8+ Kd5 45. Rf5+ Kd6 46. Ra5 Rc7 47. Rxa6+ Ke7 48. h4 Kxd8 49. h5 Rc3+ 50. Ke4 Rc4+ 51. Kd3 Rc7 52. Rb6 Ke7 {2.52/21}) 39... Ne3 {[#]} 40. Rxe3+ {I thought I was losing here.} ({Fritz 11 SE:} 40. g4 Rh6 41. Nc5 Rxh3+ 42. Ke2 Rh2+ 43. Kf3 Rh3+ {0.00/21 likely drawn by repetition here.} 44. Ke2 Rh2+ 45. Kf3 Rxc2 46. Nd7+ {pushes Black's king away from the f-pawn which I missed}) 40... fxe3 41. Nc5 Kd4 42. Nb3+ Kc3 43. Kxe3 Rxg2 44. Nc5 a5 45. Kf3 Rxc2 46. h4 Kb2 47. Nd3+ Kxa2 48. h5 Rh2 49. Kg4 a4 50. Kg5 a3 51. h6 Kb3 52. Kg6 {I offered a draw here, knowing I'm likely lost if he finds a way out} Rh1 53. h7 a2 54. Nc1+ Rxc1 55. h8=Q a1=Q 56. Qb8+ Kc2 57. Qh2+ Kb1 0-1

So I had chances to win in the last round, but I failed to do so.  I guess I'll get it next time!

50th US Amateur Team East/World Amateur Team

So, I went to the 50th running of the US Amateur Team East/World Amateur Team Tournament in Parsippany, NJ on President's Day Weekend.   This is one of my favorite tournaments of the year, as I get to see plenty of chess players, organizers, & even a few chess vendors from all over the place as 1300+ players plus untold numbers of others converge the Parsippany Hilton for one long tournament chess weekend.

Since this is the 50th year, I decided to lend my traveling hashtag for our team name.  However, during registration, the # symbol was dropped from our team name by mistake, so the wall charts have just fiftystatesofchess instead of #fiftystatesofchess.  It made for some interesting talk as everyone asked about the team name.

So, in most rounds (Except Round 5), Chief Organizer Steve Doyle gives away random prizes at the start of the round.  He calls first people up for orange pens, or previous amateur team t-shirts, or other random subjects.  (Sample minute video on the instagram post: KEC's Instagram Video on Prize Giveaways) I was laughing on Saturday because he called for a green shirt in Round 3 (Day 2), & I had worn two green shirts on Day 1.  (See team picture below)

#fiftystatesofchess Team: Todd, Todd II, Doug, & myself.

Similar regrets for when he called people up for born in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, but no 80s as well as being late with a MetroCard on Day 2!    It was okay though because he finally did call people born in the 80s before Round 6 & I won the book Champions of the New Millenium below:

Prize before Round 6, players born in the 80s. 
Book Title Champions of the New Milleniums

I did buy several other books, but the books that promise to be the most interesting are Winning Ugly in Chess by Cyrus Lakdawala & The Secret Life of Bad Bishops by Esben Lund.  Now, while I post very good games from various places, the reality is that most games are nowhere near 100% start to finish dominant by the winning side.  There are lots of ebbs & flows that happen, & games can swing wildly.  If nothing else, these books have the potential to have entertainment value, but I'm sure they can keep my spirits up as I try to recover from the bad chess play over the tournaments between Oklahoma City & Parsippany.

When you have to try to save at least a draw from a lost position, you know something went horribly wrong.
Round 6: Ratner-Chen, Rook Smart Not Street Smart vs. #fiftystatesofchess, Board 1, White to move, #19

This is one of those games that really swung wildly.  I should easily have lost this game, as White's attack hit hard & fast here.  In fact, after 19. Qf4, I cannot avoid mate, as 20. Qh4 guarantees 21 Qh7#, 19. ... Re8 surrenders the dark squares to 20. Bxf6, 19. ...Kg7 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Rh7+ Kg8 22. Qxf6 & 23. Qh8#, & 19. ... Bxg5? allows 20. Rh8#.  

If your opponent lets you hang around in a lost game, make things difficult for him!
Round 6: Ratner-Chen, Rook Smart Not Street Smart vs. #fiftystatesofchess, Board 1, White to move, #19

I ended up going into a Rook ending & my opponent offered me a draw on move 46 that I happily took, which ended up being critical as my team won the last match 2.5-1.5 to finish with 3 match points out of the 6 rounds.  

Here are our results with quick commentary (Our results in Win Draw Loss Format)

Round 1: #fiftystatesofchess vs. Drafting Pawns WLWW
The opponents thought my Board 3 & 4 teammates were brothers.  Todd Senior appreciated the thought!  I'll present a key position on the instagram post tonight.

Round 2: Black Mambas vs. #fiftystatesofchess DWLL
I won a pawn on the 10th move (see the instagram post coming from http://instagram.com/thekecmaster shortly) but played inaccurately from move 17 on & had to take a draw in an otherwise losing position as my opponent was short on time.

Round 3: #fiftystatesofchess vs. Caruanavirus (2020 Best Team Name) LDLL
My Board 2 Doug had to use a 3rd scoresheet in this game as this game was somewhere north of 130 moves & had a hard time demonstrating repetition of position.  (Each scoresheet issued by the staff was 60 moves.)  My opponent came back after getting coffee & said that there was no way repetition of position didn't already happen.  Doug eventually demonstrated it, but I think 50 moves may have been quicker to demonstrate.  My good friend Shelby Lohrman from American Chess Equipment was our opponent on Board 4.

Round 4: Parsippany Chess Club vs. #fiftystatesofchess WWLW
We got to see two more of our local chess playing friends as our opponents on Boards 2 & 3.

Round 5: #fiftystatesofchess vs. Vassars Earth Wind & Skewer DLLL
Mr. Ernest Johnson happily remembered that we played in the past and that game was also a draw!  (Look up 2009, same Team Tournament, but colors were reversed.)

Round 6: Rook Smart not Street Smart vs. #fiftystatesofchess DWWL (Forfeit Loss on Board 4)
We had a forfeit loss on Board 4.  Todd II went back to college on Monday (he had classes), so Todd Sr. moved up to Board 3 & an unrated player from the Navy joined us in Round 5.  Due to a misunderstanding & miscommunication, he played on another team and not ours for Round 6.  (Not his fault, which I want to make clear.  I also want to make clear that I feel bad that the opposing Board 4 had to wait an hour before claiming the forfeit win.  I was too busy getting beaten up early in my game & didn't notice until 45+ minutes in that my Board 4 didn't show up.)

After Round 6, there was a gentleman named Joshua Anderson who was conducting random interviews for http://www.chessjournalism.org about the oral history of the US Amateur Team East Tournament.  I consented, & it was a fun interview going back & forth.  I don't know when they are going to finish the compilation of their project, but I think I gave some good insight into things I have witnessed in my 15 consecutive years of playing at the Team.  They will post a compilation of audio quotes at some point in the coming months, & I will let you know once that goes up.

Well, that just about wraps it up.  There will be a post for State No. 28 soon - expect it in about a month or so!