Two weekends ago at age 44, I played in the longest chess tournament of my life The 90th Annual Southwest Open—a grueling 9-round event over 5 days. It was an intense chess tournament experience, and I even had to take a bye for Round 2 since I was teaching chess that day. As a USCF Expert rated 2153, I was seeded 35th out of 62 players, but unfortunately, I underperformed slightly and finished 45th with 3.5 points out of 9.
Despite my performance, the tournament had its highlights. One of the standouts was my first-round opponent, Karolis Juksta from Lithuania. At just 21 years old, Karolis is a very talented player, and he ended up tying for first place with a score of 6.5/9. Although I had a great position out of the opening despite being down a pawn, a tactical mistake cost me the game.
Chess Tournament Experience: Memorable Game Against a Prodigy
One of the best moments came in my game against Advik Manchanda, a 9-year-old chess prodigy ranked 16th in the nation for his age group. It’s clear that Advik has a bright future ahead of him. Despite losing to me, he showed incredible patience and maturity for a player his age—he only got up from the board once to use the bathroom during our entire game!
Advik and I ended up with the same tournament score, and I truly enjoyed the challenge he presented. In the game, he missed a chance to trade rooks and reach a very drawish position. Below is a critical moment from that game. Here is my game on lichess.org if you're interested in the full game and would like to see all my games from the tournament.
Puzzle Challenge: White to Play and Win!
In the diagram below, it’s White to move. The key to winning this position is to dominate the c-file. Can you find the move I played to take control? Give it a try and see if you can crack it!
$25 Referral Offer
By the way, if you’re enjoying our chess programs, why not share the experience with a friend? You can earn $25 credit toward future classes or get a direct reimbursement when a friend registers based on your referral! Just make sure they mention your name when signing up.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the puzzle!
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