Lessons from my First 2022 Chess Tournament

Edit 2022-01-19: added opening screenshots to each game.

I just completed my first chess tournament of 2022 and wanted to write down some of the lessons from it while they’re fresh on my mind.

Chess Tournament: DCC 2022 MLK Jr. Memorial.
Format: Swiss System
Time format: Rd 1-3 90m d5; Rd 4-5 90m +30
Section: U1800
Win/Loss: 2/3
Current rating: 1160
Exp. Rating: 1196

Game 1

my pieces: white result: win

The first game was very interesting because I was playing a higher rated opponent (1500+). Opponent replied to my 1. e5 opening with 1. .. c6, the Sicilian Defense, which is considered a very good opening for black. Lately, I’ve been trying to improve my response to this opening by playing 2. a3, 2. Nf3, or 2. c3 - I went with the latter which is the Alapin Variation.

Early in the game my opponent made an inaccuracy that prevented him from fully developing his pieces and gave me a great advantage when attacking his King.

1. Playing a higher rated opponent is not intimidating, they can also play inaccurately.
2. King protection: I need to improve how fast I’m castling - didn’t castle until move 21.
3. Didn’t prematurely get my Queen in the open - waited until move 12, this is good.
4. Need to study the Alapin variation better, not all players will make mistakes early on.

Game 2

my pieces: black result: loss

This was a good game, I was once again playing a higher rated opponent (1600+). He started with 1. c4, the English Opening, to which I replied with 1. .. c6, the Caro-Kann, with ideas of turning it into a Semi-Slav. The first few moves were rough, I put my pieces in very vulnerable squares. A few moves after I was able to stabilize just to go on to making a couple of mistakes back to back, and losing any chance at equalizing or gaining an advantage.

1. Study the Caro-Kann and Slav Defenses against the English.
2. Move the King to safety earlier in the game - didn’t castle until move 20.
3. Try not to move the same piece twice during the opening - moved the Bishop twice by move 5.

Game 3

my pieces: white result: loss

This round was against my friend Scott who I’ve played blitz and rapid games online with mixed results but this was the first time playing over the board. I once again started my opening with 1. e4 and he followed with 1. .. e5, in such position I’ve been trying the Italian in liu of the Ruy Lopez - not that either has given me an edge. We ended up with the Four Knight Defense to which I responded poorly but was able to equalize right before I got into a position where I had to trade Queens and pretty much took away any chance to an advantage. He made a blunder later on the game which I didn’t seize to my advantage, so that revelation during my analysis of the game was a bummer.

1. Once again, didn’t castle until later in the game, CASTLE! - move 20 … again.
2. Study a better response to 3. .. Nf6 and avoid the Four Knight variation right away, 4. d3 seems better than 4. Nc3 which is what I played.
3. Avoid Queen trades when attacking the King or infiltrating the side with more space is not clear.

Game 4

my pieces: black result: loss

Oh, this one was the first game on day 2 and let me tell you, I knew early on that I had made a mistake with no turning around. We opened with the Slav Defense, Exchange Variation, which went like 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5. And in the back of my mind I was thinking about the time someone was talking about the Exchange Variation and referred to it as “the dreaded Exchange Variation” and that threw me off because I couldn’t remember the continuation. And if someone refers to it as “dreaded” and you can’t remember how to go about it, chances are mistakes will happen… which they did.

1. Study the Slav Exchange Variation.
2. Study games with white playing Bg5 in the opening before black develops its e7 pawn.
3. CASTLE!!! Didn’t castle at all - okay in this game I had to force a King move to avoid getting forked and losing a Rook but previous planning could have avoided the position.
4. Super early queen move, 5. .. Qa5, which was a huge mistake, causing me to lose a pawn and damage my structure.
5. Develop your pieces. Think “Can I develop a piece before I attack with this already developed one?”. By move 12 I had moved my bishop 3 times and it was the only piece developed.

Game 5

my pieces: black result: win

Tough game. I was playing a lower rated opponent (only one the entire tourney) and she really gave me a run for my money - this game took 47 moves to end. Before the pairings had been announced I expected to play white for my final round because well, I’d been alternating all tournament, and it’s usually how it goes. Thus during my break I had been studying the Italian and Sicilian openings. But SURPRISE! I got black again and so my time spent studying seemed wasted.

My opponent opened with 1. e4 which made me breathe a sigh of relief, I was going to be able to play a “normal” Caro-Kann, 1. .. c6. It turned into the Advanced Variation which I’m familiar with but I was inaccurate on a move I’ve made 100 times, which gave my opponent a slim advantage but what was more alarming to me is that it left me with a closed center and less space on my side which made me a bit uncomfortable and took a lot of work to pull apart.

1. Once again, didn’t castle until move 18.
2. Don’t overthink an opponent’s move, stick to your opening principles.
3. Disconnecting my opponent’s pieces, the Rook and Queen in this case, was a great strategy.

Summary

Overall, I’m very happy with my performance. I wanted to challenge myself and play on a higher rated section and it paid off. I got an idea of how players at that level perform. I’m happy I didn’t rush and took my time calculating my moves. I definitely need to work on my castling over the board. My friend Alex kept advising me to castle after every game, and every time she’d walk past my board I’d feel her disappointment that I was yet to do so. It got to be pretty comically the theme of my performance.

I think I should start playing more over the board games at my local chess club. It’s a different feel than online and the same moves I saw online triggered me to respond differently.

There are a ton more lessons ahead. Wish me luck!