The Czech Open is now finished, and, all-in-all, it went well.  I finished on 4.5/9 (my pre-tournament aim) against opposition ranging from 2035 to 2151.  This means that I’m expected to gain about 40 rating points, taking me up to ~2017 in the next FIDE rating list.  I’ll post a few of my games when I get back to England.

I’ve now played the first two rounds of the main tournament here in Pardubice, and it’s going well.  Yesterday I managed to beat a 2151 with white, and today I drew a 2107 with black.  Yesterday’s opponent blundered in the opening, and although I allowed him plenty of counterplay I don’t think I ever squandered the win.  I felt like I had slightly the better of it for most of today’s game too, but a quick look with Houdini shows that it was pretty equal most of the way and a draw is a fair result.

I may post game fragments when I get a chance, but I won’t be posting complete games until after the event so as to keep the openings I’m playing here a secret.

I’m currently in Pardubice, awaiting the start of round 1 in the main tournament.  On Wednesday morning I played in the ‘Superblitz’ tournament – 9 double rounds (i.e. two games with the each opponent) of 3-minute blitz – and scored a decent 4/9.  I played both GM Aleksandr Volodin and IM Petr Neuman, and although I failed to give either of them much to worry about I did manage to trade wins with another titled player, WIM Monika Tsiganova (2164 ELO).

On Wednesday evening and Thursday I played a 9-round rapid tournament, and decided to enter the top section, where I was seed number 151 out of 164 entrants, in a field which included David Navara and Robert Hess (and initially Sergei Movsesian, though he withdrew before it started).  In the first round I was paired with Ladislav Urbanec, 2293 ELO, and after initially having much the better of it the game reduced to a (probably) drawn ending.  A position was repeated three times and I claimed the draw, but alas in rapidplay if you are not recording the moves you have only your opponent’s sportsmanship to rely on in such cases, and my opponent refused to accept my claim and found a way to deviate.  A while later I overstepped the time limit and lost.  From then on my play deteriorated, and I ended on a rather miserable-sounding 2/9.  I’ll upload some of my games later if I have time.

Hopefully the main event, where I am seed number 169 of 264 in the B section, will go better.