Last weekend around 60 players from across the San Antonio area gathered at the [Wonderland of the Americas Mall](https://wonderlandamericas.com/) to take part in the San Antonio Summer Scrimmage sponsored by the [River City Chess Club](https://www.facebook.com/RivercityChessClub/) and the [San Antonio Chess Club (SACC)](http://www.sanantoniochess.com). Yours truly decided to jump into the pool and register for the tournament when it was first advertised back in June/July. Although my game results were much less than desirable, the SACC TD, Edgar Munoz along with support from members of both clubs put on an exceptionally well-run tournament.
#### The Tournament
Approximately 60 players packed into the Wonderland Events Center near the mall’s food court to try their luck at a cash prize and the glory of chess tournament victory. The tournament started an hour late due to the overwhelming response from players! Normally I would be bothered by such a late start, but it was nice to see the TD and team giving so many people an opportunity register and pay at the last minute. Notably, the start delay was the *only* real hiccup that the event seemed to experience. The tournament went very smooth for most players once play began.
Perhaps one of the most notable events occurred during the end of Round 01. The end of the round came down to the wire with one game remaining between a young girl and one of SACC’s regulars. The ensuing drama found our SACC regular eventually pinned down by some brilliant last-minute exchanges.
It was a thrilling experience and the only time in the tournament where the room erupted in applause. The above Instagram photo captures that game as it entered into its final 10 minutes. More photos of that game and the tournament itself are available at the bottom of the page just past my game analysis.
#### My Games
I think that I am in the running for setting a new chess record of having the lowest ELO rating out there. Fortunately, the US Chess database reminds me that I am not the lowest, but I am damned close. Part of that comes from playing in a city where most of the regular players are 1500+ ELO. It is good for the learning experience, but not so good for the W-L record. The three games I played in this tournament (got 1 bye in Round 3) were painful, but educational and somewhat surprising. I learned quite a bit throughout the tournament about where I need to shift my study habits in addition to conquering some anxieties I had about playing in OTB tournaments with so many good players.
##### Round 1: Game #1
Game #1 was against a 1300 ELO player who was very friendly and played a nice game. We laughed a few times because of some arguments happening next to us between two kids playing their game, but overall the game was enjoyable. This game was not as *good* or educational as the other two, but it did remind me to stick to my opening preparation instead of trying to play so much *off-the-cuff* in games.
[pgn]
[Event “San Antonio Summer Scrimmage”]
[Site “San Antonio, TX”]
[Date “2017.08.12”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Nemecek, Andrew”]
[Black “Surber, Wesley”]
[Result “1-0”]
[Annotator “”]
[PlyCount “49”]
{Here we go! After a lengthy haitus between tournaments, I decided to set down at the board once again to try my luck at an open tournament hosted by the River City Chess Club/San Antonio Chess Club. This was the first of three games played that day.} 1. e4 {} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. Nc3 {I realized that I usually mess up this part of the opening. I tend to play d6 or d4 respectively when they are not appropriate for the scenario.} (5. d4 exd4 6. Qxd4 Qf6 7. Qa4 Bc5 8. 0-0 Ne7 9. Nc3 h6 10. Re1 Rb8 11. Qc4 Ba7 12. b3 0-0 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Rxe3 d5 {1-0 (34) Solak,D (2607)-Sanal,V (2460) Jerusalem 2015 } )d5 6. d3 f6 7. 0-0 {Threatening d4.} ({Of course not} 7. Nxe5 fxe5 8. Qh5+ Kd7 $17 )d4 $146 {White was threatening d4, so I wanted to block its route and attempt to dislodge the c3 Knight.} ({Predecessor:} 7… Bc5 8. Re1 Ne7 9. Na4 Ba7 10. b3 d4 11. c3 {1/2-1/2 (20) Nilsen,R-Vavilin,M Prague 2006} )8. Ne2 {White is slightly better.} Bd6 9. h3 f5 (9… c5 $11 { keeps the balance.} )10. Ng3 (10. exf5 $142 { Black must now prevent c3.} Bxf5 11. Ng3 )fxe4 11. dxe4 {[#] And now Nxe5! would win.} Nf6 12. Bg5 (12. c3 $16 dxc3 13. Qc2 (13. bxc3 0-0 $14 ))0-0 (12… h6 $1 $11 { } 13. Bd2 c5 )13. Re1 (13. c3 $14 )c5 14. Nf5 Bxf5 (14… Rb8 $11 )15. exf5 $14 Rb8 16. Rb1 ({White should play} 16. Nxe5 $16 { aiming for Nc6.} Rxb2 17. Qd3 )Qd7 17. g4 g6 (17… Rbe8 $14 )18. Nxe5 $16 Qc8 $2 { [#]} (18… Bxe5 $16 { was called for.} 19. Rxe5 gxf5 )19. fxg6 $18 hxg6 20. Nxg6 {Stockfish says that White is clearly winning, which I agree and felt my heart start to sink while sitting at the board.} Qd8 (20… Rf7 $142 21. f4 Qb7 )21. Nxf8 Qxf8 22. Qf3 Be7 23. Rxe7 Qxe7 24. Qxf6 Qxf6 25. Bxf6 {and I resigned to save myself the trouble. Overall it was a nice game, but too many errors and slow development cost me the win.} 1-0
[/pgn]
##### Round 2: Game #2
As you will see in the game commentary, this game made me very nervous. It was against a 1900 ELO player which was enough to challenge my psychological ability to sit at the board. In the end, this game turned out to be one of the best games I have played in a *long* time, even with a loss. I think that I also got Stockfish to give me my first ever (!) annotation on a move I agreed with.
[pgn]
[Event “San Antonio Summer Scrimmage”]
[Site “San Antonio, TX”]
[Date “2017.08.12”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Surber, Wesley”]
[Black “Flournoy, Don”]
[Result “0-1”]
[Annotator “”]
[PlyCount “44”]
{I was flat-out nervous about this game because it was against a 1900 ELO player, which is like putting a match up against a supernova….} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Be2 d6 6. O-O Bg4 {Fortunately, I had been studying the Sicilian recently and managed to get several moves into the game before deviating from the line. Stockfish gave up on me at this point for the opening.} (6…Rb8 7. Be3 Nd4 8. a3 e6 9. Rb1 Ne7 10. Qd2 Nxe2+ 11. Nxe2 b6 12. d4 Bb7 13. Nc3 O-O 14. Rfd1 Bc6 15. Bh6 d5 {1/2-1/2 (15) Scepanovic,L (2159)-Farkas,T (2279) Senta 2016}) 7. h3 Bd7 8. Be3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 8. a3 Nd4 9. Nxd4 Bxd4 10. Be3 e6 11. Bxd4 cxd4 12. Nb1 {1/2-1/2 (51) Cerda Revert,J (1786)-Morant Gomar, S (1904) Valencia 2009}) Nf6 {The position is equal.} 9. Rb1 h6 (9…O-O $10 {feels stronger.}) 10. a3 g5 (10…e5 $10) 11. b4 $36 {Stockfish says that Black is under pressure, which I noticed during the game. At this point, I was very happy with how things were going.} g4 12. hxg4 $1 Nxg4 13. Bd2 cxb4 14. axb4 Qc8 (14…h5 $14 {Would have equalized the position.}) 15. Nd5 $16 Nce5 16. c4 Rg8 (16…Nxf3+ $16 {was necessary.} 17. Bxf3 Bd4) 17. d4 $2 {This is where things started to fall apart.} (17. Nh4 $18) Nxf3+ $1 $10 18. Bxf3 Bxd4 19. Bxg4 $4 (19. Bf4 $10 {and White has nothing to worry.} Ne5 20. Rb3 Nxf3+ 21. Qxf3) Bxg4 $19 20. Qa4+ Kd8 {aiming for …Bf3.} ({Don’t take} 20…Bd7 21. Qb3 $19) 21. Bxh6 $2 {[#]} (21. Rb3 $19 Be2 22. Re1) Bf3 22. g3 Qh3 {And I resigned. I learned from this game that my openings are getting better, but I need to focus on my middle games.} 0-1
[/pgn]
##### Round 4: Game #3
Game 3 came in Round 4 after quite a break through Round 3. My opponent was rated around 1100 ELO and slammed pieces down harder than anyone I believe I have ever met. Another loss, but it was very educational and fun to play. In the end, my impatience got the best of me an earned me my first-ever loss by checkmate.
[pgn]
[Event “San Antonio Summer Scrimmage”]
[Site “San Antonio, TX”]
[Date “2017.08.12”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Surber, Wesley”]
[Black “Babaria, Rajvi”]
[Result “0-1”]
[Annotator “”]
[PlyCount “52”]
1. e4 {After receiving a bye in Round 3, I sat down for one last game trying to squeeze out at least one win. The game was good, but I played too fast and lost in miserable fashion. On a side note, I have never played with someone who slammed their pieces in classical time controls like this young woman.} c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Bd3 d6 6. c3 e6 7. O-O {LiveBook: 3 Games. B40: Sicilian: 2…e6, Unusual lines} Be7 8. a3 $146 {Another Sicilian, but this time my speed caused me to leave the main line much quicker than game 2. I could feel my anxiety getting the best of me, so I did my best to deep breath and focus on the board.} ({Predecessor:} 8. f4 O-O 9. Be3 e5 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. exf5 exf4 12. Bxf4 Qb6+ 13. Kh1 Qxb2 14. Nd2 Qxc3 {0-1 (23) Mudelsee,M (2296)-Abergel,T (2509) Germany 2009}) O-O 9. Nd2 {The position is equal and I started feeling more confident about the game’s outcome.} a6 10. N2f3 Bd7 11. Qe2 e5 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. b4 Qc7 14. Be3 {Too passive and gives away the intiative. Playing c4 would have maintained the balance on the board. Unfortunately, this deep in the game, the moves were happening so quickly that it felt almost like a blitz game.} (14. c4 $10 {remains equal.}) Nxe4 15. Qc2 ({Better is} 15. Rac1) Nf6 $17 {[#] Hoping for …e4.} 16. h3 $2 {A careless move without solid intent. I was looking to shore up defenses on the h-file side of the board.} (16. Ng5 $17) e4 $19 17. Be2 exf3 18. Bxf3 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Rac8 20. Kh1 Qxc3 {Black maintains her very aggressive style and goes for the throat with a Queen trade, which I declined.} 21. Qf5 Qe5 22. Qd3 Nd5 23. Bh6 $4 {Stockfish liked this move, but I annotated it (??) because I missed an opportunity to fix the coming checkmate trap.} gxh6 24. Rg1+ Kh8 25. Rae1 Qh5 {[#]} 26. Rxe7 $4 (26. Rg3 {would have avoided mate.}) Qxh3# {BOOM! I am pretty sure that this is my first OTB loss ever by checkmate. High stress and very educational game. I was slightly demoralized after this tournament, but I will get back up and play again the next chance I get.} 0-1
[/pgn]
Here are some more photos of the event and the venue:
#### Final Thoughts
The San Antonio Chess Club is in the midst of a revival. Its President, Mitch Vergara, is one hell of a chess player and his passion for the game is reflected in the ways he has networked with River City Chess, Rackspace, and others to promote the game throughout the Alamo City. The 2017 Summer Scrimmage was a fun event for all ages that really brought the best minds of San Antonio together to play the Royal Game. It is my hope that this is just a taste of things to come from River City and San Antonio Chess.
Until next time!
-ws