Journey to the National Master Title, Part 14

In five March 2025 tournaments, I finished first twice and second three times while scoring 15/19 with just two losses; in April I picked up where I left off by scoring 3/4 in the April 6, 2025 East Market Swiss, finishing second-sixth and gaining 18 rating points to push my rating to 2015. That is my highest rating since November 12, 2023, when my rating was 2032. In the third round, I defeated the top seeded player, National Master Deshawn Kelley, but then I lost in the fourth round to Siddarth Kunapuli; that defeat snapped a 13 game streak during which I had no losses, which is my longest such streak since I had a 13 game streak in February-March 2023. During my most recent streak, I had 10 wins and three draws, while during my 2023 streak I had nine wins and four draws. I believe that when I develop the necessary consistency to put together a streak of longer than 20 games without losses I will be well on my way to surpassing the 2200 rating barrier.

Last year, in Journey to the National Master Title, Part 10, I discussed my Cincinnati Open history: "I first played in the Cincinnati Open in 1994, and it has become one of my favorite (nearly) annual events. There have been a few years that it has not been held, and a few other years that I was not able to participate for various reasons, but this year marked my 14th appearance--and the sixth time that I won a prize (including a tie for first place in the U2100 section in 2013)." This year, I took a third round bye, which meant that I played two games on Saturday followed by two games on Sunday. I played kids in all four games, starting with a first round win and then alternating wins and losses the rest of the way to finish 2/4 (2.5/5 including the bye), losing 14 rating points to drop my rating to 2001. In the last round, I lost to Elizabeth Xia, the highest rated nine year old girl in the country; in this tournament, she gained 81 rating points to establish a new career-high rating of 1911. I would have tied for fourth if I had won my last round game, and that would have matched my final ranking in 2023 and 2024.

I started the April 19, 2025 Columbus G/60 tournament poorly, losing in the first round to Colin Park (1708 published rating, 1788 live rating, 1839 post-tournament rating), who then won his second round game as well before losing in the last round to top seeded Evan Fan (2047). I bounced back to win my next two games to tie for second-third, but I still lost nine rating points to drop my rating to 1992.

I scored 2.5/4 in the April 26, 2025 Cincinnati Tornado. I lost my last round game on board one to Alex Cretsos, who won the tournament with 4/4. Cretsos gained 50 rating points establish a new career-high rating (2020), and I lost seven rating points to drop my rating to 1985. The next day, I scored 3/4 in the April 27, 2025 East Market Swiss, tying for second-third. I started 3/3 before losing to top seeded Deshawn Kelley in the last round. I gained 14 rating points to lift my rating to 1999.

My performance in the May 3, 2025 Columbus Plus Score tournament was a very disappointing setback. I made an unsound sacrifice versus Peyton Legg (1765) and lost in the first round, bounced back to win two games, and then blundered in the last round versus Daniel Chancey (1903). I lost 26 rating points to drop my rating to 1973. My slump continued the next weekend when I scored 2/4 in the May 11, 2025 East Market Swiss, losing 15 rating points to drop my rating to 1958. I scored 3/3 in the Dayton Chess Club's May 17, 2025 G/45 "A" Quad, gaining 12 rating points to improve my rating to 1970.

Unfortunately, I lost all 12 rating points--and much more--when I scored 2.5/7 in the U2100 section of the Chicago Open during Memorial Day Weekend. In the U2100 section of the 2024 Chicago Open, I scored 4/7 and only lost once, but this year I lost four games, including two to players rated below 1800, and my rating plummeted 52 points to 1918--my lowest rating since I hit my rating floor (1900) on March 31, 2021. My last round opponent had a published rating of just 1524, but before he beat me he defeated two players rated over 1900; he gained 193 rating points in this tournament, and he is now rated 1717. My tournament consisted of a series of tragicomedies (to borrow Mark Dvoretsky's word to describe a game gone awry), but perhaps the most tragic and comic was my lone draw, my third round game during which I had a losing position before my opponent hung a piece. I seemed to be cruising to victory when he played ...Ne6, after which he slapped his forehead as if he just realized he had blundered another piece:

Any sensible move wins easily for me here--but I let my guard down, and did not ask myself the most important question about any chess position: "What does my opponent want?" Here, he wants me to create a potential stalemate if I take his N with my Q. A few seconds after I gave him what he wants by playing Qxe6, he played ...Rxg3+. I have to take the R to avoid a perpetual check, after which my opponent forces me to take his Q and thus stalemate his K. I delayed the inevitable by playing Kh2, after which my opponent played ...Rh3+ and offered a draw--twice. By this point, I felt embarrassed at my carelessness and frustrated with his theatrics--the head slap, followed by multiple draw offers when it is obvious that the draw is unavoidable. I don't blame my opponent for playing on in a completely lost position; there is no rule against playing on until checkmate--but the head slap and the multiple draw offers were a bit much for me to take. I played the game out until stalemate appeared on the board. Normally, after every game I wish my opponent good luck in his next game, but after this game I said, "You had a resignable game but you are resourceful. The head slap was a nice touch. Congratulations on the best game of your career." I am not proud of making that semi-sarcastic dig, but I am not ashamed either; drawing me with Black probably is the best result he has had in his chess career. I am still not sure who is the bigger clown: my opponent for his "Three Stooges" theatrics after he played ...Ne6, or me for being foolish enough to let my guard down at any time, let alone in a game in the biggest tournament that I play in each year.

After the Chicago Open's fifth round, I scored 3.5/10 in the Chicago Open Blitz, including 1/6 versus players rated above 2100 and 2.5/4 versus players rated below 2100. There were 55 players in the Open section and 66 players in the U1900 section. 

I enjoy the "big time" environment of the Chicago Open, and I feel blessed to have played in the event 15 times, even though this one did not turn out the way that I had hoped or planned. I remain undaunted; after I hit my rating floor on March 31, 2021, I pushed my rating back over 2000 four tournaments later, on April 17, 2021. As I have always done, I lick my wounds, study my games, and prepare for the next tournament. Bill Belichick once very famously said, "We're on to Cincinnati," and that was literally the case for me--my next tournament was the May 31, 2025 Cincinnati Tornado. I started out with 2.5/3 and could have tied for first place with a last round win, but I lost to Evan Fan (2063) to finish out of the money and lose two rating points to drop to 1916.

I scored 3/5 in the U2100 section of the Cleveland Open to gain five rating points to improve to 1921. The good news about that result is that I did not lose a game, scoring one win and four draws; the bad news about that result is that I stood better in three of the four games that I drew, so if I had played more precisely I would have won more games and gained more rating points. The highlight of this tournament is that my daughter Rachel played in the Cleveland Open for the first time and she played in a two day weekend Swiss event for the second time. Rachel received a first round bye and then lost an "extra" rated game played during the first round. She fought hard throughout the tournament, facing higher rated players each round, and even though she lost all of her games she enjoyed the experience. It was a great Father's Day weekend for us!

Rachel and me before the first round of the 2025 Cleveland Open

Rachel and I played in the June 28, 2025 Cincinnati Tornado, the fifth time that we have played in this monthly event run by Robert Chenault. I scored 3/4 to finish third-fifth in the Open section, gaining 15 points to push my rating to 1936, and splitting the U2001 prize with one other player. Top seeded Aryan Balyan (2258 post-tournament rating) claimed clear first with 4/4, beating me in round three before defeating FM Hans Multhopp in the fourth round. Rachel scored 0/3 with a one point bye in the fourth round, but she had a great time, and she played an extra unrated game for fun during the fourth round.

Rachel and me prior to arriving at the June 28, 2025 Cincinnati Tornado

I started the second quarter of 2025 well, pushing my rating to 2015 after the April 6, 2025 East Market Swiss, but I lost 83 rating points in May before bouncing back to regain 20 rating points in June. 

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 12, I listed four chess goals for 2025. Here are those goals, with notes about how I have performed in the first two quarters of 2025:

1) Gain 50 rating points per quarter. I lost 16 rating points in the first quarter of 2025, decreasing my rating from 2013 to 1997; I lost 61 rating points in the second quarter of 2025, decreasing my rating from 1997 to 1936. 

2) Do not lose more than six games to players rated below 1800. I lost five games to players rated below 1800 in the first quarter of 2025; I lost four games to players rated below 1800 in the second quarter of 2025.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses. I had nine draws and 14 losses in the first quarter of 2025; I had nine draws and 15 losses in the second quarter of 2025.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014. My winning percentage through the first two quarters of 2025 is .648. 

In 2025, I have scored 61 wins, 18 draws, and 29 losses in regular rated tournament games with three first place finishes in 27 events. I lost nine games to players rated below 1800. My net rating gain for 2025 is -77, so I need to gain 264 points to reach my goal. 

Journey to the National Master Title, Part 13

I scored 2/4 in the January 4, 2025 Columbus Plus Score tournament. I lost 16 rating points to drop to 1997. This is the eighth time I have played in a Columbus Plus Score event, and the third time that I did not achieve a plus score (but I also have never had a minus score). I squandered an easily winning endgame in the first round due to hasty, inaccurate play. In the diagram below, I am about to play my 42nd move, and Stockfish 17 says that I have a nearly +7 advantage.

There are many paths to victory, but perhaps the simplest is what I initially planned: pushing my e pawn, and if Black checks me then I can run my K up the board, using my R and P for shelter if necessary. However, I became concerned that Black's g pawn could become dangerous if Black uses his K and R to take my f pawn and g pawn while my e pawn runs. So, I decided to be "safe" and take the g pawn--but now my K has no shelter, so Black can either check me forever, or else be just in time to pick off all of my pawns. A couple moves later, my opponent blundered and gave me a second chance to push my e pawn under favorable circumstances, but after I missed that winning opportunity the game fizzled to a draw; turning a win into a draw represents a 12 point rating swing, and in order to regain those points at my current rating level I would have to win one game against a 2000 rated player or two games against an 1800 rated player. Chess can be brutal!

How can a strong and experienced player make such a mistake? Ignoring for a moment the reality that even world champions blunder because blunders are an inherent part of chess, this specific mistake reflects a larger weakness that I need to correct: I too often rely on a combination of my general chess knowledge and my intuitive feel for chess positions as opposed to doing move by move calculation. My general chess knowledge states that a player who is up two pawns wins trivially the vast majority of the time, and my intuitive feel for chess positions led me to believe that capturing the g pawn eliminated Black's last practical drawing chance--but move by move calculation would have enabled me to see that White is winning after 42. e4 Ra2+ 43. Ke3 Ra3+ 44. Kd4 Ra4+ 45. Ke5 g4 46. Rf4. Black's g pawn will fall, and my K and R will escort the e pawn down the board, as Black's K is cut off and I can evade R checks.

Although the tournament was not a success, I ended the event on a positive note; in the fourth round, I beat Mehmet Yilanli, the highest rated seven year old in the United States (1880), avenging my loss to Yilanli in the fourth round of the October 5, 2024 Columbus Plus Score tournament. 

I scored 3/4 in the January 5, 2025 East Market Swiss, gaining nine rating points to bounce back over 2000 (2006), and tying for second-fourth. I won my first three games before losing to top seeded Broderick Bauml in a last round battle for first place. 

As soon as I popped my head above 2000, I crashed below again by losing 19 rating points in the Columbus Winter Open to slip to 1987. I reached a winning position in the first round versus Maxwell Chung (1783) only to dissipate my advantage with inaccurate moves before doing an unsound piece sacrifice; instead of a quick win, I suffered my first loss of 2025 versus a player rated below 1800. I won my next two games but then lost to Aryan Balyan (2162) in a last round battle for second place.

I scored 2/3 in the Dayton Chess Club's January 18, 2025 G/45 Swiss, losing 10 rating points to drop to 1977. Although I did not perform as well as I expect to perform in this event, in the first round I delivered a pretty checkmate versus two-time Dayton Chess Club Champion David Guehl. I do not recall ever seeing this exact pattern before; it is interesting that my Q could be replaced by a B or even by a P and it would still be a checkmate because my opponent's K is hemmed in by his own Ps:

I scored 2/4 in the January 19, 2025 East Market Swiss, losing 19 rating points to fall to 1958. In the last round, with second place up for grabs, I lost to Keya Jha (1934), the second highest rated 10 year old girl in the country; she already ranks on the 95th percentile of all players nationwide! She finished clear second behind John Miller (2049), the top ranked player who beat me in the third round en route to a 4-0 performance. 

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 9, I described the history of the Cardinal Open, and I explained why it is one of my favorite tournaments. I tied for second-third among players rated under 2200 in the strong Open section of the 1999 Cardinal Open, highlighted by beating 13 year old National Master A.J. Steigman in the last round. Last year, I scored just 2.5/5 in the U2100 section. This year, I started with 2/3 on Saturday, putting myself in position to win a prize and gain rating points with two wins on Sunday. After the third round, I played in the Cardinal Open Saturday Night Blitz, scoring 5/8 to tie for first-second U2000 in the Open section. I scored 1.5/2 versus players who hold the NM title, including an exciting last round win versus Savio Bennihyn Joseph Benher, who has a 2231 regular rating. In the main event on Sunday, I beat my friend Robert Chenault (1906) in the fourth round, but I lost to Srihari Kandadai in a last round game on board two; as a result, Kandadai tied for first place with 4.5/5, but if I had won that game then I would have tied for second. Kandadai gained 139 rating points, vaulting from 1803 to 1942. I lost one rating point, dropping my rating to 1957.

I scored 3/4 in the February 1, 2025 Columbus Plus Score tournament, gaining 14 rating points to improve my rating to 1971. This is sixth time I achieved a plus score in nine appearances at this event. In the last round, I defeated Magnolia Zhu (1747), the fifth highest rated eight year old girl in the country. I was the eighth highest rated player in a strong field that included National Masters Will Sedlar (top scorer with 3.5/4), Jonathan Hilton, and Brett Passen, but I tied for second-fourth with Hilton and Expert Nicholas Bize. Sedlar defeated me in round two.

The February 15, 2025 Columbus G/60 tournament had an "Adults Only" (age 18 and up) format. Many adults prefer to not face young players, particularly young players who are not only strong but also underrated. I don't duck anybody at any time, but I wish that the U.S. Chess Federation would follow FIDE's example by adjusting the ratings of players rated under 2000 to reflect the obvious deflation that has happened in recent years. In the first round, I faced Pranav Jayaganesh, a young player who is still a "junior" according to the U.S. Chess Federation but who qualified for this "Adults Only" event because he is older than 18 and graduated from high school. I obtained an opening advantage plus a huge lead on the clock, but I did not cash in and my opponent offered me a draw twice in the endgame. Both times that he offered a draw the position was equal, but I convinced myself that I could induce him to make a time pressure error. Eventually, I sacrificed a pawn to create complications. With best play, he would have been forced to sacrifice back to maintain equality--but, instead, I blundered in his time pressure:

Here, 66.Kb5 maintains a narrow path to equality: 66...Bxh4 67.c4 Bf2 68.Kxa5 h4 69.Kb5 Kg5 70.c5 Bxc5 71.Kxc5 Kf4 72.a5 Kf3 73.a6 h3 74.a7 h2 75.a8Q h1Q 76.Qa6 Kf4 77.Qxf6 Qxf1 78.Qh6+ Kxe4 79.f6 Qf2+ 80.Kd6 g3 81.Qh7+ Ke3 82.Qa7+ Kf3 83.Qxf2+ gxf2 84.f7 f1Q 85.f8Q+ Ke2 86.Qxf1+ Kxf1 87.Kxe5=. Unfortunately, I played 66.Kd5?? and lost after 66...Bxh4 67.c4 Bf2 68.c5 h4 69.c6 Bb6 70.Kd6 Kg5 71.c7 Bxc7+ 72.Kxc7 h3 73.Kd6 Kh4 74.Ke6 g3. I played the game continuation because I missed how fast Black's pawns are after 73...Kh4. I hastily assumed that if Black's K abandons f6 then my pawn would roll through. I remember NM Jim Jordan asserting "If you can count, you can become a Master." That still seems like an exaggeration to me, but this position is a great example of how important it is to count/calculate accurately. Jayaganesh finished with 2/3, gaining 32 rating points. I won my last two games to finish with 2/3, but I lost five rating points, dropping my rating to 1966.

I tied for first-third U2000 in the February 22, 2025 Cincinnati Tornado, scoring 3/4. I lost one rating point, dropping my rating to 1965. I was the fifth seed in the 29 player Open section, and I was the only player seeded in the top five to win a prize. The next day, I completed a full chess weekend by scoring 2.5/4 in the February 23, 2025 East Market Swiss. I lost nine rating points, dropping my rating to 1956. I was the third seed out of 23 players. Only one of the top three seeded players won a prize. Shiv Srinivasan won the event with 3.5/4 after beating me and the second seeded player in rounds three and four respectively, and he gained 89 rating points to push his rating to 1865; this is the third time this year that I lost to a player rated below 1800 (and the second time that the sub-1800 player who beat me had a post-tournament rating above 1800). I missed several forced wins (and some forced draws) versus Srinivasan. Here is my last chance before I blundered and handed the win to him:

Srinivasan had just played 54.Kc4, getting out of check and renewing the mate threat on g7. I should have played 54...f6, which blocks my opponent's B while opening up f7 for my B and freeing my Q to swing over to d1. Stockfish 17 says that Black is nearly +5 here, meaning that my advantage is equivalent to being ahead by a R. Instead, I hallucinated that my opponent could get a perpetual check by sacrificing his R on f6 if I pushed the pawn, so I played 54...Qh6?? My opponent replied 55.g4, threatening both to deflect my Q with 56.g5 and to pin my Q with 56.Rh2. I can parry both threats by playing either 55...f6 or 55...Rd1--but because I did not notice the Rh2 threat I played 55...Be4?? and I thought that I had caught White's K in a mating net. I was deflated and discouraged when my opponent played 56.Rh2, a move which may look spectacular to a novice but is in fact a simple deflection tactic that I should have seen as soon as my opponent opened his second rank by pushing his g pawn. I had an advantage for a substantial portion of this game, but posterity will record the result as 1-0; there are no rating points or prizes awarded for "almost winning" or "winning for most of the game." 

Over 20 years ago, I asked Grandmaster Edmar Mednis how to consistently convert winning positions/how to avoid blundering away winning positions, and he told me to think of a chess game as equivalent to taking a five hour car trip: if you drive safely for four and a half hours but then crash into a ditch that is not a successful car trip; similarly, if you dominate your opponent for most of the game but then blunder, that is not a successful chess game. The car trip/chess game is not over until you safely reach your desired destination. I remember Mednis' story but remembering it is not enough: I must apply this wisdom when the outcome of the game hangs in the balance. It is not enough to be a good storyteller. I asked Mednis the question not to have a pithy pearl of wisdom to share, but to obtain practical advice to use during my games.

I scored 3/4 in the March 1, 2025 Columbus Plus Score tournament. This is the seventh time I achieved a plus score in 10 appearances at this event. I gained seven rating points, lifting my rating to 1963. I was the seventh seeded player, but I tied for second-sixth behind rising young Expert Siddarth Kunapuli. In the last round, I defeated National Master Brett Passen, the top seeded player. Two of the top three seeded players did not finish with a plus score, which indicates how competitive this tournament was.

I followed up my solid Columbus Plus Score result by winning the March 8, 2025 Columbus G/60 tournament with 2.5/3. I gained 14 rating points to improve my rating to 1977. The combined ages of my three opponents was significantly less than my age, and I am proud that I am showing that "Generation X" players can still compete with talented "Generation Alpha" players. On March 9, 2025, I scored 3/4 in the East Market Swiss, tying for second-fourth but losing seven rating points to drop my rating to 1970. I played ...Nxh3 in two games--the first time, I sacrificed unsoundly and lost to Stanley Qiu (1790) in the second round, but the second time my attack versus veteran Columbus player Thomas Stafa (1859) crashed through successfully.

Here is the position prior to my 29th move versus Qiu:

 

I stand clearly worse here, so I went for it with ...Nxh3+. I captured two pawns for my N, and I had ideas of lifting the Rf8 and swinging the other R to the f file, but White's Q, B, and R are putting too much pressure on my K. I lost after 30.gxh3 Qxh3 31.Qg2 Qxc3 32.Ne3 Rf4 33.Qg6 Rf6 34.Qxh5 Qd3 35.Rfd1 Rg6+ 36.Ng4 Qe4 37.Rb8+ Bf8 38.Rxf8+ Kxf8 39.Qh8+ Ke7 40.Qe8#.

Here is the position prior to my 30th move in my fourth round game versus Stafa. My pieces are swarming around Stafa's K, and after ...Nxh3 I won quickly: 31.Bxh3 Qxf2+ 32.Ng2 Nf4 33.Qf3 Rxh3+ 34.Rxh3 Qxf3.

I scored 3.5/4 in the March 16, 2025 East Market Swiss, claiming clear first while gaining 15 rating points to push my rating to 1985--but the highlight of the event was spending the day with my daughter Rachel, who drew her first round game despite not playing in any tournaments since the December 28, 2024 Cincinnati Tornado (where I also scored 3.5/4, finishing first-second). Rachel and I enjoyed Yellow Brick cheese pizza during the lunch break after the second round, and she also had a brownie batter sundae from NOLA Daq Shack.

Pre-tournament selfie with Rachel at March 16, 2025 East Market Swiss

The March 29, 2025 Cincinnati Tornado was my final tournament of the first quarter of the year. I scored 3/4 to finish clear second, gaining 12 rating points to increase my rating to 1997. In the third round, I drew Will Sedlar (2341), and thus I earned the "Master Bounty" prize paid out to a player who defeats or draws with the event's top seeded player.

I started the first quarter of 2025 horribly--losing 57 rating points in January--but I finished strongly, gaining 41 rating points in March. In five March tournaments I finished first twice and second three times while scoring 15/19 with just two losses--but both losses were to players rated below 1800, which means that a great month could have been even better. The blown winning positions described earlier in this article represent the difference between being rated over 2050 now versus being rated 1997; the rating points are there for the taking, but I have to take them by consistently converting winning positions. 

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 12, I listed four chess goals for 2025. Here are those goals, with notes about how I have performed so far this year:

1) Gain 50 rating points per quarter. I lost 16 rating points in the first quarter of 2025, decreasing my rating from 2013 to 1997. 

2) Do not lose more than six games to players rated below 1800. I lost five games to players rated below 1800 in the first quarter of 2025.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses. I had nine draws and 14 losses in the first quarter of 2025.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014. My winning percentage in the first quarter of 2025 was .681.

In 2025, I have scored 35 wins, nine draws, and 14 losses in regular rated tournament games with two first place finishes in 15 events. I lost five games to players rated below 1800. My net rating gain for 2025 is -18, so I need to gain 205 points to reach my goal.

Journey to the National Master Title, Part 12

I started the fourth quarter of 2024 with a packed chess weekend. Unfortunately, it was packed with painful losses! I scored 2/4 in the October 5, 2024 Columbus Plus Score tournament. I lost 34 rating points to plummet to 1944. This is the seventh time I have played in a Columbus Plus Score event, and just the second time that I did not achieve a plus score. In the fourth round, I lost to Mehmet Yilanli, the third highest rated seven year old in the United States. Yilanli's published rating for October 2024 was 1696, but his live rating was already 1784 and his post-tournament rating was 1795. 

Things only got worse for me in the October 6, 2024 East Market Round Robin. Originally scheduled as a four round G/45 Swiss, the format was switched to a six round G/25 (with five second increment) round robin because only seven players participated. I lost my first three games before recovering to win my last three games to tie for third-fifth with 3/6. I lost 14 rating points, and my rating slid to 1930. 

In the midst of this disastrous chess weekend, I lost five straight rated games. I cannot remember the last time that I lost five straight rated games. Looking through the past 10 years of my chess performance records, the worst losing streaks that I found were four four-game losing streaks; the most recent one took place in the U2100 section of the 2022 Chicago Open, and the previous one happened in the March 6, 2021 Upper Valley G/45, when I went 0-4 against four players who had each earned or would soon earn the National Master title--a marked contrast to this five game losing streak that included defeats to three players rated below 1800, albeit three players who are underrated kids (one of whom entered the tournament rated 1799 and exited the tournament rated 1857).

I recovered from my "lost chess weekend" to score 3.5/4 in the Columbus G/45 on October 19, 2024, gaining 51 rating points to lift my rating back up to 1981, and tying for first-second with Louis Zhang (who drew with me in the third round).

Louis Zhang (white) versus David Friedman (black), October 19, 2024 Columbus G/45

Then, I scored 3/4 in the October 20, 2024 East Market Swiss, tying for first-third but losing eight rating points to drop to 1973. That marked my 12th first place finish in 2024, tying a personal mark set in 2019. Overall, I scored five wins and three draws during the October 19-20, 2024 weekend, gaining 43 rating points and finishing first twice in one weekend for the first time since April 6-7, 2024.

I entered the October 26, 2024 Cincinnati Tornado with a streak of 11 straight regular rated games without a loss. I won my first round game to extend that streak to 12, but then squandered a winning position in round two and lost to end my streak. I won my last two games to finish with 3/4, earning a tie for second-fourth and gaining three rating points to climb back to 1976.

I won my first two games in the November 10, 2024 East Market Swiss, but then I blundered in my third round game to turn an equal position into a lost position. In the fourth round, I lost for the first time to Keya Jha, the number one rated nine year old girl in the country. I had scored four wins and three draws in our previous games. I lost 19 rating points to drop to 1957.

The Kings Island Open has been one of my favorite tournaments since I first played in the event in 1994. This year, I scored 3/5 in the U2100 section, finishing out of the money and losing 13 rating points to fall to 1944. I won my first two games before facing Gabriel Heyer (1863) in the third round. I had scored 3.5/4 in my previous games versus Heyer, but I had White in each of those games and I had Black this time versus Heyer. He played 1. e3, and I overextended my position trying to "punish" his slightly unorthodox (but sound) opening. 

After round three, I played in the Kings Island Open Saturday Night Blitz, tying for third-eighth out of 35 players with a score of 6/8. There was not a third place prize, but I tied with four other players for the combined U2300/U2100 prize. My USCF blitz rating remained unchanged at 1800, which is my USCF blitz floor; many kids are strong players but have not played many USCF blitz games, so their blitz ratings are hundreds of points lower than their regular ratings: my only two losses were to Sharath Radhakrishnan, whose regular rating is 2248, but whose USCF blitz rating prior to this event was just 1971. He scored 6.5/8 to take clear second behind GM Jianchao Zhou, who finished first with 7.5/8.

In the fourth round versus Carter Evard (1790 after 19 games; 1862 after Kings Island), after mutual mistakes in the opening I "tilted" in this position:

Any normal move--such as 17. Rcd1--keeps the balance. Instead, I played 17. Bxh6??, foolishly and recklessly going all-in for an attack that I should have realized is unsound. My opponent took my B and then pocketed my d pawn after I played 18. Qxh6. Instead of patiently maneuvering to try to obtain an advantage from an equal position, I went for broke on move 17--and got broken! This is the kind of impulsive, unsound chess that I have to eliminate: there is no reason to give up my B for two pawns both in this specific position, and in general versus a player who I should reasonably expect to outplay without taking risks in a patient, positional game.

I scored 3/4 in the November 24, 2024 East Market Swiss, tying for second-fourth and gaining 19 rating points to climb back to 1963. This was a special tournament because my daughter Rachel played. Although she scored 0/4, she had a great time--and when she has a great time, I have a great time as well. This was Rachel's 10th regular rated tournament, and her second appearance at East Market, the site of her first regular rated tournament (March 12, 2023).

Pre-tournament selfie with Rachel at November 24, 2024 East Market Swiss

I started the December 8, 2024 East Market Swiss with 2.5/3, setting up a last round encounter for first place versus top seeded Deshawn Kelley. Kelley won, dropping me into a tie for fourth-sixth. I gained five rating points to lift my rating to 1968, exactly my rating at the start of 2024.

I scored 2/3 in the Dayton Chess Club's December 14, 2024 G/45 Swiss, tying for second-third and gaining three rating points to improve my rating to 1971. In the first round, Kiran Boyineppally (1750) held me to a draw in a wild time scramble, and then he won his next two games to take clear first.

My 2024 chess year concluded on December 28, 2024 at the Cincinnati Tornado. My daughter Rachel played, and this turned out to be one of my favorite events of the year both because we participated together and because I performed very well, scoring 3.5/4 to tie for first-second with the top seeded player (Will Sedlar, 2315) while gaining 42 rating points to lift my rating above 2000 (2013) for the first time since September 2024. This was my second largest single tournament rating gain in 2024, surpassed only by the 51 rating points that I gained in the October 19, 2024 Columbus G/45 tournament. After winning my first two games versus lower rated opponents, I drew with Gajanan Jayade (2128) in the third round and then I defeated FM Hans Multhopp in the fourth round. Sedlar knocked off the only player with a 3-0 score to join me in the winner's circle. Rachel scored 0/3 with a one point bye in round three, but she loves chess so much that she played several casual games during the third round.

Pre-tournament selfie with Rachel at December 28, 2024 Cincinnati Tornado

I entered October 2023 rated 2038 and dropped all the way to 1940 before bouncing back to 1968 by the end of December 2023. This year, I had a 2004 rating in August, and dropped all the way to 1930 before finishing December with a rating of 2013. I am not sure why I have had such dramatic rating fluctuations in the fall months of the past two years, but without those slumps I would be much closer to reaching my goal.

Regarding the challenge of trying to advance from the 1900-2000 range to 2200 in the current era, I found some interesting data confirming my impression that my current level of play is not substantially lower than my level of play during my peak rating years but rather that the rating distribution has shifted unfavorably for players in my rating range. USCF ratings distribution data from 2004 shows that the 2000 rating level was at the 96.9 percentile, the 2100 rating level was at the 98.1 percentile, and the 2200 rating level was at the 99.2 percentile; the USCF ratings distribution data from 2014 shows that the 2000 rating level was at the 97.8 percentile, the 2100 rating level was at the 98.7 percentile, and the 2200 rating level was at the 99.4 percentile. That data demonstrates that the percentage of players who are National Masters (2200 rating level) has stayed about the same (less than 1 percent) but the percentage of players who are Experts (2000 rating level) has decreased. One factor to keep in mind is that the rating pool of National Masters is artificially inflated by older players who have earned a 2200 rating floor but are likely no longer 2200 strength players. In other words, if one excludes the "floored" National Masters then it is possible that the percentage of players who are maintaining a 2200 performance level has decreased just like the percentage of players who are maintaining a 2000 performance level has decreased.

My interpretation of that data is that the small cohort of players who are talented enough and work hard enough to earn the NM title has remained roughly the same size, but overall it is more difficult to maintain an Expert level rating than it used to be. I have not found USCF ratings distribution data more recent than 2014, but based on my personal experience I suspect that the trends noted above have continued or even accelerated: objectively, I would say that my level of play now is not much worse than it was in 2014, but in 2014 I was rated over 2100 while now my rating fluctuates in the high 1900s/low 2000s.

Overall, I performed well in 2024, and I set several personal records for regular rated events, including most first place finishes (13, surpassing the 12 that I had in 2019), most events played (41, surpassing the 39 that I played in 2023), most prizes won (29, surpassing the 24 prizes I won in 2023), highest percentage of events in which I won a prize (70.7%, surpassing the 68.8% prize winning percentage that I had in 2020), most combined first/second place finishes (19, surpassing the 18 combined first/second place finishes that I had in 2023), most games played (167, surpassing the 155 games that I played in 2023), most games won (98, surpassing the 93 wins that I had in 2023), and most draws (33, surpassing the 27 draws that I had in 2012). Also, I won one game versus a National Master, pushing my career total to 81.

I had a good year, but not good enough to earn the National Master title. The biggest challenge is to cut down my losses to players rated below 1800. In the first half of the year I had four such losses, but that number ballooned to seven in the second half of the year, which prevented me from surpassing 2100. Similarly, my draw/loss ratio during the first half of the year was good, but I slipped in that regard in the second half of the year. Overall, though, I made progress, and had my best draw/loss ratio ever, which is a step in the right direction.

My five game losing streak over a two tournament span in October made the difference between a good year and an excellent year. I had winning positions in three of those games, and legitimate opportunities to do no worse than draw all five of them; if I had scored 4/5 in those games then my rating would be close to 2100 now instead of languishing in the low 2000s. The losing streak seems like an anomaly, because I won my next three games, and then the next weekend I finished first in two tournaments, gaining a combined 43 rating points.

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 8, I listed four chess goals for 2024. Here are those goals, with notes about how I performed:

1) Gain 60 rating points per quarter. I gained three rating points in the first quarter of 2024, improving my rating from 1968 to 1971; I gained 10 rating points in the second quarter of 2024, improving my rating from 1971 to 1981; I lost three rating points in the third quarter of 2024, dropping my rating from 1981 to 1978; I gained 35 rating points in the fourth quarter of 2024, improving my rating from 1978 to 2013. Overall, I gained 45 rating points in 2024, which averages out to 11.25 rating points per quarter.

2) Do not lose any games to players rated below 1800. I lost two games to players rated below 1800 in the first quarter of 2024; I lost two games to players rated below 1800 in the second quarter of 2024; I lost three games to players rated below 1800 in the third quarter of 2024; I lost four games to players rated below 1800 in the fourth quarter of 2024. Overall, I lost 11 games to players rated below 1800.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses. I had 15 draws and eight losses in the first quarter of 2024; I had seven draws and nine losses in the second quarter of 2024; I had four draws and seven losses in the third quarter of 2024; I had seven draws and 12 losses in the fourth quarter of 2024. Overall, I had 33 draws and 36 losses.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014. My winning percentage was .686, the fifth best of my career.

Here are my chess goals for 2025:

1) Gain 50 rating points per quarter.

2) Do not lose more than six games to players rated below 1800.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014.

In 2024, I scored 98 wins, 33 draws, and 36 losses in regular rated tournament games with 13 first place finishes in 41 events. I lost 11 games to players rated below 1800. My net rating gain for 2024 is 45, so I need to gain 187 points to reach my goal.

Gem City Open History

The Dayton Chess Club hosted the Gem City Open annually from 1959-2019. The Gem City Open earned the USCF designation "Heritage Event" by virtue of being held for at least 25 years. During most of that time, the Gem City Open and the annual Dayton Chess Club Championship were the two most important events on the Dayton chess calendar.

I was surprised to learn that famous/infamous International Master Norman Tweed Whitaker was co-champion of the inaugural Gem City Open in 1959.

Grandmaster Alex Goldin holds the record with six Gem City Open titles (1998, 2003-04, 2008-10). Goldin, who once ranked in the FIDE top 100 in the world, emigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union. He lived in Ohio for several years, and he frequently participated in Ohio chess tournaments. 

Four-time Gem City Open champions include two-time Ohio Chess Champion (1959, 1964) Richard Kause (1961, 1964-65, 1972), three-time Ohio Chess Champion (1971, 1974, 1978) Robert Burns, Jr. (1971-72, 1976, 1980), and Sergey Berchenko (1982, 1987, 2006-07).

International Master Ron Burnett, who is from Tennessee but has often participated in Ohio chess tournaments since the 1980s, won three Gem City Opens (1989, 1994, 2014). International Master Goran Vojinovic, who was a prominent chess coach in Ohio before he passed away in 2016 after suffering a heart attack at 53, won three Gem City Opens (2010, 2013, 2015).

Two-time Gem City Open champions include Richard Noel (1962, 1968), Tony Mantia (1972, 1978), Art Keske (1975-76), Hans Multhopp (1977, 1994), Dennis Gogel (1979, 1983),  Lester Van Meter (1985-86), Charles Schulien (1986-87), Ben Finegold (1987, 1993), Steve Wygle (1991, 2002), Boris Men (1993, 1997), Alex Wojtkiewicz (2000, 2003), and Will Sedlar (2014, 2018).

GEM CITY OPEN CHAMPIONS

I have never seen a complete list of the Gem City Open champions, so in the spirit of my articles about the Dayton Chess Club Championship and the Ohio Chess Congress I decided to compile the list.

1959: Jack O'Keefe/Norman T. Whitaker 5.5/6
1960: George Kellner 5/6
1961: Richard Kause/Jack Witeczek 5/5
1962: Richard Noel 5/5
1963: Thomas Wozney 5/5
1964: Richard Kause/William Martz 5/5
1965: George Berry/Richard Kause 4.5/5
1966: Isidore Yedlin (Argentina) 4.5/5
1967: Peter Webster 4.5/5
1968: Richard Noel 4.5/5
1969: Daniel Boyk 5/5
1970: Alan Kirshner 5/5 (98 players--most up to that time)
1971: Robert Burns, Jr. 5/5 (99 players--most up to that time)
1972: Robert Burns, Jr./Richard Kause/Ed Lawrence/Tony Mantia/George Sendeckyj/Charles Unruh 4.5/5 (93 players)
1973: Mark MacDonald/Andy Martin/Gregg Stark 4.5/5 (72 players)
1974: Randal Andrzejewski/Charles Kannal 5/5
1975: Art Keske 5/5
1976: Robert Burns, Jr./Art Keske 4.5/5
1977: Hans Multhopp 5/5
1978: Tony Mantia 5/5 (49 players)
1979: Dennis Gogel 5/5 (48 players)
1980: Brian Beard/Robert Burns, Jr./Milan Vukcevich 4.5/5 (75 players)
1981: David Glueck 5/5 (72 players)
1982: Sergey Berchenko 5/5 (99 players, tying the 1971 record)
1983: Dennis Gogel/Gregory Markzon 4.5/5 (68 players)
1984: Dan Meinking 4.5/5 (84 players)
1985: Charles Diebert/John Readey/Lester Van Meter 4.5/5 (90 players)
1986: Charles Schulien/John Vehre/Lester Van Meter 4.5/5 (88 players)
1987: Sergey Berchenko/Ben Finegold/Charles Schulien 4.5/5 (57 players)
1988: James Schroeder 4.5/5 (54 players)
1989: Ron Burnett 4.5/5 (51 players)
1990: Gary Terry 4.5/5 (37 players)
1991: Chris Dorr/William Harris, Jr./Bruce Steinfeld/Norris Weaver/Steve Wygle 4/5 (86 players in two sections; 46 players in Open section)
1992: Gregory Kaidanov 4.5/5 (68 players in two sections; 43 players in Open section)
1993: Ben Finegold/Boris Men 4.5/5 (63 players in two sections; 22 players in Open section)
1994: Ron Burnett/Hans Multhopp 4/5 (54 players in two sections; 16 players in Open section)
1995: Ram Dake 5/5 (62 players in two sections; 17 players in Open section)
1996: Greg Serper 4.5/5 (71 players in two sections; 20 players in Open section)
1997: Boris Men 4.5/5 (55 players in two sections; 28 players in Open section)
1998: Alex Goldin 4.5/5 (58 players in two sections; 20 players in Open section)
1999: Enrico Sevillano 4.5/5 (45 players in two sections; 13 players in Open section)
2000: Alex Wojtkiewicz 4.5/5 (47 players in three sections; 12 players in Open section)
2001: Alex Lewis 4.5/5 (52 players in three sections; 13 players in Open section)
2002: John Dowling/Steve Wygle/David Zimbeck 4/5 (66 players in three sections; 21 players in Open section)
2003: Alex Goldin/Alex Wojtkiewicz 4/5 (67 players in three sections; 25 players in Open section)
2004: Alex Goldin/Stanislav Kriventsov 4.5/5 (58 players in five sections; 17 players in Open section)
2005: Anna Zatonskih 4.5/5 (65 players in four sections; 13 players in Open section)
2006: Sergey Berchenko/Ananth Pappu/William Wright 3/4 (43 players in three sections; 16 players in Open section)
2007: Sergey Berchenko/Tim Holman/Andrew Kobalka 3/4 (40 players in three sections; 12 players in Open section)
2008: Xiaobo Dong/Alex Goldin/Emory Tate 4/5 (55 players in four sections; 17 players in Open section)
2009: Alex Goldin 4.5/5 (71 players in four sections; 20 players in Open section)
2010: Alex Goldin/Goran Vojinovic 4.5/5 (62 players in four sections; 17 players in Open section)
2011: Walker Griggs 4.5/5 (84 players in four sections; 22 players in Open section)
2012: Sergey Kudrin 5/5 (65 players in three sections; 21 players in Open section)
2013: Goran Vojinovic 4.5/5 (111 players in three sections, setting the all-time Gem City Open record; 40 players in Open section)
2014: Ron Burnett/James Mills/Will Sedlar 4/5 (80 players in three sections; 32 players in Open section)
2015: Goran Vojinovic 4.5/5 (91 players in three sections; 40 players in Open section)
2016: Fidal Corrales Jimenez/Priyadharshan Kannappan/Ruifeng Li/Chao Zhang 4/5 (72 players in two sections; 36 players in Open section)
2017: Vladimir Belous/Andrey Stukopin 4.5/5 (66 players in two sections; 41 players in Open section)
2018: Will Sedlar 4.5/5 (39 players in two sections; 20 players in Open section)
2019: Mika Brattain 4.5/5 (46 players in two sections; 29 players in Open section)

Sources: Various issues of the Ohio Chess Bulletin, U.S. Chess Federation crosstables, and the Dayton Chess Club Review.

Results from the 1959-1978 Gem City Opens are listed in the February 1979 issue of the Dayton Chess Club Review, which also mentioned that 1180 players participated in the first 20 Gem City Opens--but that issue lists only Kause as the 1972 champion, contradicting the April 1972 Dayton Chess Club Review issue that lists six winners. The April 1972 issue was published right after that year's Gem City Open, and is thus likely the more reliable source.

Special thank you to four-time Dayton Chess Club Champion (1976-77, 1992, 1994) and two-time Gem City Open Champion (1972, 1978) Tony Mantia for providing information about the 1981 and 1982 Gem City Opens.

1973 Gem City Open co-champions (photo from March/April 1973 Ohio Chess Bulletin)

Author's Personal Note:

I participated in 29 of the 33 Gem City Opens between 1987 and 2019, missing only 1998, 2015-2016, and 2018. I won a prize eight times.

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 1, I summarized my chess career up to January 2023. My first USCF rated tournament was the 1987 Gem City Open. I was 15 years old. I scored 0/5, cried after my fifth round defeat, and earned a provisional rating of 1186.

Two-time Ohio Chess Champion (1950, 1985) James Schroeder won the 1988 Gem City Open in memorable fashion, upsetting Sergey Berchenko with Black in the fifth round. I scored 1.5/5 that year, and finished the tournament with a rating of 1470. I vividly remember watching the Berchenko-Schroeder game and trying to predict each player's next move--without much success, as I lacked the requisite chess knowledge to understand what was happening. Schroeder annotated this game for the 1988 "Special Gem City Open Issue!" of the Dayton Chess Club Review, and he began with this declaration: "In the first place (which this game is for) I consider any person who complains about receiving the Black pieces in any game to be a fool. I have never played an important game with Black where I could say: 'My opponent played a perfect game and I never had a chance to win.' You don't find perfect players in Amateur Chess, especially at a fast time control. Even Vukcevich gave me a chance at the Croatian Open a couple of years ago. I missed it, however, and he won." Here is that exciting Berchenko-Schroeder game from the 1988 Gem City Open, with selected annotations by Schroeder (and one note from Stockfish 16, which of course did not exist in 1988):

1988 Gem City Open

Sergey Berchenko vs. James Schroeder

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 Qb6 7. Nb3 a6 8. Be3 Qc7 9. f4 e6 10. O-O b5 11. Bd3 Bb7 12. a3 Be7 13. Qf3 Rd8 14. Qg3 O-O 15. Nd4 d5 16. e5 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Bc5 18. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 19. Kh1 Ne4 20. Qh4 g6 21. Rf3 Rd7 22. Ne2 d4 23. Re1 f5 24. exf6 Nxf6 25. Rg3 Ne4 26. Rh3 Stockfish 16 highlights this as the decisive mistake. (26. Rg4 maintains equality.) 26...e5 27. Rf3 Rdf7 28. fxe5 Rxf3 29. gxf3 Nd2 30. Qxd4 Schroeder: "This surprised me and I took my time because I had plenty of it, trying to find some simple win. But it isn't there, so I was forced to play a 'Reinfeldian Brilliancy.' Nxf3 Schroeder: "I used five minutes making certain that the Queen 'sacrifice' led to mate." 31. Qd7 Schroeder: "Now I looked to see if White was threatening a mate in one." Nxe1+ 32. Qxb7 Rf1+ 0-1

I scored 2.5/5 in the 1989 Gem City Open to win the Class C prize, the first time that I won a prize in a rated two day open tournament. As I moved up the rating ladder, I continued to win Gem City Open prizes: I finished first U1900 (3.5/5) in 1991, first U2100 (2.5/5) in 1996, and tied for third-seventh overall (3/5) in 1999. After the Gem City Open format switched from one section to two sections in 1991 (and more than two sections in some of the years after that), I played in the Open section most years--but in 2004 my rating had dipped below 2000, and I followed the advice of my coach (Grandmaster Anatoly Lein) to not play "up" but rather learn to dominate my current rating class; I scored 5/5 to take first place in the U2000 section, a nice reversal of my 0/5 performance in the 1987 Gem City Open. In 2005, I regained Expert status, and I tied for third-sixth in the Gem City Open's Open section with 3/5. I tied for third-ninth in the Open section of the 2010 Gem City Open, also with 3/5. Thus, the closest I came to joining the list of Gem City Open champions were my three third place finishes in 1999, 2005, and 2010.

One of my favorite Gem City Open memories happened in 2000. I scored 2.5 in the first four rounds, and was happy to win my fourth round game to set up a last round matchup with the top seeded player, Grandmaster Alex Wojtkiewicz--but when the pairings were posted I was paired versus someone else. I could have just accepted the easier pairing--I was in contention to receive a prize if I won my last game--but I protested that the last round pairings were wrong. After much discussion, the tournament director admitted that I was right, and he paired me against Wojtkiewicz, who proceeded to grind me down in a long game. I did not notice that fellow player Boris Utkin had taken three pictures of me and Wojtkiewicz during the game, but the next time that I saw Utkin he presented the pictures to me--and he had written on the back of one of them, "We like to play with strong chess players."

 

Friedman versus Wojtkiewicz, 2000 Gem City Open (photo by Boris Utkin)

Chess is about more than rating points and it certainly is about more than money. Yes, I like to play with strong chess players, and I like for the pairings to be correct even if that means facing the strongest player with a prize on the line. Another memorable part of that situation is that Wojtkiewicz became upset with me during the game because he felt that I did not resign soon enough; during the game, he left the playing site to go to Spaghetti Warehouse for a drink (or two), and after the game he initially refused to analyze with me. Andre Jaworowski, a mutual friend, intervened and explained that I always fight to the bitter end and that I meant no disrespect (correct on both counts). Wojtkiewicz eventually relented and agreed to analyze with me. I mentioned to him that at my level it is not so trivial to win a game when up a pawn so I was interested to see how he shut down any possible counterplay. I am not sure that he completely accepted that explanation, but I appreciate that a professional chess player took some time to share his insights with a dedicated amateur.

The Gem City Open was always one of my favorite tournaments--it meant so much to me that I tried to make it to the event in 1998 despite having incapacitating pain from a ruptured disk in my back--and I miss it very much, but I will cherish the memories forever and I hope that this article will foster appreciation for this important part of Ohio chess history.

NM Bernard Parham: Chess Innovator and Indiana State Chess Champion

National Master Bernard Parham passed away on Wednesday June 19 at the age of 77. Parham won the Indiana State Chess Championship in 1967, and he created the "Matrix System," an attacking method that he successfully used to win tournament games and as a teaching tool to introduce young people to chess. In connection with the "Matrix System," Parham also created a new form of chess notation based on the distinctive way that each chess piece moves; the U.S. Chess Federation approved Parham's chess notation for use in USCF rated tournaments.

The "Matrix System" is characterized by playing 2. Qh5 after 1. e4 e5. The early Queen move defies traditional opening principles that minor pieces should be developed first; when the Queen ventures out early, the opponent can gain time by attacking the Queen with less valuable pieces. Parham studied physics at Purdue, and he developed the "Matrix System" based on the notion that there is a connection between chess and vector analysis. 

Objectively, the "Matrix System" is not the best opening, but it has demonstrated its value in practical play. Not only did Parham achieve the National Master title (placing him in the top 1% of all rated U.S. players), but Parham's son Bernard Parham II is a Class A player who tied for first place in the 1994 National K-12 Championship (Grade 12) while using the "Matrix System."

This early Queen sortie has even been used at the game's highest levels. World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen played 2. Qh5 versus Shamsiddin Vokhidov in the 2018 World Rapid Championship. Carlsen lost that game--but not because of the opening, and in fact Carlsen missed a forced win on move 20. Carlsen did not win the World Rapid Championship in 2018, but he has won the event a record five times (2014-15, 2019, 2022-23), so he obviously takes it seriously and performs at a high level there.

Five-time U.S. Chess Champion Hikarua Nakamura, who has been ranked as high as second in the world, played 2. Qh5 versus GM Krishnan Sasikiran in the 2005 Sigeman tournament. Nakamura lost that game in 87 moves, but not because of the opening; he was close to winning at one point, but lost after he made a mistake and then pressed too hard instead of settling for a draw. Nakamura also played 2. Qh5 versus GM Nikola Mitkov in the HB Global Challenge, and versus GM Anton Filippov in the Second Champions Challenge, with both games ending into draws. Nakamura has used 2. Qh5 in many online chess games.

I first met Parham when he visited the Dayton Chess Club in the early 1990s. He was already a National Master, while I had yet to obtain Expert status or win the Dayton Chess Club Championship. Parham and I talked about his "Matrix System," and I expressed skepticism that this playing method was superior to traditional methods. Parham and I played several friendly blitz games, and he won most of those games. We talked about those games that night, and I maintained that he was beating me not because of the "Matrix System" but rather because he was a superior overall player; most of the games were decided because he outplayed me in the middlegame or endgame from equal or even inferior positions. Parham was without question both talented and hard-working; it is interesting to speculate about whether his "Matrix System" enabled him to maximize his talents, or if he could have been even stronger had he taken a more traditional approach to the game. I still am not sure what the correct answer is, but I disagree with those who just blithely dismiss his playing style and teaching methods; there is more than one way to attain mastery, and more than one way to keep students interested and engaged.

Nearly 20 years after we first met, I played my only rated game against Parham; by that time, I was rated close to 2100 USCF and within the next few years I would achieve my peak USCF rating (so far!) of 2190, while Parham's rating had dropped to 2010 (his health problems no doubt affected his chess rating). Interestingly, Parham did not play his "Matrix System" in this game, and we reached a standard position in the Giuoco Piano. I obtained an advantage out of the opening, but Parham equalized after I made a mistake on move 19 (Qb3 maintains a solid edge for White). After I blundered on move 32, Parham missed the winning shot 32...Ra1, and on move 34 he forced a draw instead of playing ...Qg4, which leads to a winning position. 

In short, this was an interesting--but far from perfect--battle that ended peacefully:

Event: Sunday in the Park (Columbus, Ohio) G/60 9/11/11 (4)
White: David Friedman (2094)
Black: Bernard Parham (2010)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4 4. O-O d6 5. Nxd4 exd4 6. c3 Qf6 7. f4 Be6 8. Qb3 O-O-O 9. Bxe6+ fxe6 10. Qa4 dxc3 11. Nxc3 Kb8 12. d4 c6 13. Be3 d5 14. Rac1 Ne7 15. b4 Nc8 16. b5 Nb6 17. Qc2 Rc8 18. bxc6 Rxc6 19. exd5 exd5 20. Qb3 Qe6 21. Rfe1 Bd6 22. Bf2 Qf5 23. Bg3 h5 24. Nb5 Nc4 25. Qa4 Ra6 26. Nxd6 Nxd6 27. Qb4 h4 28. Re5 Qf6 29. Bf2 Rxa2 30. Rxd5 Ne4 31. Qc4 Qxf4 32. Bxh4 Qe3+ 33. Kh1 Qf4 34. Re5 Nf2+ 35. Kg1 Nh3+ 36. Kh1 Nf2+ 37. Kg1 Nh3+ 38. Kh1 Nf2+ 39. Kg1 1/2-1/2

The last time that I saw Parham was at the April 1, 2023 Indianapolis Super Tornado. We had a nice conversation in between rounds, reminiscing about both our first encounter at the DCC and about our rated game. I told him that I am still trying to reach NM level, and that I have great respect for all players who have accomplished that feat. He provided encouragement to me about achieving this goal. Parham played in just two more rated tournaments, both in Indiana in 2023. 

Parham leaves behind a lasting legacy as a National Master who also taught and inspired many students. His "Matrix System" has not replaced mainstream opening theory, but it is an interesting contribution to our beloved game.

As chess computers have become more powerful and sophisticated, we humans have learned that opening ideas that look odd to human eyes are in fact quite playable. Chess is a combination of art and sport, and there is a scientific aspect to chess as well. Computers reveal the scientific aspect of chess by demonstrating the technically correct way to play, but humans love chess not only for the pursuit of objective truth but also for the creation of beauty and for the heart-pumping thrill of competition. 

Even though Parham conceived of the "Matrix System" as a scientific contribution to chess, I think that his approach has its greatest value from a sporting perspective; from a practical standpoint as an active tournament player, I know that even some opening lines that computers say objectively are not great are difficult for humans to counter under the stress of tournament conditions. Even if some super computer objectively refutes the "Matrix System," that would not change the reality that Parham used his system to achieve National Master status while beating and drawing many strong players along the way. In that sense, Parham is an artistic cousin to the great World Chess Champion Mikhail Tal, who once joked with self-deprecation that there are two kinds of chess sacrifices: his sacrifices, and correct sacrifices. As long as humans enjoy playing chess as a form of artistic expression and as a sport, the game will always be about more than just which moves are "objectively" correct.

Journey to the National Master Title, Part 9

I scored 2/3 in the January 6, 2024 Columbus G/60 tournament, gaining 16 rating points to lift my rating to 1984. I defeated the top ranked player--Nicholas Bize (2064)--in the first round, and after drawing my next two games I shared first place with three other players. The next day, I scored 3/4 in the January 7, 2024 East Market Swiss, gaining two rating points to improve my rating to 1986. I lost to the top rated player, Brett Passen (2173), who tied for first place with Matt Wang. I tied for third-fifth place.

The Cardinal Open is one of my favorite tournaments, and one of the major annual open events in Ohio. There is a lot of tradition associated with the Cardinal Open, which according to my research was first held in 1975 (as mentioned in the March-April 1985 Ohio Chess Bulletin); I have to rely on my research because the Ohio Chess Association website has little historical data of any kind and no historical information about the Cardinal Open: their list of Ohio Champions only goes back to 2018, while my list dates back to the Ohio Chess Association's founding in 1945. Per the March-April 1988 Ohio Chess Bulletin, in 1987 only six U.S. open tournaments offered larger top place prizes than the Cardinal Open. In the 1980s and 1990s many top Grandmasters and International Masters traveled to Columbus for this midwinter event, including GM Anatoly Lein, six-time U.S. champion GM Walter Browne, two-time U.S. champion GM Roman Dzinzichasvili, three-time U.S. Champion GM Nick DeFirmian, GM Maxim Dlugy, GM Dmitry Gurevich, GM Sergey Kudrin, two-time U.S. champion GM Alex Yermolinsky, four-time U.S. champion GM Alexander Shabalov, GM Gregory Kaidanov, GM Ben Finegold, GM Enrico Sevillano 15-time Ohio Champion IM Calvin Blocker, IM Igor Ivanov, IM Boris Kogan, IM John Donaldson, IM Ed Formanek, IM Angelo Young, and IM Emory Tate (Dlugy, Ivanov, Finegold, and Sevillano were not GMs when they played in the Cardinal Open, but they were strong IMs who already displayed GM-level playing strength).

In the 1999 Cardinal Open, I tied for second-third among players rated under 2200 in a strong Open section. Then-IM Sevillano won the tournament with a perfect 5-0 score, ahead of (among others) Finegold, Lein, and Blocker; after losing my first two games, I reeled off three straight wins, taking down two Experts plus National Master A.J. Steigman (who earned that title at age 13 just three months before I beat him). 

My win versus NM Steigman was played with a 30/90, G/60 time control. 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3.Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 d6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. e4 Nc6 8. Re1 Qc7 9. Qe2 e5 10. c3 b6 11. Nf1 Ba6 12. Nh4 b5 13. Nf5 Nd7??

I will always remember how happy I felt after Steigman played this move. I knew that I was about to not only take down a National Master but also win a prize in a big Open tournament. 14. Bh6! gxh6 15. Qg4+ Bg5 16.Nxh6+ Kh8 Steigman offered a draw here but of course I declined because White has a decisive advantage. 17. Qxg5 f6 18. Qh5 Nb6 19. Ne3 c4 20. dxc4 Nxc4 21. Nxc4 bxc4 22. Rad1 Rad8 23. Rd2 Bc8 24. Red1 Na5 25. Bh3 Bxh3 26. Qxh3 Nb7 27.Nf5 Rf7 28. Qf1 Rfd7 29. Ne3 Rc8 30. Nd5 Qa5 31. Nxf6 Rf7 32. Nd5 Qc5 33. Ne3 a5 34. Rd5 Qc7 35. Nf5 Rd8 36. R1d2 Rf6 37. Qd1 Qc6 38. Rxe5 Nc5 39. Re7 Nxe440. Qh5 h6 41. Nxh6 Qc5 42. Nf5+ Kg8 43. Qh7+ 1-0

In the 2023 Cardinal Open, I scored 2.5/5 in the U2100 section, losing 16 rating points to drop below 2000. I hoped and planned to have a better performance this year, and I started with a round one win, but I did not win another game, scoring three draws and one loss the rest of the way. Draws are better than losses, but draws versus lower rated players cost up to 12 rating points each, and that can add up quickly. I lost 32 rating points, dropping my rating to 1954, more than wiping out the progress I made in my last three tournaments. After the third round, I played in the Cardinal Open Saturday Night Blitz, scoring 3.5/8. I scored 3/4 versus non-Master opponents and .5/4 versus Masters, including 0-2 versus Ralph Tan, who tied for first place with three other players. 

My first round win in the 2024 Cardinal Open was sloppy--I had a lost position on move 11 but resourcefully fought back--and unfortunately foreshadowed my careless play in the next four rounds. 

Contrast my smooth conversion versus Steigman--who is far stronger than anyone who I faced in the 2024 Cardinal Open--with my fumbling of three winning positions and one equal position in the Cardinal Open, and it is evident that the most significant issue preventing me from returning to 2100 and then reaching 2200 is my lack of sharp focus at crucial moments during games. 

I scored 2.5/4 in the January 21, 2024 East Market Swiss, losing 15 rating points to drop my rating to 1939. I did not win a prize. I drew with Keya Jha, the third ranked nine year old female in the country. I lost to Stanley Qiu after beating this talented junior each of the first four times that we played. He is the first player rated below 1800 who beat me in 2024--although it should be noted that he gained 99 points in this event and is now barely rated below 1800 (1798).

I scored 2.5/4 in the February 3, 2024 Columbus Plus Score tournament, gaining two rating points to increase my rating to 1941. This event featured an unusual prize format; instead of the prizes being based on ranking (first, second, third, etc.) the prizes were based on score, and every player who achieved a plus score (at least 2.5/4) received the designated prize for that score (in other words, tied players did not split prizes). 

The next day, I scored 3.5/4 in the East Market Swiss, gaining 15 rating points to increase my rating to 1956. I tied for first-second place. In the last round, I played Joel Thompson, who had the only 3-0 score. I was one of four players who had 2.5/3, so I needed to win to at least tie for first place. Thompson had a provisional rating (after 25 games) of 1732. I had Black for the third time in four games. Thompson played well for the first 15 moves, but I gained the upper hand after he erred on move 16, and then I won the Exchange after he blundered on move 18. I was expecting to have to grind out a winning endgame, but Thompson misplaced his K after a check and suddenly I had mate in three after ...R1e3+:

My opponent resigned here, because after Kh4 Black wins with 26...Bf2+ 27. g3 Bxg3+ 28. Kg5 h6++, while after Kf4 Black creates a similar mating net with 26...Bh2+ 27. g3 Bxg3+ 28. Kg5 h6++. Winning games, winning tournaments, and gaining rating points are all important, but chess is also about artistic beauty. I don't recall ever seeing a mating pattern like this, and I am happy that I recognized the opportunity to play this mate.

I played in two tournaments during the February 17-18 weekend. I scored 2/3 in the February 17, 2024 Columbus G/60 tournament, gaining eight rating points to push my rating up to 1964. I lost to the second ranked player--Nicholas Bize (2035)--in the second round, and he went on to finish clear first with 2.5/3, while I tied for second-third with the top ranked player, NM Charles Diebert. I scored 2.5/4 in the February 18, 2024 East Market Swiss, losing 17 rating points to drop my rating back to 1947. I had a very challenging day, due partially to my lack of focus early in the event and then later due to some health challenges during the final round. In the first round I had to defend well to draw with Ryan Wang (1258) after I blundered a piece for a pawn in the opening; young Wang had an excellent tournament, gaining 125 rating points! I beat Khalil Babiker (1251) in round two, but only after recovering from carelessly dropping a pawn. In round three, I drew with Keya Jha, a talented junior who I also drew with in the January 21, 2024 East Market Swiss. I drew my fourth round game with Expert Matt Wang; prior to the start of that game, I experienced abdominal discomfort and pain in my left flank, and both conditions worsened during the game, forcing me to make at least a half dozen trips to the restroom. After I finished my game, I drove straight to Miami Valley South Hospital and was diagnosed with a kidney stone in my left kidney; I knew this particular type of pain quite well, as I suffered a kidney stone in my right kidney in January 2023.

I bounced back from the kidney stone and the rating points loss to score 3/3 in the Dayton Chess Club's G/45 tournament, finishing clear first and gaining eight rating points to bring my rating back up to 1955.

On March 2, 2004, I played in my second Columbus Plus Score tournament, and I scored 2.5/4, fading in the second half of the event after winning my first two games. I lost 16 rating points, dropping to 1939. In my last round game, I won a pawn and had a commanding position versus Stanley Qiu (1815 official March 2024 rating, 1776 live rating), but I squandered my advantage, regained my advantage, and then lost after blundering in a drawn position. That was my second loss this year to a player whose live rating is below 1800 (both losses are to Qiu), and it ended my streak of 11 straight games without a loss (seven wins, four draws)--my longest such streak since I had 12 straight games without a loss (10 wins, two draws) in April/May 2023.

Grandmaster Jan Markos has a list of "anti-blunder tricks," and I need to consistently implement his recommendations:

1. Make sure you are aware of all unprotected pieces.
2. Make a list of all forcing moves and don't forget to check every one of them, at least briefly.
3. Don't forget to check all exchanges as well.
4. Don't play natural moves instantly.
5. Always ask yourself: What has changed on the board with the last move(s)?
6. Try to calculate lines until the very end.
7. Don't relax in simple positions.
8. Make sure you calm down after you have blundered or experienced an unpleasant surprise.

During the March 9-10, 2024 weekend, I played in two chess tournaments. I scored 2.5/4 in the March 9, 2024 Columbus G/45 tournament, losing three rating points to drop to 1936. I tied for third-eighth place. On March 10, 2024, I scored 3.5/4 in the East Market Swiss to secure clear second place and gain 18 rating points to push my rating back up to 1954.

My daughter Rachel and I played in the Dayton Chess Club's March 23, 2024 G/45 Swiss. This was Rachel's first rated tournament in Dayton, and her first rated tournament in 2024. She won her first game by forfeit, and lost her last two games. I scored 3/3, gaining 23 rating points to lift my rating to 1977 and finish clear first. 

          Rachel and I had fun at the 3/23/24 DCC G/45 Swiss
 

                  A smiling Rachel is ready to play her third round game

The next Saturday, Rachel and I played in the Cincinnati Tornado. Rachel lost three games, and she had a one point bye in round three. 

 Rachel and I took a selfie before the first round of the 3/30/24 Cincinnati Tornado 

I scored 2.5/4, losing six rating points to drop to 1971. In the fourth round, I played Gajanan Jayade (2128) on board one. Jayade only needed a draw to at least tie for first place, while I needed a win to at least tie for first place. Jayade outplayed me early in the game and built up a significant advantage, but I fought back and then took command after he missed a tactical shot. The critical position happened on my 38th move with both of us in time pressure (G/45 time control with five second time delay), although he was in worse time pressure than I was. Stockfish 16 gives Black +41 (!) here:

It should be noted that computer evaluations can be a little misleading, because this position is +41 only if I play the best move; Black is only +1.4 after the second best move, and less than +1 after any other move. The killer shot is 38...Nf3, with Black crashing through after 39. Kh1 Nxh2 40. Ra8+ Kh7 41. Rf8 Qxf8 42. Kxh2 Bf4+ 43. Kh1 Qxd6. Black has a significant advantage after 38...Rb1, but White can prolong the struggle by sacrificing the Exchange on d2. Instead, I played 38...Rf3, giving my opponent two different paths to equality: the Exchange sac on d2, and Nf5, which is what he played. I could have maintained the balance with 39...Rb3 but instead I played 39...Nxf1??, after which White would be +5 after Ra8+ followed by Qxf3--but with less than 30 seconds on his clock, my opponent immediately took on f3, enabling me to stay in the game by taking on h2 and then taking on a2. Unfortunately, after taking on a2 I did not successfully blockade my opponent's passed d pawn, and he checkmated me after promoting that pawn to a Queen. If I had won the game then I would have tied for first and pushed my rating very close to 2000; instead, I finished out of the money and ended up 29 points short of 2000. There are two valid ways of looking at this. One way is that I am demonstrating the ability to play at a high level, which suggests that it is realistic to believe that I can get my rating back over 2100 and complete the journey to National Master, a title that I fell just 10 points short of reaching in 2015; another way is that the nature of chess is that one bad move can swing the outcome of a game and a tournament--this is not a basketball game during which a team can build a 20 point lead, allow a 19-0 run, and still win by one point--and I have to significantly reduce how frequently I play game-altering bad moves or else I will be talking about how close I am to turning things around as opposed to describing how I turned things around. Sports competition is unscripted drama, so no one knows for sure how this quest will proceed. I remain confident, while also understanding that gaining over 200 rating points and establishing a career-high rating past the age of 50 is objectively a quite daunting task. I've never run from a challenge in my life, and I won't run from this one (which does not guarantee success, but guarantees that I will give my all until there is nothing left to give, which is the only way that I can be at peace with the outcome).

In Journey to the National Master Title, Part 8, I listed four chess goals for 2024. Here are those goals, with notes about my progress toward each one through the first quarter of the year:

1) Gain 60 rating points per quarter. I gained three rating points in the first quarter of 2024, improving my rating from 1968 to 1971.

2) Do not lose any games to players rated below 1800. I lost two games to players rated below 1800.

3) Accumulate more draws than losses. I had 15 draws and eight losses in the first quarter of 2024.

4) Maintain a winning percentage of at least .750, to break my personal record of .740 set in 2014. My first quarter 2024 winning percentage was .708.

In 2024, I have scored 30 wins, 15 draws, and eight losses in regular rated tournament games with four first place finishes in 14 events. I have lost two games to players rated below 1800. My net rating gain for 2024 is three points so I need to gain 229 points to reach my goal.