Albany
Since I went 13-9, came in 5th, and hit a new peak rating (by 2 points!) I guess I should write something about it.
Was doing pretty mediocre for most of the tournament, but then I hit a 7-game winning streak towards the end, only to be thwarted in the final game (partially by ididjonassalk, but mostly by myself.) I was really nervous in the last game and played terribly as a result. It was pretty pathetic (especially since I was only playing for 65 bucks, although it was more the though that made me nervous.) That game, however, was the exception rather than the norm of the tournament, as I felt like I played fairly solidly throughout the tournament (but drew more than fairly solidly) and I wasn't really nervous regardless of who I was playing against. I think it helped that I had no expectations going in (I told myself I wouldn't be upset unless I did worse than last year.) For the most part, my opponents were incredibly gracious, and I feel fortunate to have been in a division with such a nice group of people. Congrats to Will and all of the other winners. And as for players like pbzeigler and Andrew Friedman, hang in there and just keep plugging away. Your day will come.
My coolest play: eeoprst from in.
My biggest mistake: LETTING FUCKING TROUTED* GO BECAUSE I WAS TOO BUSY TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER HIGGLED WAS A WORD TO FUCKING LOOK AT THE FACT THAT MY OPPONENT FUCKING PLAYED TROUTED*!!!!! SERIOUSLY!!! I'VE FUCKING BLOGGED ABOUT TROUTED*.
Note for future tourneys: Keep up your confidence in your word knowledge, but stop playing phoneys when you have a strong feeling in your gut that they are phoneys! (bichon*, dhali*, yowsers*, meltier*,). Also, if your confidence is ever waning, this would be a good tournament to remember.
I'll probably post a few games, but in the meantime, It was good seeing everyone, and I hope to see you all soon again.
Was doing pretty mediocre for most of the tournament, but then I hit a 7-game winning streak towards the end, only to be thwarted in the final game (partially by ididjonassalk, but mostly by myself.) I was really nervous in the last game and played terribly as a result. It was pretty pathetic (especially since I was only playing for 65 bucks, although it was more the though that made me nervous.) That game, however, was the exception rather than the norm of the tournament, as I felt like I played fairly solidly throughout the tournament (but drew more than fairly solidly) and I wasn't really nervous regardless of who I was playing against. I think it helped that I had no expectations going in (I told myself I wouldn't be upset unless I did worse than last year.) For the most part, my opponents were incredibly gracious, and I feel fortunate to have been in a division with such a nice group of people. Congrats to Will and all of the other winners. And as for players like pbzeigler and Andrew Friedman, hang in there and just keep plugging away. Your day will come.
My coolest play: eeoprst from in.
My biggest mistake: LETTING FUCKING TROUTED* GO BECAUSE I WAS TOO BUSY TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER HIGGLED WAS A WORD TO FUCKING LOOK AT THE FACT THAT MY OPPONENT FUCKING PLAYED TROUTED*!!!!! SERIOUSLY!!! I'VE FUCKING BLOGGED ABOUT TROUTED*.
Note for future tourneys: Keep up your confidence in your word knowledge, but stop playing phoneys when you have a strong feeling in your gut that they are phoneys! (bichon*, dhali*, yowsers*, meltier*,). Also, if your confidence is ever waning, this would be a good tournament to remember.
I'll probably post a few games, but in the meantime, It was good seeing everyone, and I hope to see you all soon again.