11:00 AM
Tried to work, but that isn't going to happen today -
can't concentrate. Going to go
downstairs to camp out outside playing hall.
Some serious storm clouds rolling in - looks like rain is going to start
early today.
After 5 rounds, NJ is 1.5 points behind NY in the state
vs. state competition. Lots of tough
matchups in last round for both NJ and NY players. NY has the edge, but NJ still has hope.
11:47 AM
Tom Petty song, "The Waiting" is playing over
and over and over in my head. Does he
still play? Petty is one performer that
I have never seen that I want to. Need
to see if he is still active - he must be at least 134 years old by now.
11:52 AM
Went to bathroom and came back to find that two people
snaked my seat. Got to find a new place
to hang.
11:53 AM
Peeked inside the playing hall. JM at the board like a statue - staring
intensely at the board. When JM first
started playing tournaments he got into a habit of strolling around the room,
checking out all the other games. I
don't know if it was nervous energy or a bad habit he picked up from other
kids, but it used to drive me crazy! I
have noticed over the last few years that he no longer does this - he stays
focused and at his board all game long now.
The only time he strolls around now is when he knows he has the game
won. If it is near the end of the game
and JM is walking around the room, I know he is going to win. I used to hate seeing him walk around the
room - what I would give to see him walking around the room an hour or two from
now!
12:01 PM
Found a better seat.
I can see if JM comes out and goes to the bathroom, but he can't see
me. If he goes to bathroom I might even
be able to sneak in and check out his board.
12:42 PM
Hanging out with Michele in lobby. All the top boards are still playing. Gavin DeGraw (one of Michele's favorite
singers) is playing at House of Blues in Orlando tonight. Michele and I trying to come up with a plan
to go to the concert. Not sure we can
pull it off - going to have to wait to see him on our cruise in a few
weeks.....
12:51 PM
Stuck head back in playing hall. About 15 people watching JM's game. Must be an interesting game, which is exactly
what JM will tell me later.
1:21 PM
I see the crowd move away from JM's game and see the 2
players talking to each other. That
means the game is over - I have no idea who won. They finish talking - JM's opponent starts
walking to the back of the room, flashes a big smile and thumbs up and shakes
someone's hand. That can mean only one
thing - JM lost. I walk over to JM - he
is holding it together well. He tells me
he is going to go over the game with his opponent, and I tell him to take all
the time he needs. I walk out of the
tournament room and go down the hall to wait for him.
2:15 PM
JM spent about an hour going over game with his opponent
- I am sure it helped him to take all that time and decompress. I watched Advait Patel beat David Brodsky to
win the Barber championship - you could cut the tension with a knife at the end
of that game! I really don't know how
these kids do it - I have such tremendous respect for them.
Round 6 post game analysis
An hour after the loss, JM is handling it well. Still hanging out amongst the crowd near the
playing hall - watching the remaining games.
Going to be a tough afternoon for JM - this one will definitely hurt for
a while. Kind of glad he is going right
into another tournament tomorrow so he can get right back on the horse. He even just said he didn't want to take a
bye In round 1 - he wants to play tonight!
I think after the adrenaline stops flowing he will stick with the
original plan of taking a bye in round 1 and starting the US Open
tomorrow. The US Open is a big
tournament, but there will be absolutely no pressure on John Michael in this
tournament - he will be around the 40th highest rated player out of 400 or
so. He won't feel any nervousness at
all. It's weird but the US Open will
feel like just "another tournament" to him compared to the
pressure-packed tournament he just finished.
For the rest of the day, we are going to kick back and relax. Awards ceremony at 4:00 PM, but then it will
be some restful family time for the rest of the night. As I am typing this, JM already changed his
mind and decided not to play tonight - we are sticking with the original plan.
I really hope he can grasp just how special he is, and
what a tremendous accomplishment it is just to qualify to play in the Barber
tournament, let alone battle it out all the way to the end with the top player
in the tournament. There is no shame in
losing to a player rated 2349. JM is so
darn competitive - that fierce nature helps him accomplish great things, and it
also is undoubtedly making him crazy right now.
I can't wait for us to get away from the crowd and have some down time
so I can tell him how much I love him and how proud I am of him. He inspires me and many others. Watching him compete and get the most out of
his talents makes me want to work harder at getting more out of myself. The
problem is, I am not world class at anything like he is at chess!
4:00 PM
Awards ceremony.
Nicely done ceremony. JM
officially finished tied for third. The
NJ team won the state competition, earning each player a $100 gift certificate
from the chess bookstore - way to go Kimberly, Christopher and John
Michael! You did NJ proud!
The Champs!
5:52 PM
Back in the hotel room to relax for the evening after a
long 4 days. Quote of the day from JM:
"I am mentally done." He has
handled the last round loss well - I am proud of how he has handled himself.
There is no doubt in my mind that John Michael will be
back soon in a national championship, thrilling us all along the way. Hopefully his nutty father will have figured
out a way to deal with his own tournament jitters by then!
Congratulations to all the champions, and to all the
players who qualified to participate in this prestigious tournament. Very special group of kids - every single one
of them.
Hope you all enjoyed JM's latest chess adventure. For now - Adios from Orlando!
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