The last FM

 One of the unique aspects of this tournament compared to the ones we play back home is the "one game per day" scheduling.  We find out our opponent's the night before, and we can prepare specifically for this opponent.  Each day I have a session with Coach Sam Palatnik before my game.  Here Coach Sam, Dachey Lin (of Dallas, TX), and I look at some puzzles to warm up our chess brains.

 For the fifth and final time in this tournament, I faced a FIDE Master in round 10.  This game was critical.  A win was necessary to have any shot at a medal.  My opponent was, Mohammed-Amin Tabatabaei from Iran.  The Iranian team is very strong, and Tabatabaei is their national champion.  Last year in Turkey, Tabatabaei won the bronze medal behind my friend Tanuj.  I knew this was going to be a tough game.  We looked at his games, and prepared against his Caro-Kann, but again, we got a Sicilian Defense.  Tabatabaei's play was inaccurate and I got an early advantage.  This time I continued to press my advantage and really forced through the win.  I faced five FMs and scored 4-1 against them.

During round 10, there were several other key matchups on the top board.  The biggest was Jeffery Xiong versus Tommy He, both from Dallas, TX.  Jeffery won the game to take sole possession of 1st place.  If he wins tomorrow, he gets the gold.

Other important matchups included my friends Vignesh and Samuel, playing next to each other.  Both won their games and they now have 7.5/10.0 and will face each other tomorrow. The winner of that game could possibly earn a medal.

My next round opponent is Jason Cao of Canada.  Jason has been having an excellent tournament, knocking off Samuel Sevian and Tommy He. In this picture, my friend and teammate, Jeffery Xiong, helps me prepare for my game against Jason, while his sister, Meryl, looks on.  Tomorrow is a big day and all the Americans are hoping to win.  GO Team USA!