Rebound

One of the hardest things to do in a chess tournament is to come back to play another game after a tough loss.  My Dad says I excel at this because I have such a bad memory and forget about the loss quickly, but the truth is, there is nothing you can do about the last game now, and you have no choice but to go on and play again.  Even still, it is good to have the support of friends and family to help get your mind back to a "good place".  Today, Steven came by to check up on me and make sure I was ready for my game.  I got the white pieces for a second game in a row, so there wasn't much to prepare.  Instead we goofed around and played a few blitz games for fun.  I've only managed to flag Steven one time, but someday I think I will beat him.

My playing hall is a long skinny room in the hotel.  It is just for the U10 Open and U10 Girls sections.  There are about 100 girls and 150 boys.  The top boards in the boys section is all the way at the far end of the hall.  We have to walk the entire length of the room, squeezing past all the parents and coaches, just to get to my board.

My opponent for round 8 was Arya Omidi of Iran.  The Iranian team is very large and talented.  I did not have a lot of games to look at from Arya, but the games I had were of good quality.  I knew this was going to be a tough game.  Again, I got a very nice position out of the opening, although it wasn't as huge an advantage as in the games versus Jeffery and Tommy.  I slowly built up my attack and eventually I was able to break through.  In post-game analysis, Coach Sam showed me a nice mate that I missed, but he said I played a good game.  It was nice to come back from the previous defeat with a strong round.  In round 9, I get to face my 4th FM (out of 6 in the section).  So far, I think I've had the toughest draw of anyone in the tournament.