[imagefield_assist|fid=3540|preset=fullsize|title=|desc=|link=none|origsize=|align=left|width=281|height=375]Tonight was quite nice, as my quick preparation paid quick dividends! My opponent, FM Robby Adamson has played against me several times over the past 20 years, and, has always had the black pieces! Today was no exception, and he played his usual Benko Gambit.
I try to play different stuff, so my opponents have a tough time preparing, and so a few minutes of study was enough for me to try 5.e3. It worked like a charm, as we played 11 moves of my "prep", and his next move, 11...d6? was almost losing by force. I wrapped up the game in less than 20 moves.
On board 1, Mackenzie Molner easily beat GM Kolev, after beating GM Georgiev the round before! Molner is on fire, and stands in clear first with 5-1! I am luckily in clear second, with 4.5-1.5, as the other GMs are not faring well at all. GM Kolev has 4-2, GM Mitkov lost to GM Amanov in round 6, so Mitkov has 3.5-2.5 and Amanov stands at 4-2. GM Georgiev drew rounds 2, 3, and 4, and lost round 5! He was able to win round 6, and stands at 3.5-2.5. A tough tournament indeed!
We had "Fun" tonight at the restaurant, as many of the players, and a visiting friend, Blair Machaj, all ate out at a nice place near the hotel. Many of the diners, hopefully, will be playing in next month's Saint Louis Open, April 10-11. Having dinner with top players is a great way getting them to play in our Chess Club's nice events.
Yun Fan and I (pictured above at dinner) saw "Alice in Wonderland" in 3-D, between rounds, and I was confident of doing the impossible during my game (unfortunately, Yun Fan lost her first game of the event, in the World Amateur Championship, U2000).
25th North American Masters - Round 7 Pairings and Results
GM Finegold - Molner:
GM Kolev - GM Georgiev:
Ravichandran - GM Amanov:
GM Mitkov - IM Young:
IM Mulyar - FM Shankar:
FM Adamson - IM Felecan:
WIM Zenyuk - Jayakumar:
IM Vishnuvardhan - Aliyev:
Gurczak - Ulrich:
Acosta - Perez-Reisler:
