Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Team USA vs Team USA (part 2)

Everyday we try to get a little bit of fresh air and exercise.  One of our favorite activities is to take a walk along the marina.  My Dad loves to look at all of the different boats, and I can find lots of rocks and pine cones to toss into the water.  Also, my Dad is trying to teach me how to juggle.
Here are a couple of the "locals" soaking up the warmth of the hot bricks.  The sun has been out nearly every day that we've been here, but the weather is definitely getting cooler, and I think these dogs know that there won't be many more days like this.
This boat looks like it is REALLY FAST!  It is kinda hard to tell from the picture, but it is very big too.
On the far side of the marina, we found this deserted beach.  In the summer, this must be a very popular spot, but on this day, my Dad and I had the whole beach to ourselves.
In round 7, I got paired against my third FM of the tournament, my teammate, Tommy O He, from Dallas, TX.  I've played Tommy two other times at Nationals and drew both games. In the previous two games I was black, so I was really looking forward to the chance to beat Tommy with the white pieces.  In the game, I got a great position out of the opening and won a piece for a pawn, and I had a strong attack.  However, instead of pressing my advantage, I traded off some pieces.  In the exchanges, I gave up my active pieces and activated his passive pieces.  Suddenly, despite being a piece up, I was under tremendous pressure.  After a few inaccurate moves, and I was losing.  It always sucks to lose a game, but losing a game that you are clearly winning is always the toughest.  I felt like crying, but I didn't.  Kudos to Tommy for not giving up when he got in a tough spot.  Hopefully, I'll get a chance to meet him again at the Dallas Nationals next spring.

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