Day 2 Barber Pictures

                                          Good to get to board early to go through routine

                                                 Hustle and bustle before start of round 2

                                                         Waiting for start of round 2

                                                                  Nice hotel pool

                                                         Waiting for start of round 3

                                   Round 3 stare down (he doesn't really do this, by the way)

                                                             Sunday night in Orlando!

Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions - Day 2

Sunday, July 27 2014

6:00 AM

John Michael's Dad here (that is my identity these days) reporting from Orlando.  Going to be another hot day.  JM and Michele peacefully sleeping (as any sane person should be at 6:00 AM on a Sunday morning!).  Standings and round 2 pairings are not online yet, so no idea who JM is playing in round 2.  Two games today - 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM.  Yesterday was a good start - a win in a little over 3 hours is a good way to start tournament.  On days where there are two games, you always root for a short game to be played at night, and if there is going to be a long game, you hope that it is played during the day.  These tournaments are exhausting for the players - sleep is at a premium especially in the later rounds. 

A few years ago, after JM had been playing for a couple of years and was showing that he had talent, I decided to start playing in tournaments myself.  I was drawn to the game, but I also wanted to learn first hand what it was like to play in a chess tournament.  I will never forget my first tournament.  JM was around 9 years old and playing in one of the top sections against all adults.  Being an unrated player, I was in the lowest section, and played my first game against a 6 year old, who was moving with lighting speed and attacking me like his life depended on it!  Sitting in my kiddie chair, I never felt so much pressure in my life!  I ended up squeaking out the win but it was a nerve wracking experience.  Watching my son methodically take apart a 35 year chess veteran while I struggled to keep pace with a 6 year old was a humbling experience.  I started taking chess a little more seriously, started studying, played a few more tournaments and had my rating top out around 1300.  I will always remember the nervousness and pressure I felt when playing in tournaments, and I had nowhere near as much at stake as JM.  It was a good experience that gave me a lot of appreciation for what he goes through.  JM puts everything he has into every game he plays - he holds nothing back.  These tournaments are grueling, and each player goes through enormous stress.  Best thing I can do as a parent during a tournament is to just give him space and enjoy what he does.  I remember speaking with a top United States scholastic player at the World Youth Chess Championship in Brazil.  I asked him what advice he would give to a parent of a top scholastic player.  He said a big thing for him during tournaments was to be given space after a game, win or lose.  He needed time to decompress after a game.  4-6 hours of intense concentration, competition and focus is taxing, and what he needed after a game was not a pep talk or encouragement, but silence!  Good advice from a top player, although hard for a parent - we always think we can help - sometimes we just have to let our kids deal with life on their own. 

Where the heck are the pairings?  Isn't everybody awake and ready to go?  Note to self - no energy drinks before 7:00 AM for the rest of the tournament.

9:26 AM

Pairings are up - and we had a shocker in round 1.  Joshua Sheng, the number 1 rated player (2316), lost his first round game to a player rated 1990.  Stark reminder that upsets are the norm at these tournaments, and that these kids are not machines.  A 2321 would probably beat a 1990 8 times out of 10, but all that matters is what happens today.  Good news for JM is that he is at board 1, which is where you want to be.  If you are at board 1 you are at the top of the tournament standings going in to that round.  Destiny is in your own hands - if you win, you stay in the lead no matter what anyone else does in their games.  You also get to play in a special roped off area!  JM is playing Yoon-Young Kim from CT (rated 2121).  No games in Chessbase for this opponent.  Games are going to be tougher and tougher as we progress......every game will be a battle!  Going down to breakfast - I hope JM eats enough!

 

9:40 AM

JM asks me what time next round is.  I tell him 12:00 PM, and he answers with "are you sure Dad?"  Back story to this question that JM now asks me before every round:  At the World Open in Virginia a few weeks ago, I totally screwed up the start time for one of JMs games.  Game was scheduled to start at 5:30 PM, but for some crazy reason I thought his game started at 7:00.  Normally I am obsessing over every little detail during a chess tournament to make sure there is zero chance of anything going wrong - I have no idea how I messed this up.  Now this was bad for 2 reasons:

1) If you show up more than an hour late for your game, it is an automatic forfeit - you lose.

2) JM is a creature of habit - he has a set routine that he goes through before every game when gets to his board.  Normally we get to the board at least 10-15 minutes before the round starts so JM can get set up and settled in.

Back to the World Open in Virginia - it is 6:15 PM, JM and I are leisurely finishing up room service dinner and tossing a ball around the hotel room, hanging out before what we thought was a 7:00 PM start.  Meanwhile, several floors below, hundreds of chess games have been going on for 45 minutes or so.  For some reason I check the tournament website and to my horror I see that the round start time was 5:30, not 7:00!  I tell JM - we both start running around the room panicking.  JM starts grabbing his chess set, phone and bottled waters.  I think he may have gotten both his sneakers on, but I am not 100% sure.  We bolt down the hall to the elevator, and sprint to the playing hall.  Luckily he got to his board on time to avoid forfeit.  His opponent apparently also got to the board late, because only 20 minutes had elapsed on JM's clock.  Disaster avoided, but I never was more nervous during one of JM's games.  The thought of me possibly costing JM a game by him not having time to go through his pre-game routine was a rough thought to bear for the next several hours.  I went back to the hotel room and stared into space for what seemed like forever - just like those chess parents I referenced yesterday.  Maybe that is why they are staring into space - they know they did something stupid to their kid before the round.......

3 hours later, JM enters the hotel room and utters the magic words: "I won".  He then says "It was easy - I had tons of time left on my clock".  With the pressure off, we both had a major laughing fit remembering how crazed we were when we thought he might forfeit the round for being late.  Ever since then, before each round JM asks me what time the round starts and then asks "are you sure Dad?" 

I have a feeling I will be hearing "are you sure Dad?" several hundred times over the next few years - chess players have a good memory.

 

11:36 AM

In hotel room, going down to playing hall in a few minutes.  Michele watching a home renovation show on HGTV.  Are there more home renovation shows or cooking shows on TV?  Seems like every time Michele puts the TV on there is one of those shows on.  She probably says the same thing when I put on the TV and inevitably find a sports show.

 

12:00 PM

Round started promptly at 12:00.  This is a very well run tournament - organized, rounds start on time, pairings put up well in advance of round, standings updated quickly.  Kudos to the organizers and tournament directors!

 

12:30 PM

Spent the last 15 minutes at the pool in the sun.  Real hot.  Surprised I lasted 15 minutes out there.  Going back to air conditioning, which in my opinion is one of the greatest inventions of all time.  Michele still by the pool, soaking in the sun.

 

1:00 PM

Just found another benefit of JM being on board 1 - his game is being broadcast in the back of the playing hall.  I finally may be able to see one of his games being played!  JM doesn't like it when I am in the playing hall - maybe I should go buy fake glasses and moustache so I can sneak in and out of the room......

 

1:15 PM

This is why I am kind of glad I don't watch his games - just snuck a peek at the position and it looks like JM is getting killed - he is down a piece and a pawn on move 16.  Thankfully I am only a 1300 rated chess player - usually I have no idea what is going on when I watch a game between two top players.  You can usually take my assessment of a game and go the other way to find out what is really happening.  Hopefully I picked up the position in the middle of a long combination that will end up with JM in good shape.

1:20 PM

Went to pool to tell Michele that JM is losing.  Felt the need to get her worried too - no use me being the only one stressing out!  We really are too uptight - we have issues!

 

1:30 PM

Still looks like JM is losing.  Looks way too complicated for me to figure out.  Staring at this position for 5 minutes is already giving me a headache - how can someone sit there for hours on end without their brain frying?  These kids are truly something special, every one of them.

 

1:35 PM

Another Michele bug event just occurred while I was in the playing hall.  For those who do not know my wife Michele, she has a very strong dislike/fear of bugs.  I think we chronicled a couple of bug events on this blog from the World Youth Championship in Brazil a few years ago.  Anyway, Michele was sitting by the pool reading a book when all of a sudden a bug flew right at her and hit her in the mouth (good thing her mouth was closed).  After impact, Michele saw no sign of the bug, which led her to believe it was stuck on her somewhere.  The inevitable panic started to set in, and Michele ran up to a group of strangers to ask them if a bug was on her anywhere.  To the strangers' credit, instead of running away from this crazed woman they calmly told her that there was no bug in sight.  Hopefully Michele will be calmer by dinner time.

 

2:08 PM

Now JM is only down 2 pawns and it looks like his opponent's position is all disjointed.  I really have no idea what is going on.  JM is going to laugh when he reads my analysis after the tournament.

 

2:31 PM

Now JM is down a pawn and looks like he has a serious attack brewing. The more I watch this game, the more I am glad that I don't usually get to watch his games - there is no way I could take this stress if I watched every one of his games!  This is why I bring my laptop and work - takes my mind off the game.

 

3:00 PM

Don't most hotels skip the 13th floor?  Not this one.  Gotta ask someone about that.....

 

3:11 PM

JM has a queen and 4 pawns - his opponent has a bishop, rook and 3 pawns.  To my uneducated eye it looks like a position JM can (should?) win.  Who knows - I thought he was losing earlier, I think he is winning now - it will probably end in a draw!

 

3:21 PM

And just like that, it's all over.  JM won.  When I asked him how the game was he gave his usual response, "it was interesting".  I told him my analysis, and he laughed, telling Michele, "Mom, don't listen to what Dad tells you about the game - he doesn't know!"  How could he be so calm when I was a wreck for the last 3 hours?  Plenty of time to eat and relax - 3.5 hours until round 3 at 7:00 PM.

 

4:48 PM

Pairings are up for round 3 - JM is playing Angel Hernandez-Camen from PA (2231).  JM played Angel once previously and lost.  Time to look up that game to see what can be learned and improved on.  JM definitely going to use the time to prepare.  Hoagie and buffalo wings for dinner for JM - hopefully we can stuff some fruit into him in the next hour to take him through the evening.  Michele watching yet another home improvement show. 

 

JM is tied for first with 7 other kids at 2.0 points.  The next couple of rounds will go a long way to determining who the top contenders are.  There will be no easy games from here on out.

 

There is also a state vs. state competition spanning the three tournaments (Denker, Barber, NGIT). After 2 rounds, all 3 New Jersey players (Kimberly Ding in the NGIT, Christopher Wu in the Denker, and John Michael in the Barber) have perfect scores with 2.0 points.  Go New Jersey!

 

7:00 PM

Here we go - round 3 is underway.  JM decided he didn't want to use Monroi device (handheld device that records moves and transmits games).  He felt it was too much of a hassle to use - he prefers the old school pen and scorebook.  Good news and bad news for me.  His game won't be broadcast in the hall, so I won't be able to watch, but now I don't have to run in the playing hall every 15 minutes to try to see what is going on!

 

 

9:51 PM

JM still playing - almost 3 hours and counting.  Michele and I hanging out at the bar again for the last couple of hours.  I am now camped out outside the playing hall - Michele is back upstairs in hotel room.  No idea how JM is doing - time to just sit and wait..........

 

10:20 PM

Still playing.  3 hours 20 minutes and counting.  Could be another late night JM special.

 

10:32 PM

JM once played a 6 hour game on this time control.  I could be here until 1:00 in the morning.  Do I go back to the bar?

 

10:33 PM

I overhear another adult say "I just saw the number one player in the Barber get checkmated".  My heart literally stops beating.  The person he is speaking to asks who the player was and he says a name that is not JM - he must have been referring to the Denker tournament perhaps?  I peek into the room and JM is still sitting at the board, so I guess his game is still going.

 

10:45 PM

JM comes out of playing hall: "Draw".  He is now at 2.5 points after 3 rounds.  Looks like there is 1 player with 3.0 points, and 6 tied with 2.5 points.  Lots of draws in round 3 on the top boards.  As the highest rated player with 2.5 points, I believe JM will be on board 1 tomorrow against the player with 3.0.    Going to need a win tomorrow in round 4 to get his destiny back in his own hands.  Going back to room - JM is hungry - going to have the rest of the wings and then we will try to get him to bed - always a challenge after a late night game.  This is my second attempt at publishing this post - I somehow deleted the one I had with all the pictures.  Going to have to post the pictures tomorrow.  I'll be back tomorrow night (Monday) with Day 3 recap.  Rounds 4 and 5 are Monday at 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM.

Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions - Day 1

Let The Games Begin

Saturday, July 26 2014

 

7:15 AM

Mr. Burke here with the latest coverage of John Michael's ongoing chess adventure.  The Burke family is at the Rosen Centre Hotel in sunny Orlando, Florida, which is the center of the chess world for the next 9 days.  Right now I am the only Burke awake - Michele and John Michael are sleeping in after a 5 day Disney family vacation.  John Michael will be playing in the Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions from 7/26 to 7/29, and then will be competing in the 115th Annual United States Open Chess Championship from 7/30 to 8/3.  Should be an action packed, exciting 9 days of top level tournament chess.  I am going to attempt to provide a "real time" feel to these tournaments for the next 9 days, and present the action to you "as it happened".
 

For those of you that have not been ardently following the scholastic chess scene for the last several years, here is the scoop on the Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions: This tournament is an offshoot of the Arnold Denker Tournament of High School Champions that was started in 1985 by GM Arnold Denker.  The Denker tournament (which is also taking place in Orlando this weekend) was started to promote chess excellence among the country's best high school players.  In 2011 the Barber tournament was created in an effort to promote the top K-8 players in the country.  It was named to honor Dewain Barber, a long time scholastic chess advocate.  In 2013, the National Girls Invitational Tournament was started, modeled after the Barber and Denker tournaments.  All 3 tournaments are held each year at this time, and will be held simultaneously alongside the US Open.

 

 

The Barber K-8 is a prestigious tournament, one of the top scholastic tournaments that take place each year (think of a "major" tournament in tennis like Wimbledon or a major golf tournament like The Masters - there are many scholastic tournaments that take place each year but only a few "majors"). You can find more info at Barber Chess


Each state sends their official K-8 state representative to the Barber.  In New Jersey, the Barber representative is determined by the winner of the New Jersey Junior Championship which is held each May.  In that tournament, John Michael was tied after the 5th and final round with Praveen Balakrishnan (a top K-8 player in New Jersey).  The NJ Junior was decided in a series of blitz games between Praveen and John Michael.  First was a game/15 (ended in a draw), then a game/10 (ended in a draw), and finally a game/5 which John Michael won.  Normal tournament games typically take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours - having the NJ Junior come down to a series of 5-15 minute games definitely made for an exciting event.  Blitz games can go either way, and fortunately for John Michael he was able to prevail, earning him a trip to the Barber tournament in Orlando, where he will attempt to become the national Barber champion.

 

 

A lot has happened since the Supernationals in April of 2013 (the last national championship tournament covered on this blog).  In April of 2013, John Michael's rating was 2079.  In September of 2013 John Michael reached the 2200 rating threshold and earned the National Master title (a prestigious title awarded to a player that reaches 2200 - currently there are only approximately 900 active Masters in the United States).  John Michael's current rating is 2295, which makes him the 448th highest rated player out of 53,080 registered USCF members (99.2 percentile of all tournament players, adult or scholastic). John Michael is currently the 6th highest rated 13 year old in the country (with 11 more months to compete as a 13 year old) - Top 13 Year Olds - July 2014
 

It has been quite a ride so far for John Michael in the chess world, with no end in sight - lots of milestones still to achieve.  Most of John Michael's tournaments the last several years have been "open" tournaments consisting of both adults and children.  Typically open adult tournaments are the only tournaments available for strong scholastic players to get the type of competition needed.  John Michael has not played many scholastic tournaments over the last few years (World Youth Championship in Brazil, SuperNationals in Tennessee).  The Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions is a great opportunity for John Michael to win a prestigious scholastic national title, an opportunity that does not come often.  There are 48 players in the Barber K-8 tournament, and John Michael is the second highest rated player - he is definitely one of the favorites to win the event.  It is a strong field, consisting of 9 Masters and 13 Experts (players rated 2000-2199.  The Expert title is also a prestigious title that only 5% of tournament players ever reach).  This is a tournament consisting of the best K-8 players in the country - the competition should be fierce.  You can follow the standings and pairings at this link:  Barber Standings
 

Tournament is a 6 game event - each player will play 6 games - it is not a knockout event.  1 game Saturday, 2 Sunday, 2 Monday, 1 Tuesday.  1 point for a win, 0.5 points for a draw.  Highest score at end of 6 rounds wins.  If 2 or more players are tied at the end of round 6, tiebreakers will be used to determine champion.  Generally the competition gets tougher as the the tournament progresses, as the highest scoring players get paired against each other in each round.  Usually in a 6 round tournament of this type, a score pretty close to 6.0 is needed to win.  One wrong move in any of the 6 games could cost a player the entire tournament, which creates a very stressful atmosphere for the top contenders.  The time control for each game is Game 90 with a 30 second increment.  Each player has a total of 90 minutes to make their moves, and gets 30 seconds added to their clock each time a move is made.  It is fairly common for games to take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours when played under this time control.  Lots of down time for the parents!
 

John Michael is rested and ready to rumble.  Before traveling to Orlando, he did research the top contenders and prepared for some opponents he may play.  Pairings are never known until just prior to the round, so it is always a fine line between preparing openings against players that may or may not be played versus general chess preparation.  GM Joel Benjamin is John Michael's coach, and does a great job with John Michael - he couldn't ask for a better mentor.  They spent some time working together to prepare for the tournament - now it is time to battle it out to see who is the best player in the country.  Should be fun!  Going to catch up on some work now (plenty of time to catch up on work during these tournaments).

 

 

11:00 AM

Breakfast at hotel cafe.  Making sure John Michael eats during tournaments is always difficult.  The adrenaline is flowing, nerves are jangled, and eating is usually the last thing he wants to do during a tournament.  First round of tournament is at 7:00 PM today, so it was fairly easy to get through breakfast - JM chowed down on pancakes, bacon and fruit.  One meal down, 8 meals to go (this is how a chess dad thinks during a tournament).

 

12:15 PM

Walgreens run for water and snacks.  There is a Walgreens right next to hotel - made a trip to stock up on water and snacks.  When JM was younger, I used to stay in back of tournament room and bring him a water bottle every hour or so.  Now that he is 13, I can load him up with 3 bottles of water and a cell phone, and he simply texts me when he is done playing (he likes it better when I am not in the room now).  My only job at this point as chess manager is to drive him to tournaments and make sure he eats and sleeps as much as possible.  In a few years, he won't even need me to do that!  Funny thing about being a parent - it is a blast watching your son grow up and mature, but a part of you wants them to stay 13 years old forever.

 

12:30 PM

Stroll around hotel.  JM is getting increasingly edgy, which means it is getting closer to tournament time.  The three of us went for a stroll around hotel and convention center.  Michele and I saw several family reunions listed on hotel calendar that we are going to crash later (there are only so many hours we can spend at the hotel bar!).

 

3:00 PM

Opening Ceremony.  Nicely done Opening Ceremony for all 3 tournaments (Denker, Barber, NGIT).  Lots of history with these tournaments.  Each state player representative was named, and received a nice gold medallion for qualifying to play in their respective tournament.  Ceremony ended with group pictures.  About 1.5 hour long ceremony - first round is at 7:00 PM.   Going to hotel cafe again for dinner - quickest option available right now.  Always looking for quickest food option during tournaments.  Michele and I continue to discuss our party crashing plan for the evening.  Tournaments didn't even start yet and Michele and I are already going stir crazy!  It is not easy being a chess parent!

                                                                      Barber K-8 Group Photo
 

 

                                                                               JM with medal

 

                                                                          Opening Ceremony

                                                        JM receiving medal from Dewain Barber

 

4:57 PM

JM thinks he knows who he is going to play - a 1990 rated player with no games in Chessbase. Before we flew to Orlando, I went through Chessbase (chess database with 5 million plus games from around the world) and compiled games from the top Barber players to help JM prepare.  I was just informed by JM that there are many other better sources of games out there.  Would have been nice to know this a couple of weeks ago :)
 

5:15 PM

Dinner - had the buffet.  Not normally a buffet fan, but this one was good.  I can't keep eating this much!

 

 

6:00 PM

Back in room.  JM playing Vikram Srivastava from OH - rated 2009 (not who JM thought he was going to play).  JM is white.  No games in Chessbase or online, so no preparation possible.  Water bottles ready, chess clock ready, gift for opponent ready (at this tournament there is a tradition for each player to exchange a small gift from their home state - JM has 6 cool looking "Atlantic City" pens to give to his opponents).  Nothing to do but wait - this is always the toughest part, waiting for round 1 to start.  I always get butterflies before round 1, and I am not even playing - I can only imagine the somersaults that JM's stomach is doing right now.  He is holding it together well.  Definitely has his game face on.
 

 

7:00 PM

Round 1 begins right on time.  Playing room is freezing - I think that is good - better a cold room than a hot one.  I go back to room excited to get Michele and go to bar for Saturday night date.  I am greeted with "we have a small problem".  Never good to hear those words.  Apparently we did not give our neighbor all the keys to our house - neighbor is locked out and can't get in to feed our cats.  Have to call mother in law to go over to our house with her keys - hopefully we have given her the right keys......never a dull moment!  Michele doesn't want to go to the bar until we get key situation resolved, so I am now in a hotel room on Saturday night watching Jeopardy (which coincidentally has just had a category based on bars and drinks).

 

 

                                                                Adjusting pieces before game

                                                                        Pre-Game Staredown

 

 

 

7:48 PM

In laws to the rescue!  Neighbor is in house - no need to call 24 hour locksmith!  I can finally get out of this hotel room.

 

 

8:04 PM

At bar - almost time to check in to make sure JM is still playing.  My ritual during JM's games is to stick my head in the room - if I see the back of his head I leave for another hour or so before checking again.

 

 

                                                                   Saturday night in Orlando!

 

 

 

9:00 PM

2 hours in - JM still playing.  This is when I start to get nervous - a couple of hours into each game.  The first few games of a tournament like this are nerve wracking.  If JM lost game 1 it would ruin his tournament chances, and if he wins it is more relief than anything, because he was "supposed" to win against a lower rated opponent.  Tough being one of the top dogs in the tournament (at least it is tough being the parent of a top dog).  JM doesn't like me going into the playing hall to watch his games, and I respect his wishes.  It is agonizing sitting outside the room not having any idea how he is doing.  Time for another beer.....

 

 

10:00 PM

JM still playing.  Out of the top 11 boards, 10 are still playing - not uncommon for the top rated players to play longer games.  No upsets so far in round 1 - every game that has finished has been won by the higher rated player.  Party crashing idea didn't seem so good once we realized how tired we were after poor sleep the last few nights.  Michele has gone back to hotel room and I have found a seat right outside tournament room.  Grabbed another bottle of water.  If JM comes out I can at least feel like I am doing my part by having water ready for him.  I will be camped out here for the rest of the night.  Isn't this thrilling commentary?

 

 

10:05 PM

Random adult asked me if chess store was still open.  How would I know?  Did he miss the huge "Chess Store this way" sign not 5 feet from him?  Does he not know that I need to agonize in silence while my son plays?  9 days - I can make it - I think.

 

 

10:15 PM

I am always amazed by how many parents at chess tournaments wait for their kids outside the playing hall and are doing absolutely NOTHING while they wait.  I can't sit still for more than 2 minutes without getting antsy and bored.  How can these people sit for hours just staring into space?  Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

 

 

10:20 PM

JM exits tournament room.  I can never tell if he won or lost for the first 2-3 seconds I see him - he hides his emotions win or lose.  When he comes over to me he whispers "I won" and all of a sudden it all is worth it - the travel, the endless waiting around, the bad sleep, the rush to eat between rounds - all of it fades away just by hearing those 2 magical words: "I won".  1 game down, 5 to go.  Going back to room for snacks and bed.  Hopefully we all sleep well tonight.  Will be back tomorrow with Day 2 recap.

 

 

SuperNationals - Day 3

Hello All -

Mr. Burke here with a wrap-up of SuperNationals V from Nashville.  Oh, the highs and lows of top level tournament chess.  JM started the day with high hopes - he had 4.5 points out of 5 and had a chance to win his section with 2 games to play.  Unfortunately those plans didn't materialize.  In Round 6 (9:00 AM game) JM played on the big stage again against a player from Illinois rated 1974.  The game was another long one, and ended in a draw.  JM was very disappointed in that result, as it ended any chance he had to win the tournament.  He was at 5 points after 6 rounds, and the two leaders were at 5.5 and 6 points and were paired against each other for Round 7.  No matter what happened in the Round 7 game between the leaders, one of the players was going to get to 6.5 points and the most JM could achieve would be 6 points with a win.  Round 6 took a lot of steam out of JM, but he still had a chance to finish anywhere from 2nd to 4th with a win in round 7, the final round of the tournament.

Round 7 (2:00 PM game) was another 4 hour game against a player rated 1928 from Maryland.  Unfortunately JM ended up with his first loss of the tournament in this game, which resulted in a final score of 5 points out of 7 (4 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw).  JM officially finished in 16th place out of 203, after the final standings and tiebreakers were calculated. 

All in all, it was a great experience for JM.  National championship events are extremely pressure filled - he was under intense stress all weekend and handled it very well.  7 games lasting on average 3-4 hours each in a 3 day time period is rough.

Here is what I will remember about this weekend:

1) I am continually blown away by the effort and focus that JM (and all these kids) exhibits in each tournament.  He competes with every fiber of his being and leaves it all out there.  He never mails in a game, never gives anything less than his absolute best, never backs down from a challenge, never is intimidated by anything he faces.  His effort inspires me to be a better person.

2) JM has the fiercest competitive streak of anyone I know.  Anything less than total victory is just not acceptable to JM.  How many kids would lose only 1 game out of 7, finish 16th out of 203 in the biggest chess tournament of the year against top players from around the nation, and be totally disgusted and not even care about getting his trophy?  JM expects to win every single game he plays and expects to be the best, and that intense drive is something that makes him great and is something that I love to see.  There is disappointment right now after a tough tournament loss, but JM will be back on the big stage again.  He will learn from this experience and will become a better player because of it.  You can take it to the bank - JM will be mixing it up with the best in the country again soon, and he will make it to the top and win a national championship before long.  It is in him to do so.  It is what he will do.

And yes, he did get his trophy (and it is a pretty big one too!).  Will try to get pictures up tomorrow after we get home.

Thanks for following along on our latest chess adventure!

SuperNationals - Day 2

Hello all - Mr. Burke here with a recap of today's action.  What a long, intense day it was.  In Round 3 (9:00 AM game) JM played against a player rated 1776 from Alabama.  On paper, JM appeared to be the favorite, but the game turned into a long drawn out battle that lasted a little over 4 hours.  JM ended up with the win, but he definitely had to work for it. We only had about 45 minutes to grab a quick lunch before the 2:00 PM Round 4 game.  JM was paired with Rishi Rajendran, a fellow NJ player that JM played a few years back in the NJ state championship (I believe it was the 3rd grade championship in 2010, but I could be off by a year).  The only time JM and Rishi played they drew and ended up as NJ co-champions.  The Round 4 game today was on the large elevated stage in front of the tournament room, in full view of the 2000 other players and hundreds of other spectators in the room.  Talk about a pressure cooker environment!  True to form, the game was a JM special that went 4.5 hours - when the game finished JM only had 30 seconds on his clock.  The game was intense, and ended with both players blitzing out their moves and pounding the clock.  JM ended up victorious, winning his 4th straight game. 35 minutes later, after another quick meal, JM was back on the big stage to take on another player with a 4-0 record, a player rated 2033 from West Virginia.  This was the toughest player according to rating JM had faced so far, in the dreaded Saturday night 7:00 PM game.  Thankfully, the game only lasted 2 hours and ended with both players agreeing to a draw. All in all, a great day with 2 wins and a draw.  JM currently has 4.5 points out of 5.  Going into Round 5 there were 6 players with 4.0 scores, and they were all playing each other in Round 5.  At 4.5 points JM definitely is in contention to win it all.  2 wins tomorrow would get him to 6.5 points and a strong possibility of at least a share of first place.  Round 6 is at 9:00 AM.  This tournament has a very fast pace with 7 games in 3 days.  JM hasn't had any time to even show me his games - it has been a race to eat and go to bed in between all the chess. Great performance today by JM - he has put himself into a position to win it all, which is what you want going into the last 2 rounds.  Looking forward to an exciting day tomorrow - I will post an update tomorrow night after the tournament is over.  For those interested, you can see the standings for the  K-6 Championship Section here:http://uschess.org/tournaments/2013/snv/?page=RESULTS

Standings update after round 2

Mr. Burke here again with a standings update as I lie awake in bed at 5:11 AM in the morning (I am not sure who has a worse case of the nerves - me or John Michael!).

The #4 and #7 seeds in JM's section both lost in round 2 to players rated 500 points lower.  Definitely a reminder that upsets are quite common in national tournaments like this.  These kids are not machines, and this venue can be quite intimidating, especially if it is their first experience at a national tournament.  JM was a little nervous before round 1 but handled it well.  He definitely started to get his mojo going after he got that first game out of the way.  Every game is going to be a challenge, no matter what the rating of the opponent.  Round 3 is against a 1773 rated player from Alabama.  Will be posting updates throughout the day if possible.

SuperNationals - Day 1

Hello all -

Mr. Burke here.  Day 1 of SuperNationals V in Nashville is in the books.  John Michael won both of his games today, so he is off to a good start.  There are 203 players in the K-6 Championship section, which typically leads to higher rated players playing down against lower rated players in the first few rounds of a tournament.  John Michael is the 5th seed in his section - his opponents today were both rated about 500 points lower than him, so he was definitely heavily favored to win both games (he was the equivalent of a 14-17 point favorite in a football game) and he took care of business.  5 games left - 3 tomorrow and 2 on Sunday.  Tomorrow will be a long day - games at 9:00 AM, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM.  Games should get more challenging as the tournament progresses.

The Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center is huge - you need a map to get around.  The playing hall where John Michael is playing is big as well - holds around 2000 players.  It is jam packed - 5200+ players in this tournament.  Hope to get some pictures up tomorrow, time permitting.  This tournament has a much different feel than the World Youth.  Instead of 1 game per day for 7 days, there are 7 games packed into 3 days in this tournament.  Sleeping and eating are at a premium.  By the end of the day, we all pretty much pass out, so the updates won't be as lengthy this time around...

Will be back tomorrow night with another update.