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February 9th, 2012:

The Sanders Variation: Missing the Critical Moment

I posted a similar article on my old Facebook page (R.I.P.) about the following game, including this very same concept. What is the moment of truth for a tournament player’s game? When do we seize the day, and how, with brute force, or a deceptive, positional move? The case here was that I did not miss the critical moment; in fact, I allowed it to pass the train station, as if hoping for a friend to pick me up.

The following game was after my last major tournament, where I did pretty well. I space out my tournaments to get the maximum amount of study time in between them. Even through this loss, my performance in this Asheboro Open tournament was remarkable considering the resistance. I thank Joshua Taylor the most for this instructive game.

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New Tournament Series starts at RTCC

The first installment of a series of new tournaments took place at the Raleigh Tournament Chess Club on February 8th, 2012. These tournaments are designed to add a little variety to the club’s normal schedule of G/75 ladder games.

Nine players battled things out during the Raleigh Gauntlet, a three-round Game/30 event played with a two second delay. Not only did the players play for a $40 first prize, but the club’s title belt were also on the line. Daniel Solarez made his return to RTCC action after a few months off and swept his way through the field by scoring a perfect three points. After dispatching of Jon Achelpohl and Sam Beesley, Solarez (one of two five-time club champions) faced off with top seeded Eric Lindauer. Solarez was able to push through Lindauer and secure the title.

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