So recently there was a qualification tournament for the Asian Indoor Games, this was for the blitz portion of the event and the qualification tournament was only for people under the age of 23. Coming into the tournament, I was a clear favorite, being seeded 3rd. I also felt that my chances were very good, as I had a lot of experience playing blitz online and also over the board. However, things did not turn out ideally. In a crucial game with someone who later qualified, I had a completely winning position, but instead proceeded to play like an idiot for the remainder of the game. For what reason I don't know, perhaps the same reason why I've screwed up so many games in the past? Board blindness, mental block etc. But on the bright side, the game was a blitz game so at least I could offer that up as an 'excuse'. But still, I had more than enough time to decide what the right path to victory was, the decisions people make are so mysterious sometimes... On the bright side, the Asian Indoor Games would be during my semester at university in the United States, so at least I won't have to miss any school. Also, I still get the same training experience as the rest of the team, being able to train with a very strong Grandmaster from Armenia. So I can't say I'm too upset, I mean, even if I did qualify, I wouldn't say I would learn too much playing just blitz games. I could always play with Grandmasters or International Masters online anyways. The real improvement comes by playing in standard time control tournaments with strong players. Not 3 minute + 2 second increment blitz games. Anyways, can't say I'm too upset, I will continue to train and work on improving my chess, the journey continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment