2024 Maia Open - Round 9
Training Log
Classical Game - 3 hours
Drew the final round. Was an interesting struggle where I had a nice advantage in the endgame, but greatly failed to maximize my winning chances. My opponent defended well, and as the situation cleared I avoided falling worse with a timely draw offer…
Here White could get a nice edge with 1.Bxc5! Nxc5 2.Nd4+\-, where Black’s a-pawn is weak, with Rc1 and Nc6 to follow. I didn’t want to give up my bishop pair, but soon Black played Rb7, Nd7, Nd6 and gradually equalized.
Kavutskiy - Nogueira, Maia 2024
Finished the tournament with 6.0/9, with a performance rating of 2292. Definitely a bit disappointing after starting out 4/4. I don’t feel bad about my loss to GM Mikhalevski, that was a very complicated game, but my second loss was certainly avoidable, and in general my play was uneven. In two of the games that I won, I was worse or even losing at some point. But there were some nice moments too, in particular my win over GM Davies will be a memorable one.
After the round, it was time for the closing ceremony and final dinner. Hanging out with the streamers group was certainly a highlight of the trip — it was my first time seeing many of these folks in person, and we created some excellent memories.
Some photos from the event, courtesy of Flavio Sousa / AXM:
Flying to Rome tomorrow, where I’ll have one week to rest/prep before my next event, the 28th Festival Internazionale di Scacchi, held at the Grand Hotel Adriatico on the coast of Montesilvano, Italy. It’ll be my second time in Rome, and I’m very much looking forward to it!
Will be once again rooming and training with Zachary Saine (thechessnerd) before traveling to Pescara for the tournament.