The most dreaded part of the World Youth tournament is Day 5, when the kids have to play two rounds of chess on the same day. Due to the busy schedule, there is no time to prepare with the US coaches, and little time to even prepare in your room. It is also the point in the tournament where the matches start to ratchet up in difficulty as your opponents become stronger and stronger.
Trying to adjust to a timezone nine hours different from your own is challenging, especially after flying through the night. The challenge is eased somewhat by the fact that the games typically don't start until 3pm in the afternoon. Prior to Day 5, my biggest concern was making sure that Cameron got enough sleep. However, on Day 5, to accomodate both rounds, the first round starts at 10am. We've been slowly adjusting our schedule to wake up earlier and earlier. By the start of round 5, Cameron was comfortably waking up in time to be refreshed and ready to go.
The opponent for the first round of the double day was Roven Vogel of Germany. Cameron faced two Germans in Brazil last year and knew that Roven was probably stronger than his rating would indicate. In the game, Cameron saddled his opponent with an isolated queen pawn (IQP) and took him into an endgame where the pawn was a major weakness. Cam couldn't find GM de Firmian after the round, so he reunited with our old friend GM Sam Palatnik, who guided Cameron through his first World Youth in Greece. It was nice to spend time with Sam and he seemed to really appreciate Cameron's play. The relatively quick victory gave Cameron plenty of time to rest and prepare for the second round of the day.
In round 6, Cameron faced an Indian by the name of P Elancherlathan. We aren't sure what the P stood for, but I'm sure if was as difficult to spell as his last name :-). Elancherlathan had already upset three higher rated players, including American Kadhir Pillai, and he managed a draw against the red-hot American Craig Hilby. So, Cameron knew that P was not to be taken lightly. P played the opening well, and Cameron had to work to gain an advantage. After picking up a pawn, it was still not clear how to win, but Cameron found a very nice combination to win material and the game finished soon after.
What a difference a few days makes... After the upsetting loss in round 2, Cameron felt that he had really put his whole tournament in jeopardy. Now, going into the rest day, Cameron has scored 5 out of 6 and is tied for 3rd place, right behind his fellow teammates, Jeffery Xiong and Samuel Sevian. Anything can happen from this point forward. Stay tuned to the blog for future updates...
Trying to adjust to a timezone nine hours different from your own is challenging, especially after flying through the night. The challenge is eased somewhat by the fact that the games typically don't start until 3pm in the afternoon. Prior to Day 5, my biggest concern was making sure that Cameron got enough sleep. However, on Day 5, to accomodate both rounds, the first round starts at 10am. We've been slowly adjusting our schedule to wake up earlier and earlier. By the start of round 5, Cameron was comfortably waking up in time to be refreshed and ready to go.
In round 6, Cameron faced an Indian by the name of P Elancherlathan. We aren't sure what the P stood for, but I'm sure if was as difficult to spell as his last name :-). Elancherlathan had already upset three higher rated players, including American Kadhir Pillai, and he managed a draw against the red-hot American Craig Hilby. So, Cameron knew that P was not to be taken lightly. P played the opening well, and Cameron had to work to gain an advantage. After picking up a pawn, it was still not clear how to win, but Cameron found a very nice combination to win material and the game finished soon after.
What a difference a few days makes... After the upsetting loss in round 2, Cameron felt that he had really put his whole tournament in jeopardy. Now, going into the rest day, Cameron has scored 5 out of 6 and is tied for 3rd place, right behind his fellow teammates, Jeffery Xiong and Samuel Sevian. Anything can happen from this point forward. Stay tuned to the blog for future updates...
Keep up the hot streak! Just beware the Russians.
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